Brendan, Gordinho, Roberto Gordo and Amal / Photo: personal archive
The man to stand opposite Rodrigo Minotauro at the upcoming August 27 UFC Rio event, Brendan Schaub knows he’s going to have one of the best Jiu-Jitsu representatives ever to fight MMA ahead of him. Even so, the American isn’t overwhelmed.
“I feel Jiu-Jitsu is one of the most important weapons in the UFC,” Brendan told GRACIEMAG.com in an interview.
“I’m prepared for the worst of situations. I work on Jiu-Jitsu with Amal Easton and train with athletes like Shane Carwin, Nate Marquardt and Eliot Marshal among others. They are guys who put me in the worst positions and help me avoid sticky situations.”
From his statements at the UFC press conference, he hasn’t changed his mind. Brendan reaffirmed that he loves training Jiu-Jitsu. Alongside our GMA Amal Easton, a Renzo Gracie black belt, Schaub even trains in the gi. That’s just what the purple belt did on a visit to Gordo Evolve academy, where he’s keeping up his training routine while in Rio de Janeiro.
“That beast is here training with us. He’ll stay another week and then come back ten days before his fight with Minotauro for his final preparations,” reports Rafael Gordinho.
Amal, Brendan’s coach, has faith in the athlete’s ground game against any UFC fighter.
“Brendan was a professional American football player, and that’s no joke. He’s blessed with talent and extraordinary genetics. We always put on the gi, we love Jiu-Jitsu. Jiu-Jitsu is for everybody,” he says.
