Inside The Mind Of Leandro Lo: No Strategy, Just Flow

Super star of the current generation, five-time World champion Leandro Lo is at the peak of his career. This season, Leandro collected double gold medals in major tournaments across the world and placed #1 in the IBJJF 2016-2017 ranking.

May 23, 2017 by Vitor Freitas

Inside The Mind Of Leandro Lo: No Strategy, Just Flow

As a superstar of the current generation, five-time world champion Leandro Lo is at the peak of his career. This season, Lo collected double gold medals in major tournaments across the world and placed No. 1 in the IBJJF 2016-17 ranking.

So far, he's the only person who has done the double Grand Slam -- gold medals in his weight category and the absolute division in the four big IBJJF tournaments: the Euros, Pans, Brazilian Nationals, and Worlds.

Simply put, Leandro Lo is the guy to beat.

Heading into next week's IBJJF 2017 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, Lo is looking for his sixth IBJJF World title but his first gold medal in the absolute division, and it's a goal he will have his sights firmly set on in Long Beach, CA, on June 1-4.

"Absolute is a title that I have been pursuing for some time. I've always studied the games of the heavier fighters, I know them all. I was much lighter the other times I fought in the absolute. I felt my strength would go right in the middle of the match, and I could only use technique," Lo says.

Then I realized that I needed to get stronger and heavier if I wanted to go further in the absolute. That's what I planned for this year, and I believe that this will help me a lot in the search for gold at the Worlds.

Lo hitting the match winning toehold in the absolute final of the IBJJF 2017 Pans. Photo: Chase Smith / FloGrappling

Lo's achievements this year follow a hyper-successful 2016, although he could go so far in 2017 as to set a new high.

There has been plenty of talk about Lo's physical condition and his ascent through three weight classes. He credits the extra muscle mass as pivotal in his performance.

"I feel stronger. Since I changed my diet to move up in weight, I gained muscle mass and strength, but I feel that my jiu-jitsu stays quick," he says.

Although I'm heavier, I feel that I go with the same speed and still evolve technically. I trust my jiu-jitsu, I don't think too much about the strategy. I just enter the mat and let the fight flow.

"I think I improved exactly from the time that I stopped to see what would happen in the fight. And it's working out, right? The heavyweight category is tough, as were all the others I fought in before. Of course I now go up against stronger opponents, but competing at the Europeans, Pans and Brazilian Nationals between heavy and super heavy really helped me a lot to adapt myself to this new reality."

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Lo has faced many great heavier athletes, and he has learned from each, whether it's Rodolfo Vieira, Marcus Buchecha, or Felipe Pena.

"Each of them has a different style," Lo says. "Rodolfo is strong and has incredible gas. On top he's a nightmare. Buchecha is a very smart guy; he knows how to defend well and attack at the right time. Scoring even an advantage on him is very difficult. 'Preguica' is another guy who has a very complicated game, and he has a lot of heart, never gives up.

"I learned from them that we need to have gas, be fast, be smart in the time to fight, and -- of course -- have a lot of heart. All this, combined with a lot of training, are the cornerstones to become a great champion."

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