Gabi defeated Luiza Monteiro at the No-Gi Worlds. Photo: Erin Herle
The star Gabrielle Garcia, Alliance’s absolute queen, did not spend much time celebrating her Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi world tittle that she conquered last October 5 in California.
In a conversation with GRACIEMAG, Gabi spoke about dieting and plans for her MMA debut, possibly next December 23. The Chinese event Real FC 1 has even announced the name of her opponent as Megumi Yabushita, an experienced 42 years athlete with over 40 fights in her career.
Kron Gracie will fight in the main event in Tokyo, Japan, and also the Jiu-Jitsu stars Marcos Souza and Roberto Satoshi are scheduled on the card.
Gabi, however, said that the fight is still a possibility:
“I have been training no-gi, dieting and dropping weight to get lighter. However, just came out in the press a note about my MMA debut in December, but I do not know where this information came from. Neither do I know the name of my opponent. Fabio Gurgel [coach] is still negotiating everything, it might happen, but it might not – I’m still getting back confident after my injury. Thus, I already feel like I’m living the best phase of my professional career”, said Gabi.
Having a deal or not with the Chinese event for December doesn’t means that the Alliance black belt will leave the Jiu-Jitsu Worlds: “I do not intend to stop fighting Jiu-Jitsu so early, I can guarantee that I will fight anything that shows up.”
About the World Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi, the heavyweight commented her performance and Mackenzie Dern’s triangle, the attack from which she escaped without fluster.
“I pulled guard and called all my fights to the ground, risking things I didn’t do before; I wanted to test myself, to put myself at risk. Take risks made me see that an attack like the guillotine can give me a hard work (laughs). But I did not feel in danger other times; I tried not to use force or the difference of strength, I tried to change a bit”, she said. “I’m feeling more confident with my guard game and learning a new Jiu-Jitsu that I love.”
Apart from Jiu-Jitsu and MMA, Gabi have on her agenda a series of seminars in Europe before and after the IBJJF European championship in January. “Now who takes care of my stuff overseas regarding seminars and other job opportunities is Cesalina Gracie. If anyone is interested in our seminar, please send an email to cesalinagracie@gmail.com or gabijiu@gmail.com”.
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