JitsCast #41 features the reigning Who’s Number One light-heavyweight world champion Pedro Marinho. Marinho is one of the top competitors in the world in his weight class but he’s also known for challenging himself in absolute divisions as well. He has shared the mat with most of the top competitors of his generation either by moving weight classes to face them in superfights or by entering absolute tournaments. Most recently Marinho stormed to victory in the no gi absolute grand prix at BJJ Stars 16, beating 3 elite grapplers on the same night despite being one of the lightest athletes in the bracket.
Jits Magazine spoke to Marinho about his crazy journey to the top of the BJJ world, first to find out why he pursued Jiu-Jitsu over all the other sports he played as a child. He also spoke about his first big break too, which came while he was still a colored belt. He was given the opportunity to leave the area he grew up in to join the Felipe Pena Golden Team, a project started by Pena to try to support the next generation of promising prospects. Marinho explained how he was able to join the team and the impact that training alongside Pena had on his career.
Marinho also discussed his first appearance at ADCC back in 2019 when he was just a few months into being a brown belt, and how he’s progressed in his subsequent appearances at the event since then. He also spoke about the most recent match that has been proposed for him, which would be against Mica Galvao. The two men have been going back and forth publicly about it for a little while now, but Marinho actually came up with a unique idea for it. By moving down to middleweight he could face Galvao for that belt while also putting his light-heavyweight title on the line, marking the first time this has ever happened.
JitsCast #41 with Pedro Marinho is now available to watch on the official Jits Magazine YouTube channel, click here to subscribe for more or check out the interview below:
