Line to weigh in / Photo: Carlos Ozório
The race taking hundreds of Jiu-Jitsu competitors to Abu Dhabi for the World Pro is underway. This Friday five hundred athletes made their way to event organizer Fabio Holanda’s academy in Natal, Brazil, to weigh in for the first of the tryouts for the event. The qualifying tournament begins this Saturday and the finals and entire absolute contest will be held on Sunday. Fabio Holanda also organizes the qualifiers in the Brazilian state of Amazonas and in Montreal, Canada.
Fabio Holanda and UFC fighter Ronny Markes / Photo: Carlos Ozório
A number of stalwart competitors will be sporting a gi to try their luck, including UFC fighter Ronny Markes. Besides the athletes from the Brazilian northeast, like winner of the 2010 installment of the event Antonio Carlos “Cara de Sapato” and Caio Alencar, there will be those flying up from the Southeast and down from the North, as well, like Manaus native Marcos Alexandre “Capitão”, who last Wednesday won his fight at MMA event Amazon Forest, and São Paulo native Isaque Paiva and a number of others.
GRACIEMAG.com is in Natal to report on the event.
Isaque Paiva recovers weight after weighing in. Photo: Carlos Ozório.