How Matheus Diniz Flips The Switch From Mr Nice Guy To Intense Competitor

Marcelo Garcia-Alliance black belt Matheus Diniz is one of the most intense competitors in the middle heavyweight division, but can often be found laughing and joking off the mat – sometimes, even between matches! In this interview, filmed in New York at Marcelo Garcia's gym between training sessions, Diniz explains how he flips that switch and what he's got planned for 2016. 

You’re coming off your first year at black belt – how would you assess 2015? 

I’m the type of person that  I don’t look too much to the past. I thought it was a good year, it wasn’t what I wanted. I had some really good accomplishments in 2015, but it wasn’t what I was looking for. 

Now I’m looking forward to 2016, I’m more mature in the black belt, I’m not desperate like I was when I just got my black belt. My mind is getting better every day, after every tournament. You have to be very precise,  you have to have a very good game. 

But I will always fight for the submission, I want to entertain the public and to go forward. But now I believe this year I’m ready, it’s going to be much, much better. 



You’re an intense competitor, but I saw you joking around with the guys – how do you flip that switch? 

When I compete, I believe that you don’t want to go and put too much pressure on yourself. But I want to win. So when I compete I try to have as much fun as possible, I try to do my best and I want to win, but at the same time I want to enjoy it. 

I don’t get angry when I fight, I’m just focussed. And when I see my friends we always joke around and we’re always playing. When you’re competing it’s natural, my mind says ‘OK now we’re fighting’. 

Every time I go to compete, whichever tournament, it doesn’t matter, weeks before I’m already starting to focus. I’m not just focussed at that time, I focus weeks before. If you just focus on competing you go a bit crazy, so you have to joke around with your friends, the people you love. 

Even sometimes my opponents, I’m really close friends with some of them from Brazil, but when you get on the mat it’s business. Like Marcelo says, it’s like a job interview. You go there and you want to get a job! But I’m always playing around with my friends. 

What’s the vibe in the room here at the Marcelo Garcia Academy? 

From what I see here, everybody wants to help each other. That’s a very important thing. For me, I believe if my partner is getting better, I’m going to get better. Why wouldn’t I give everything to help them? 

The environment here is the same thing, everybody is really good friends. We have lunch every day, we spend the weekend together. It’s like a family. My family is in Brazil, but it’s like my family. They’re my best friends. We’re all very close. 

We’re not just trying to help each other here, we’re trying to help each other in life. That makes everything easier, we’re really close friends.