Braulio Estima joins Blackzilians
Deerfield Beach, Fla. – Authentic Sports Management (ASM) today announced that it has added grappling champion Braulio Estima to its world class stable of fighters. A native of Brazil, Estima runs the Gracie Barra School in Birmingham, England, and holds his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He was the 2009 Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) 88-kilogram and Absolute division champion, cementing his status as one of the world’s best grapplers. Estima is now looking to train with the Blackzilians and move on to the competitive stage of MMA.
“I am pleased to sign with Authentic Sports Management and to be working with Glenn Robinson, a genuine person and real businessman who puts the interest of his athletes first,” said Estima. “I’m very proud to be part of the Blackzilians – it is a high level team with great guys who I respect a lot. Rashad Evans is a good friend of mine for a long time, and I’m excited to start training and eventually step into the cage as an MMA middleweight.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Braulio Estima and his world class Jiu-Jitsu skills to Authentic Sports Management,” said Glenn Robinson, President, Authentic Sports Management. “He is a valuable addition to the Blackzilians and we can’t wait to get started with him in mixed martial arts training.”
Braulio Estima was born in 1980 in Brazil. A martial arts enthusiast from early on, his first experience with grappling was with judo in 1989 at only 9 years old. In 1996, Braulio started his training at the Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Gracie Barra. At 16 years old, and with only a month of training, Estima won his first competition as a white belt, the first of what would turn out to be a very successful grappling career. In less than one year in jiu-jitsu, he had won five major titles, following which he was promoted to blue belt.
Estima is now considered one of the world’s very best grapplers. The head instructor and owner of the Gracie Barra Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Birmingham, England, Estima currently trains alongside UFC/Pride veteran Renzo Gracie. His submission competition achievements include winning the CBJJ World Championship in 2004, 2006, and 2009, the Absolute World Cup Championship in 2006, the European CBJJ Absolute Championships in 2006 and 2009, as well as being the ADCC 2007 silver medalist. At ADCC 2009, Estima won both the under-88 kg and Absolute division championships, defeating Strikeforce/Dream veteran Andre Galvao and Sengoku veteran Xande Ribeiro in the respective finals. He also won ACDD Super Fight in September 2011 against Ronaldo Jacare, former Strikeforce Champion.
Labeled the breakout star of the 2009 Abu Dhabi Combat Club tournament, the 6’3″, 190-pounder shocked the grappling community by submitting submission legend Marcelo Garcia, in addition to defeating Galvao and Ribiero, on his way to the under-88 kg and Absolute division championships. Winning both divisions is something of a dream for any grappler. Now, Estima will look to make a big a splash in the cage as he did on the grappling mats.
Braulio Estima joins “Suga” Rashad Evans, Kenny Florian, Anthony Johnson, Cosmo Alexandre, Eddie Alvarez, JZ Cavalcante, Melvin Guillard, Guto Inocente, Ryan LaFlare, Michael Johnson, Roy Jones, Jr, Fabio Mello, Matt Mitrione, Ednaldo Oliveira, Claude Patrick, Jorge Santiago, Jake Shields, Antonio Silva, Tyrone Spong, Miguel Torres, Abel Trujillo, Danillo Villefort and Yuri Villefort. The Blackzilian team of coaches includes: Head Coach Mike Van Arsdale, Striking Coach Henri Hooft, and ground coach Flavius Silva.
