Robert gets finish in the final. Photo: Carlos Ozório.
It’s no news that the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas has the goods when it comes to Jiu-Jitsu. Further proof of it came at the World Pro qualifiers in Natal, Brazil. The under-83 kg division counted submission savants like Eduardo Telles, Adriano Silva, and Nilson Ricardo, but the one who took it was Roberto “Pato” Fonseca.
The Robert Drysdale team representative defeated three opponents, among them Barbosa’s Adriano Silva, and Nilson Ricardo – via submission in the final –, who was in the absolute final at the Brazilian No-Gi Nationals.
“All my opponents were tough, out of this world, and they gave it their all. I trained hard and this was the result of my hard work,” he says in analysis.
Atop the podium. Photo: Carlos Ozório.
The effort paid off. Competing in Natal is no easy talk.
“It’s always rough leaving Manaus. Even here, which is a lot closer, it was almost impossible. My teammates managed a discount ticket and I had to shell out a thousand reais from my pocket to compete. Thank God it was worth it and I managed to win,” he tells GRACIEMAG.com.
With his ticket to the World Pro secured, Pato has lofty dreams.
“It still hasn’t hit me, I’ll only believe it when I’m in Abu Dhabi! Calasans beware, I’m a-coming!” he says, issuing a warning to the current champion of the event at weight and open weight.