Road To Black Belt Absolute Gold: Victor Hugo Turns The Tide
Road To Black Belt Absolute Gold: Victor Hugo Turns The Tide
Victor Hugo dug down deep to overcome adversity on his route to black belt absolute gold.
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Four months ago, Victor Hugo was a freshly promoted black belt and a last-minute entrant to the IBJJF No-Gi Heavyweight Grand Prix.
His opening match was against the legendary Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu, and while the Ribeiro jiu-Jjtsu athlete demonstrated strong potential, the match was one-way traffic for the veteran competitor.
The pair met for the second time in the ultra-heavyweight semifinal; it was a razor-thin match that saw Cyborg take the lead after Hugo was penalized for going out of bounds during a scramble — again, Hugo’s dreams of gold were dashed.
Victor Hugo vs Roberto 'Cyborg' Abreu - Ultra Heavyweight Semi-Final
But Hugo did not shrink from the challenge. He stepped up to face Abreu for the second time on the same day for the no-gi world championship black belt absolute title, and this time he didn’t let points factor into the equation.
Hugo pulled guard instantly, spun beath Cyborg’s legs with a kiss of a dragon and finished the Fight Sports leader with a fierce kneebar in less than two minutes, earning him his first black belt world title.
Watch Victor Hugo's Road To Gold In Its Entirety Below
- Round 1: Victor Hugo vs Manual Ribamar
- Round 2: Victor Hugo vs Aaron ‘Tex’ Johnson
- Round 3: Victor Hugo vs Vinicius ‘Trator’ Ferreira
- Semi-Final: Victor Hugo vs Marcelo Gomide
- Final: Victor Hugo vs Roberto ‘Cyborg’ Abreu