This week’s
match is Otavio Sousa vs. Josh Barnett from the 2009 California Classic. Yes,
you did here that correctly, I said Josh Barnett! And just to make it a little
bit more surreal, this match takes place in the Gi. The finish may also be
a surprise for you; I know it definitely was for me.
For those of you
who don't know, Josh Barnett is a big name in the
heavyweight division of the UFC, and MMA as a whole. I first
heard of Josh when he beat Randy Couture for the UFC heavyweight title only
to be striped of the title later due to testing positive for a banned
substance. Anyway, we are not here to talk about that.
Josh has a very
good wrestling background and prior to 2009 never competed in a BJJ
competition, as far as I know. Although it must be said, he did win the ultra-heavyweight
black belt division at the 2009 NoGi world championships, which is
pretty impressive. Josh trains under the legendary Erik Paulson (If you don't
know who he is, please click HERE) and is an 'honorary' black belt under him.
He is also a black belt under Rigan Machado, so does that mean he has two black
belts? I don't really get how that works. But anyway, Josh is an excellent
grappler in his own right, and recently has accepted a submission only
match against Dean Lister at Metamoris 4.
Josh Barnett |
If you follow Jiu-Jitsu, I'm pretty sure you would have heard of Otavio Sousa. He is a black belt under Carlos Gracie Jr, and a student of José Olímpio, better known as “Zé Radiola”. He is a two time world champion (2012, 2013) at the black belt level, and is also known for his long term rivalry with Kron Gracie, the son of Rickson Gracie.
Otavio is a very exciting fighter to watch. He likes to keep
the pace of the match very high and always hunts for the submission. Throughout
his matches, you will see Otavio use his very active
and aggressive guard to set up multiple sweep and submission
attempts, this is something you will see constantly throughout this video and
makes it no easy task for Josh to use his size and strength to his
advantage.
Otavio Sousa Source: GracieMag |
The video of this match can be found below. I hope you guys enjoy!
See you next week!
(If you
are viewing on a mobile device, please click HERE)
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