Lucas “Hulk” Barbosa talks second No-Gi Worlds title

Hulk nabbed his second no-gi championship. Léo Bandeira

For a second straight year, Atos star Lucas “Hulk” Barbosa claimed the title of no-gi BJJ world champion. This came to pass Nov. 6 in Daly City, Calif. In the heavyweight final, Lucas beat Vitor Oliveira (GFTeam) by just one advantage, adding to his 2015 victory at medium heavyweight.

“Vitor Oliveira is a tough athlete, and I respect his BJJ,” Lucas told Graciemag.com this week. “It was a tense fight where I couldn’t afford to err. I went in determined to win and, thank God, everything worked out. I think what set me apart in the championship was that I tried to work more on my weak points, approximate my techniques both on top and on the bottom. It made all the difference when it was time to fight. I got into some risky positions, but I kept cool and managed to win.”

Hulk walked us through his biggest scare: “There was a fight where the adversary tried to pass my guard, and I got on all fours, and soon afterwards he did the seatbelt, without the hooks, and didn’t score. I breathed, adjusted myself and was able to put him in the 50/50. From there I worked well and finished the adversary on the foot. I did three fights — I won two by submission and the other by the advantage.”

Lucas also revealed that he had problems that almost made him give up on fighting on the week of the competition: “It was the championship of tenacity. I really was not feeling very confident. I went some time without training, due to a series of injuries. It was a complicated camp for me. Thanks to Professor André Galvão, who motivated me from start to finish, I was able to go there and win.”