One Week Apart, Alan 'Finfou' Wins 3 Gold Medals In San Francisco, Rio
One Week Apart, Alan 'Finfou' Wins 3 Gold Medals In San Francisco, Rio
Checkmat's Alan 'Finfou' Nascimento has been stacking up gold medals this month. On November 5-6 he traveled to California to compete in the IBJJF No-Gi Worlds, winning both the medium heavy (master 1 division) and the absolute to take home double gold.
Checkmat's Alan "Finfou" Nascimento has been stacking up gold medals this month. On November 5-6, he traveled to California to compete in the IBJJF No-Gi Worlds, winning both the medium heavy (master 1 division) and the absolute to take home double gold.
A week later, he was back in his hometown of Rio de Janeiro, where he won gold at the UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Rio de Janeiro in the -85kg master 1 division (gi).
Despite his success at Worlds, Finfou decided not to compete in the no-gi division.
"There was no prize money," Nascimento said. "Plus, I knew I was only going to spend a little bit of time in Rio, so I wanted to make the most of it."
Watch: Alan Nascimento's finals matches from IBJJF No-Gi Worlds and UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Rio de Janeiro
• Alan Nascimento vs Richie Martinez IBJJF No-Gi Worlds medium heavyweight Masters 1 final
• Alan Nasicmento vs Felipe Bobrick IBJJF No-Gi Worlds absolute Masters 1 final
• Alan Nasicmento vs Victor Bomfim UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Rio de Janeiro -85kg Masters 1 final
Nascimento lives in Sweden where he teaches and trains out of Allstar BJJ. He is also a grappling coach for UFC fighter Alexander Gustassfon.
The hassle of traveling and dealing with different time zones may have deterred many athletes from back-to-back competitions, but Finfou had his reasons.
"I had one more ticket to use from the contract with my sponsors, so I decided to fight at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam in Rio, and I took advantage of the tournament to also get an opportunity to see my family," he said.
Right now, the champion has no further competitions scheduled. After helping Gustassfon prepare for his fight in UFC Stockholm on September 3 and then going through his own fight camp for No-Gi Worlds, Nascimento said its time to take a break and focus on his students.
A European silver medalist in Lisbon, Portugal, in January, Nascimento has opted not to compete in the 2017 IBJJF Europeans so that he can spend time with his family and help coach his students from Allstar BJJ during the tournament.
A week later, he was back in his hometown of Rio de Janeiro, where he won gold at the UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Rio de Janeiro in the -85kg master 1 division (gi).
Despite his success at Worlds, Finfou decided not to compete in the no-gi division.
"There was no prize money," Nascimento said. "Plus, I knew I was only going to spend a little bit of time in Rio, so I wanted to make the most of it."
Watch: Alan Nascimento's finals matches from IBJJF No-Gi Worlds and UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Rio de Janeiro
• Alan Nascimento vs Richie Martinez IBJJF No-Gi Worlds medium heavyweight Masters 1 final
• Alan Nasicmento vs Felipe Bobrick IBJJF No-Gi Worlds absolute Masters 1 final
• Alan Nasicmento vs Victor Bomfim UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Rio de Janeiro -85kg Masters 1 final
Nascimento lives in Sweden where he teaches and trains out of Allstar BJJ. He is also a grappling coach for UFC fighter Alexander Gustassfon. The hassle of traveling and dealing with different time zones may have deterred many athletes from back-to-back competitions, but Finfou had his reasons.
"I had one more ticket to use from the contract with my sponsors, so I decided to fight at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam in Rio, and I took advantage of the tournament to also get an opportunity to see my family," he said.
Right now, the champion has no further competitions scheduled. After helping Gustassfon prepare for his fight in UFC Stockholm on September 3 and then going through his own fight camp for No-Gi Worlds, Nascimento said its time to take a break and focus on his students.
A European silver medalist in Lisbon, Portugal, in January, Nascimento has opted not to compete in the 2017 IBJJF Europeans so that he can spend time with his family and help coach his students from Allstar BJJ during the tournament.