San Diego Open champ Lucas Hulk on his momentum going into the Worlds

Lucas looks to give Atos Jiu-Jitsu some precious points. Vitor Freitas

Lucas Barbosa is ready to compete in another edition of the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, set to begin May 31st in Long Beach, Calif. Recently he had a dominant showing at the San Diego Open, beating the medium heavyweight field and then closing out the absolute division with his teacher André Galvão.

In the semifinal prior to that, Hulk used his powers to beat Horlando Monteiro (Nova União) on points. “I fought one of the toughest guys in the division, which is Horlando,” Barbosa said of the match. “He is a world champion and has a history in the colored belts. I knew it was not going to be an easy fight, so I showed a different strategy and came out with the win, thank God.”

Barbosa added: “Soon after that I closed it out with my teacher. The feeling is amazing. Galvão, as well as a teacher, is an idol. It was a dream to have closed out the division with him, and I hope it is the first of many.”

A two-time IBJJF no-gi world champion, Barbosa is still after his first world title in the gi. The medium heavyweight said of his chances this year: “I continue to be very focused. The bracket is very tough, and I think it is the hardest division of the World Championship outside the absolute. So every fight is going to be a World Championship final. I will continue with my hard work and positive thinking.”

He went on: “I train everything, both doing guard and passing, and that has been being reflected in my recent performances. In truth, I think the no-gi world title carries a weight. People respect black-belt no-gi champions. Even without the gi, it’s still BJJ. I, of course, have my no-gi skills that I can use in the gi, and experience also makes a great difference. I’m pretty pumped for the championship and will do my best to become champion.”

Barbosa also won at Five Grappling and bagged double gold at the Las Vegas Open recently.

[Based of a press release.]