With the packing done before his flight back to Brazil Royler Gracie talked to ADCC news about his victory over Koji Yoshida in the Hero’s Grand Prix opening round, held last Tuesday in Japan. ‘We started a little slow at the beginning of the fight. I don’t know if we weren’t warmed up enough, but eventually I went forward to clinch with him. I fell over with him but nothing happened. The referee told us to get back on our feet and after the second clinch he ended up in my guard and we stayed that way until the end of the first round’ analyzes Royler. According to the Gracie Humaita black belt, he found the way to victory during the second round. ‘In the second round, I went for a knee lock. After that, we started to look for the best positioning and I managed to get on top of him, ending in the half guard position. I mounted him and he was kind of offering me his arm. I don’t really know if he was desperate, or if it was a fighting tactic, but by the end of the round, I got at his back. My hand almost reached his neck but I did not have enough time. The victory came via unanimous decision’ Royler recounts. Before getting on the road to the airport, Royler said he has no idea who might be his opponent in the GP’s next round. He als0 described his cousin Rodrigo Gracie‘s victory as similar to his, with Rodrigo dominating Kiuma Kunioku, who tried to avoid the ground fight. For his final words, Royler talked about his countryman Alexandre ‘Pequeno’ Nogueira‘s elimination from the GP by Japanese fighter Hideo Tokoro. ‘He was hit by a strong punch, but he seemed to be able to keep fighting. The referee stopped the fight immediately. I found it a little odd, and thought that maybe the fight could have gone on a little longer’ ends Royler.
