The IBJJF Absolute Grand Prix goes down Friday November 18th in Costa Mesa, California. With World, Pan, Brazilian National, and European champions in the division, this is an event that will not be lacking in incredibly skilled athletes and exciting matches. “I think it’s the toughest bracket of the year,” said GP competitor and 2022 Brazilian National heavyweight champion Rider Zuchi. “I felt honored to be invited to the GP. It’s a big opportunity for me to show my work. I’m really honored for this opportunity.”

Coming into 2022, Rider was looking to capture his first major IBJJF title as a black belt. Although he was having a lot of success in open tournaments throughout Brazil, he had yet to capture a prestigious major title. He came close at the 2021 Brazilian Nationals, advancing to the absolute final and losing a close 4-2 match to Erich Munis. 2022 was a different story, however. “At Brazilian Nationals I had three fights. For me the semifinals was the hardest fight. I won via points in the last minute of the fight. In my other two fights I won via submission.”

After winning the Brazilian Nationals, Rider went on to compete in Long Beach at the World Championships. He defeated two world class opponents before meeting fellow GP competitor Kaynan Duarte in the semifinals. “I had tough fights in the first day at Worlds, beating Bruno Matias and Matheus Diniz. In the semifinals with Kaynan I made a mistake in the beginning of the fight. At the high level there’s no space for error.” In preparation for the Absolute GP, Rider has been working to tighten up his game and also to add some size to deal with the heavier opponents.“For this GP I put my focus on gaining weight. I think I’m the lightest athlete in the bracket. That’s nice, I will be faster.”

In his last few tournaments, Rider has represented the Fratres Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu team. He described the recently formed team and detailed its plans for future competitions. “Fratres is a project of Leandro lo and Daniel Affini. It’s a brotherhood competition team with a wonderful structure. We have me, Wellington Alemão, Marcos Petcho, Nathan Chueng, Fernando Cantareira, Pedro Elias, Leandro Ronald, Leandro Santos, and Sabata Lais.”

You can watch Rider and the rest of the IBJJF Absolute Grand Prix athletes on Friday November 18th on FloGrappling. The event is brought to you by Black Armor Kimonos.