With $40,000 on the line some people have doubted whether Claudio Calasans and Andre Galvao -- two childhood friends and teammates -- won't just work something out when it comes time to meet in their superfight at the 2017 ADCC in Espoo, Finland, on Sept. 24.

ADCC doesn't permit closeouts, and any competitors known to each other who are suspected of fixing a match (or just not fighting hard enough) risk getting disqualified without ceremony.

​​However, the ADCC 2015 Absolute champion Calasans has set the record straight: His match with Galvao, a fellow Atos black belt, is going to be legit.


Calasans at his family's gym in his hometown of Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil. Photo: Hywel Teague

"No, this is going to be for real," he says. "You have a lot of people who think this, but we're prepared to make history in jiu-jitsu."

"Beyond being from the same team -- that already has many stories of people not fighting -- we're prepared to make history. Independent of our friendship, independent of our team, we're going there to conquer the principal title in the world of jiu-jitsu, something that few people can do."

We're not going to split the money, nothing like that. It's just another match in the career, where one person wins and another loses. We're both going there to win and to give our best.

Calasans won the ADCC 2015 absolute division in Sao Paulo, beating Gabriel "Fedor" Lucas, Vinny Magalhaes, Yuri Simoes, and Joao Gabriel Rocha. The feat earned him the right to challenge Galvao, the defending superfight champion.

At the same event, Galvao defended his superfight title by beating Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu. Galvao became superfight champion at ADCC China in 2013 by beating Braulio Estima, a match he earned by winning the ADCC 2011 absolute division.

Calasans and Galvao will face off at the ADCC 2017 World Championships on September 24 in Espoo, Finland. Watch it LIVE or On Demand ONLY on FloGrappling

---

FloGrappling's hottest content, delivered to your inbox

Don't miss breaking news, feature stories, event updates, and more. Sign up for the FloGrappling mailing list today.