Rafael Haubert, Ze Mario Sperry and David Ramos graduated the Sheikh.
The United Arab Emirates just created another black belt. On Saturday, August 2, one individual caught everyone’s attention at the International Masters, which took place at the Tijuca Tennis Club during the IBJJF Rio Open.
The Masters-3 heavyweight brown belt that everyone wanted to watch was Tariq Bin Faisal, Sheikh of Sharjah. The royal, who has achieved European champion success at the brown belt level and enjoys traveling the world to fight Jiu-Jitsu, stepped into the competition in Brazil.
“I’ve come to Brazil a few times, but this was the first time I competed at the Tijuca Tennis Club; it was very special to me,” said Faisal to GRACIEMAG.com.
Only two bouts separated him from the gold medal. In the first, Tariq pulled guard, swept and caught his opponent in the triangle from the mount.
“That’s my trump card in tournaments. I train hard and enjoy doing it. It flows naturally. ”
However, in the final battle for the gold medal, Tariq applied the same guard-pull but was contained by the opponent and eventually lost on advantage points. We tried to talk to the Sheikh right after the fight, but he was disappointed with the result.
On the podium, he initially received the silver medal with little celebration, until he was surprised by his teacher, Rafael Haubert, along with Ze Mario Sperry and David Ramos, promoting him to black belt. He commented on the achievement:
“I did not expect it. I saw them coming up with the belt, and my teacher tied it around my waist. They said it is a tradition here in Brazil. I was very happy. Now, I start another phase as a competitor: new challenges, new opponents. My reactions on the mat will have to be faster. I look forward to it,” said the valiant competitor.
