Marcio Andre is one of the most successful athletes of his generation, whether talking about in the gi or no-gi. Marcio is a 2016 No-Gi Worlds champion and has won Europeans three times in the gi to go with two silver medals from Worlds. He has wins in his career over athletes such as Rubens Charles "Cobrinha," Paulo Miyao, Gianni Grippo, Isaac Doederlein, and Leo Saggioro.

Marcio has always been one of the most game competitors out there, regularly switching weight classes, rulesets and showing up at major tournaments all over the world ready to compete. The Nova Uniao representative, originally from Bangu in Rio de Janeiro, is now based out of Arizona where he operates his own academy.

Next up for Marcio is a no-gi submission-only superfight with rising star Dante Leon at GrappleFest 7. Leon has been on a tear this year, beating Lucas Lepri at ADCC and submitting Edwin Najmi and Isaque Bahiense. A scrappy fighter who thrives on scrambles and capitalizing on his opponents' mistakes, Dante is dangerous. Marcio is ready for the challenge, and welcomes the opportunity for any kind of no-gi superfight.

"My style doesn't change too much in no-gi. I just try to be a little more tight, maybe more wrestling and top game. I think I'm complete all around in gi or no-gi. I think submission-only rules is the challenge for me. My entire career I trained for points competitions, but I have been training for sub only for a long time now. Doing specific training to improve my submissions. Adjusting to new rules is hard, but I'm fighting more submission only fights and I want to always be aggressive."

Marcio will be giving up a little size against Dante — the weight limit is 85kg — as he is currently only weighing 76kg. He took the fight on late notice but is looking forward to testing himself against one of the top no-gi grapplers in the game today.

"Looking at his game, he has very good back takes. Has a great guillotine. He has a very good guard, but it is not impossible to pass. His best attacks are back takes and guillotines — he does not miss. I think I can pass his guard, sweep him, take him down. I just can't make mistakes, because when Dante gets an opportunity he does not miss."

Watch: Marcio Andre Defeats AJ Agazarm At No-Gi Worlds

Marcio is looking forward to more no-gi and submission-only opportunities in the future, while not leaving behind the IBJJF scene that he made his name from. He plans to compete at the IBJJF No-Gi Worlds in September but is always open to offers for exciting fights. He stepped in for this one on only a couple weeks' notice and nearly 20 pounds heavier than his walking around weight; Marcio just wants to compete as much as he can and against the best in the world.

"I was already training for no-gi worlds when I took this fight, plus I trained with Tanquinho a lot to help him in his ADCC camp. Gi season comes in January, but I'm always ready for superfights. If Fight 2 Win or someone calls me I'm ready. I just want to fight."

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