Novaes atop podium in Indiana / Photo: personal archive
A week after overcoming a game Ryan Thomas in MMA, Brazil’s Jonatas Novaes donned his gi and met with further good fortune. The black belt took to competition at the May C3 tournament in Indiana and won the absolute after beating three opponents.
“Six black belts were signed up for the absolute, and I started out facing Daniel Wanderlei, from Carlson Gracie. It was a tough match but I managed to win by 5 to 0. The second was against the experienced Henry Matamoros, and despite his age he was doing well in the match, but I managed to submit him in the final minutes with a choke from half-guard,” recounts Jonatas.
“I faced Kroyler Gracie in the final, and even with a big weight difference between us I managed to win by 4 to 3 and take home the 600-dollar prize,” he says.
The curious part is that Novaes wasn’t even going to compete, as he hadn’t been training in the gi. “I hadn’t put on a gi in over a month because of my MMA fight last week. I was there to watch my students, but I couldn’t resist – it’s in my blood. The money came at a good time, too,” said the Brasa teacher in finishing.