Whether on his feet or on the mat, Yuri Simoes has made it clear he has an explosive game with every match.

In 2015, the black belt secured gold at the ADCC World Championships in the 88kg division by going through every opponent in front of him -- either out-grappling them from on top or on bottom.

Two years later, Simoes is returning for another chance to win gold at ADCC but at a new division. This time he is entered to compete at -99kg for the ADCC 2017 World Championships on Sep 23-24 in Espoo, Finland. 

"For sure I like challenges, but also wanted to come in without that unnecessary worry of having to lose weight or dehydrate my body the week of the tournament, as I needed to do at the last ADCC," he said.

A week out from one of biggest events of the year, Simoes opened up on how he feels at the stage. 

"I feel calm and prepared. I know how much I trained, and for me this is most important," Simoes said. "The unpredictable never shook me. My victories have taught me that anything can happen in a fight, that I am my biggest opponent and how important it is to to understand this for me." 


​Yuri Simoes vs Keenan Cornelius in the final of the 88kg division of the ADCC 2015 World Championships. Photo: Hywel Teague

Simoes took the opportunity to tease how he's worked on assimilating the art of wrestling takedowns into his game, some of his strongest weapons. 

I'm always trying to be innovative in my training but also try to work as specific as possible but in different situations, positions, and styles, and stand-up is just a part of that. I try to train and evolve in all aspects of jiu-jitsu and not just in a specific game.

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