Can you talk about the World Masters event? How many titles have you won at this event and what is the significance of these titles to you?

This event is the biggest event of our sport in number of participants. Like the adult Worlds, I believe this event signifies to the masters community the same prestige. I’ve been able to capture sixteen gold medals in this event between my weight division and the open class. Like I said before this is the title every master athlete likes to have on their resume. I always say to my students, regardless of age, I think every competitor should have a few titles under their belts.

There are many legends, like yourself, that compete at World Masters. Are there any competitors you’re looking forward to watching at this event?

Man, there are so many legends I don't even like to mention names so I don't forget someone. But off the top of my head there’s the Miyao’s, Formiga, Rafael Lovato, Michael Liera, Josh Hinger, Roberto Godoi, Suyan Queiroz, Rodrigo Medeiros, Igor Paiva, Baret Yoshida, Fabio Leopoldo, Soca, Giva Santana, and many others. The list is long and there’s so many bad asses to watch.

You’ve maintained a very high technical level for many years. How has your training changed and evolved over time?

I think the consistency in training, the consistency in tournaments, studying the art, keeping in touch with my Master, and exchanging ideas with friends all help me keep a high technical level even at my age.

What do you hope to show on the mats at this years World Masters?

I hope I’m able to display a little bit of my knowledge and my technical skills for the community, fans, friends, for all.

What goals do you have for your competition career?

The goal is to keep competing to do what I love to do. Like I always say: Do what you love, love what you do. Jiu-Jitsu is my life.

How has the competition scene grown and evolved from the time you started competing to now?

Man it’s tremendous. The growth of jiu-jitsu is unbelievable. We’re at the point that we have two, three, four tournaments in the same weekend in different parts of the world. How crazy is that? I love it. I believe this is a reflection of the growing number of practitioners of jiu-jitsu around the world.

Can you share your thoughts on the Jiu-Jitsu CON event?

I think putting Jiu-jitsu CON with the World Master is a very nice idea because you put different generations together and I believe we all can benefit from that. I love to see the young generations competing to learn from them, and I truly believe some of the new guys also appreciate seeing the OG’s get down. It’s also better for the understanding of the art and to never forget that the OG’s are the ones that paved the way to get here.

Is there anything else you wanted to say?

I’d just like to say thanks to the IBJJF for all the hard work to get jiu-jitsu in the eyes of the world and for providing the highest level competitions.

You can watch Megaton compete at the 2023 World Masters exclusively on flograppling.com.