MMA coach Gilbert Durinho wins a NAGA belt for the first time. Personal archive photo.
A Jiu-Jitsu world champion and MMA coach, Gilbert Durinho (4w, 0l) decided to get back to competing last weekend in Dallas, Texas.
The grappling coach to Vitor Belfort held a seminar in the US city, but when he found out there was a NAGA no-gi event going on, he just had to get in on it.
“The Jiu-Jitsu spirit overcame me, and I couldn’t just watch from the sidelines, so I went and signed up and ended up winning the No-Gi competition. I got tapouts in both the matches I was in and took the belt,” he told GRACIEMAG.com.
In the first match, I managed to get a good points lead with two takedowns, a guard pass and a Kimura attempt. I made the most of the opening to go for mount. The opponent bridged, but I held on to the Kimura. I finished him from closed guard,” Durinho explained. “In the final I got the takedown and took his back—my favorite. But what I actually did was a “monkey jump” (laughs). I managed to keep the pressure on the hold, stuck in my hooks and finished via rear-naked choke,” he added.
“The position comes up a lot in No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu and MMA. The trick is to get a good hold from behind—one hand over the shoulder and the other under the arm. The important part is to not give him room to escape. I like putting my chin on his shoulder, which helps make the hold tighter. Vitor [Belfort] is way slick; he never loses back control anymore. If you mess up against our team, we’ll end up on your back,” he said jokingly.
