Bruninho triumphs at Copa Da Malasia BJJ black belt superfight

Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ) exponent Bruno Barbosa emerged victorious at the Copa Da Malásia Grappling last Saturday by winning the black belt superfight against Casey Lee.

The third degree black belt defeated his much heavier opponent by 13 x 4 points after a 10-minute fight, earning him gold at the country's most prestigious BJJ tournament which was recently held at a shopping mall in Petaling Jaya.

Competing for the first time in Malaysia, the Monarchy MMA coach from Brazil, however, admitted that he was a bit worried at the beginning.

"Today I had the honour to compete for the first time in Malaysia in front of pretty much most of my friends and students.

"I can’t deny that I was under so much pressure for that," said Barbosa or commonly referred to as 'Bruninho' in an Instagram posting later after the match.

READ: Meet the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach behind Malaysian MMA athletes' slick submission skills

"I was just worried about delivering a good match for my opponent and for all of those who came to watch it even tho I was 12kg lighter than my opponent. #noexcuses," he wrote.

As a coach, Bruninho has led his students at Monarchy MMA to several accolades in the Malaysian BJJ scene, amongst them being a 12-time Copa Da Malásia champion.

Despite spending time to grow his team, Bruninho has also found success competing around the world.

The 36-year-old Petropolis native became this year's Masters International Asia Champion, Tokyo Open Champion and Manila Open Champion under the International Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Federation(IBJJF).

He also has won gold at the IBJJF Asian Open (Black belt Masters 1) in Japan and was one of the competitors at the Eddie Bravo Invitational (Bantamweight).

Other titles include taking gold at IBJJF Manila International Open Champion for GI and No Gi this year and winning the Southeast Asian Grappling Challenge in 2016.

Copa Da Malásia Grappling is Malaysia's largest BJJ and grappling tournament, with a focus is to provide a competitive ground for BJJ and grappling practitioners in the country.

The tournament which started in 2015, also provides a platform for local and foreign BJJ practitioners to showcase their skills competitively thrice a year, besides promoting grappling as a sport and an art in Malaysia.