By Michael Sears | In an age when strategies are getting more and more complicated, Rudson Mateus Sarmento Teles is a curious case to study. 

If you watched most of his brown belt matches, there is a good chance you only saw him in one of two positions: closed guard or the mount. 

Utilizing an old-school closed guard game and an arsenal of sweeps many would consider basic, Mateus had a phenomenal 2017, winning double gold at Worlds and Pans before rounding out the year by getting his black belt from Caio Terra.

Next week in Lisbon, Portugal, Mateus will make his IBJJF competition debut at black belt as he vies for the medium-heavy division title at the 2018 European Championship, streaming LIVE on FloGrappling.

Mateus' game may be basic — you could even say predictable — but the fact that his brown belt opponents knew what was coming did not make a difference in 2017. One by one, the biggest names in the category fell to him, many of them giving up six points to the same closed guard sweep to mount.

When Mateus does get dragged into a more new-school position, he has shown himself more than capable to adapt. Needless to say, opponents might want to think twice before playing 50-50 guard against him. Just this year he submitted Fellipe Andrew, Michael Perez, and Flavio Junqueira with the same armlock from 50-50.

"Of course I want to win, and I will work for this to happen.”

Though competing at black belt is a new challenge, Mateus has proven himself beyond all doubt at the lower belts as a four-time world champion, three-time Pan champ, two-time Europeans winner, five-time Brasileiro champ, and two-time gold medalist at the Abu Dhabi World Pro.

The brown belt open class world champion is certainly expected to succeed at the next level. In recent years Paulo Miyao, Erberth Santos and Nicholas Meregali have claimed that title and gone on to quickly become black belt IBJJF world champions.

“It’s going to be different because I’ll have to compete against people that I’m a huge fan of, but it will not influence me," he said. "Of course I want to win, and I will work for this to happen.”

Rudson Mateus on the attack at the 2017 World Championships. Photo: Chase Smith / FloGrappling

Originally from the city of Manacapuru, Brazil, (population 90,000) not far from Manaus in the state of Amazonas, the 22-year-old Mateus began training in jiu-jitsu when he was 9 years old. At age 15, Mateus moved to Rio de Janeiro, mainly because the city had larger competitions and more opportunities for his jiu-jitsu to develop. 

While his generation was obsessing over new-school concepts like the berimbolo or lapel guard, Mateus was drawn to more traditional methods. 

“I always liked the old style," he said. "Closed guard, sweeps and simple passes. I even tried to get used to the new school, but it didn’t fit me. ... I remember when I started to train jiu-jitsu, I did the same movement 300 times. Arm lock from guard, sweeps, passes, hip escapes, and regaining guard. It was all very simple."

Rudson had discovered the game he liked and stuck with it, perfecting a series of closed guard attacks he so brilliantly put on display in 2017. 

“Of course, with time and experience, I was able to develop some techniques and perfect my movements,” he said.

A conversation with legend Caio Terra at the 2015 European Championship in Portugal changed Mateus' life entirely, after Terra made an offer for Mateus to come train at his gym in San Jose, California.

Mateus returned to Brazil and pondered the opportunity presented by Terra. After just one month, Mateus decided to relocate to San Jose, and he has lived there ever since.

“Training with Caio influenced me to see jiu-jitsu in another way, smoother than I thought it should be," Mateus said. "I could see how weight and size are not everything.”