Michel Langhi (right) celebrates with beasts like Bruno Malfacine and brother Michael. Photo: Ivan Trindade.
GRACIEMAG.com fearlessly put its chips on Michel Langhi to be one of the standouts of the 2011 season. The brown belt lived up to the billing. Slowly but surely, Little Langhi is getting out from his older brother Michael’s shadow and making a name for himself in competition Jiu-Jitsu. At this season’s Worlds the Alliance rep got the finish in every single one of his matches in the featherweight division.
“I had four matches and closed out the final with Macarrão (Jonathan Thomas). We closed out this year’s Pan and the Pan and Worlds in 2009. I got the tapout in every one of my matches. The first was an armbar, the second and third were chokes, and the fourth was a footlock. I managed to push the pace, thank God,” he recounts.
The fighter already won two world titles at blue belt, on at purple, and now he’s come up with another at brown. Will there be time for him to get another at his current rank, or is there a black belt looming in his near future?
“I don’t know if black is coming up, but I’m not at all concerned about that. I’m going to keep plugging away in training so I’ll be prepared to hold my own when it does come. That’s what matters. My dream is to become a world champion at black belt and I feel that’s every fighter’s dream. It’s at black belt that every meets up and there’s nowhere to run. Any mistake is deadly, they’ll get you.”
Keen to the possibilities, Little Langhi was attentive to the contest at the highest rank, and he liked what he saw.
“Starting with the quarterfinals, all the matches were worth watching. They’re great athletes, all of them with what it takes to be champion. I watched on and really enjoyed the competition, it was real cool,” he says in finishing.
And for all the background and nitty-gritty from the event, head over to the GRACIEMAG at the Worlds Blog now.
