Matheus Gabriel finishes 3 at Houston Open, and gets pumped for the 2022 Worlds

Matheus Gabriel is a Jiu-Jitsu World champion. Photo: Milena Maldonado/GracieMagazine

Matheus Gabriel, 25, returned to the fighting style that fans are used to seeing from him. Last weekend in Houston, Texas, the Checkmat black belt dominated the Houston Open lightweight by submitting in three fights. In the dispute for the gold, Matheus took down Fabricio Barbarotti (Cícero Costha).

Matheus has regained the happiness of being able to work without feeling pain and concluded that he has recovered from his shoulder injury, which made him stay out of competitions for long months.

“It was a serious injury… so I was really worried about being out of competition. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to fight anymore. God guided me, healed me, and because of the physical therapy, I didn’t need to have surgery. It was a sad moment in my career, but nothing better than winning again, by submission no less, which is what I like the most!”, highlights Matheus.

From the moments without being able to compete and train at a high level, the world champion recalls the lessons he learned while crossing the desert.

“What I learned in that time was to have a little more patience and control over my decisions. For a while, I acted on impulse and, in that period, I started to think more before acting and deciding something. During that time away from training, I worked a lot on my mind and started to methodically study Jiu-Jitsu. The hardest part was not being able to train, watching the other guys compete while I couldn’t. I just kept thinking about how I wanted to be competing and fulfilling the goals I planned, but it didn’t happen the way I wanted”, says the Checkmat athlete.

Matheus is currently at camp at Checkmat, California, and continues to train daily with Professor Lucas Leite.

“I already managed to train a bit with the master. It’s always nice to get a beating from him. I learn a lot from him, he is a person I will take with me for the rest of my life. He is a teacher and friend for life”, concludes Matheus.

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