João Gabriel works on passing Lucas Lepri’s guard. Beatriz Lina.
The ultra-heavyweight champion of the 2017 Pan, João Gabriel Rocha (Soul Fighters), displayed a tight game alongside plenty of tenacity.
To reach the title this month in California, João used the top game extensively, with strong passes that broke some of the toughest guards around — like Lucas Lepri’s in a quarterfinal of the open division.
To give you a taste of the type of pressure we’re talking about, we asked João for a private session focusing on his tightest pass from the event. He explained the most important details to help you reach the side safely, which you can see in the following video. Enjoy.
