José Junior on bottom in battle with Xande Ribeiro in Abu Dhabi, losing 5-2
(ByWesley Cavalcante)
Following a solid showing at the World Pro in and out of the gi, when he overcame the likes of Lúcio Lagarto, Rafael Lovato and Gilbert Durinho, this week heavyweight José Junior’s participation in the next ADCC was confirmed by the event’s promoters.
“The Scientist”, as he is known in Jiu-Jitsu circles, is 25 and lives in Abu Dhabi, where he works for Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s project teaching Jiu-Jitsu at schools around the UAE capital.
Before representing Emirates Team in the over-99 kg division at the September ADCC in Nottingham, England, the “Scientist” will make the most of some vacation time away from the Emirates by training hard with Roberto Gordo in Rio de Janeiro.
“Here in Abu Dhabi I have a lot of daily training, but as the teachers will be going on holiday, I’m going to take the chance to visit Brazil and put in some serious prep work at Gracie Fusion,” said the fighter, who will have opposite him on the mat beasts like Fabricio Werdum, Jeff Monson, Roberto Cyborg and Braga Neto. “I’m not going to England just to make things hard on people, I want to be champion,” warns the heavyweight, sporting the classic pair of glasses that gave rise to his nickname.
