Rodolfo puts away his gi and thinks of beating Lister, Buchecha in China

Rodolfo Vieira subs Lucas Leite in the 2013 Worlds’ heavyweight final. Photo: Ivan Trindade

Gi season has reached its midpoint for some of Jiu-Jitsu’s biggest stars. After the 2013 Worlds, held this month in Long Beach, California, Rodolfo Vieira got some much needed rest. He got gold in his division and silver in the open, where he was stopped by none other than Marcus Buchecha (CheckMat).

“After our World Championship encounter I have done nothing but rest. I even fought in Metamoris Pro, but mostly I just rested. I did nothing, no seminars even. I’ve just been trying to relax. I’ll for sure give enough seminars when I get to Europe,” he told GRACIEMAG.

Even without the absolute title, Rodolfo secured a ticket to compete in the 99kg division of ADCC, which is scheduled for October 18-19 in Beijing.

“I went back to training yesterday. I put away all of my gis, now I’m all about the spandex shorts [laughs]. After the ADCC, I’m only fighting again next year – I’ll take that rest I deserve,” said the GFTeam black belt.

Vieira has no good memories regarding ADCC 2011, as he was submitted via knee bar in the quarterfinals by Dean Lister. The Júlio Cesar pupil talked to us about that duel and gave his forecast for a possible rematch.

“I believe I erred in the training,” he said. “I got to England knowing it would be a tough division. For every tournament I enter, I’m used to fighting the same way I fought the Worlds – not leaving anything to chance. If I lose it won’t be because of lack of practice or cardio. Last ADCC, I was already performing a little badly because I hadn’t done proper training, but it turned out great. I got to the quarterfinals and lost to eventual champion Dean Lister. I don’t think anyone expected that; the guy got there and kicked everyone’s ass. He fought amazingly well and he earned it.

“This year he’s in my division again, so we’ll see. I’m already dedicating myself. I went back to training yesterday very slowly. This week is for the transition. I’ll prepare myself and get to China in tip-top shape.”

With a nearly perfect World Championship in Long Beach, Vieira was able to absorb a few lessons.

“Apart from the loss to Buchecha, I think it was perfect,” he explained. “I won at my weight and got submissions in all but one of my open class bouts. I didn’t give up a single point in my division. It was great. A shame I didn’t win the open, but it wasn’t meant to be. On to the next one, let’s train even more.”

Rodolfo may have the opportunity of avenging his loss to Buchecha in the ADCC’s absolute class.

“It’ll be weird to fight Buchecha over there. We’ve never fought without our gis. But it’s gonna be a great fight anyway. With Dean Lister as well – they’re both gonna be tremendous bouts,” he concluded.