Popovitch's BJJ- Mixed Martial Arts Blog

Team Popovitch Black Belt Fighter James Brasco  submitted Mitch Whitesel via rear naked choke in round 1 during the main event at World Extreme Fighting on 01/08/2010. The event was held at the Robert Morris College Arena, Pittsburgh, PA.

Per Brasco ” the guy caught me with a knee and I recovered with a sweep to MOUNT-rained down blows and he gave his back ……then i just squeezed !!! ”

Congratulations Brasco!

I would like to thanks Naledge *DIESEL BJJ* for this great highlight. He put together some of my fights and it looks awesome.

Here are some great footage of Team Popovitch students competing at NAGA- thanks Robert for posting them- Also you can check them out at  http://www.bjj-fightclub.com/

Andres No Gi 1st Match

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My first match was against Don Ortega who was an all american wrestler in college and is also a blackbelt.  He had won many titles such as the IBJJF world Brownbelt title and I knew he would be tough.  I decided to just go out there and take it too him right off the bat with no hesitation.  I hit him with a hard double finishing it and ending up getting his back where i was able to finish him quickly.

My second match was against Ben Askren.  Ben is as good as a wrestler as you will find in the world today. He was an Olympian for the US just last year.  He has been training his ground alot and i knew he would be playing strategy with me to keep it on the feet as much as possible.  I went out there tied up and pulled guard quickly and then was able to secure the kneebar right away for the finish.  At that point I had had two submissions and less than three total minutes on the mat for the first day and was satisified with my performance but knew the tough part was gonna be the next day.

In the semis I went against Gregor Gracie who was having an outstanding tournament and came well prepared to compete at a high level.  The match started with some tieing up and Gregor working some faints and moving his head looking aggressive for the takedown but ended up pulling guard.   His guard was solid but I was waiting for the right opportunity to pass.  With about 3 minutes left in the match , he gave his back on a pass attempt and I took it looking for the choke immediately.  I had the rear naked sunk in deep and he was about to tap and time expired.  The match ended 3-0.

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Here is the highlight video of Team Popovitch Black Belt Vagner Rocha winning 2  Absolute divisions @ the FGL in Florida. He defeated in the finals American Top Team instructors Danillo Villefort via Submission & Edson Dinis via points.

Congratulations To the Champion!!!

James Brasco is a mixed martial artist fighting out of Team Popovitch in Fort Lauderdale, Florida where he is also the wrestling instructor. He is a Pennsylvania native where he was a PIAA state runner up with a high school record of 127-10. His wrestling achievements not ending there, he is also a Pennsylvania State Freestyle Champion, 3-times NCCA Eastern Regional Champion and ranked #6 by Amateur Wrestling News. Taking up Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu just to see what it was about, he quickly excelled and is a six-time N.A.G.A Champion, 2007 World Brown Belt Jiu Jitsu Champion. He also recently received an invitation to participate in this year’s ADCC. Coming up on September 4 he will be fighting Herbert Goodman at Shine 2: ATT vs The World from the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Fla. He is currently 5-1 in MMA, but his accolades and skill level supersede his record. He took the time to answer a few questions and gave his thoughts on issues such as why he has a hard time getting fights, The Ultimate Fighter tryouts, and Brock Lesnar.

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MMA Spot:  How much do you know about your opponent Herbert Goodman and how do you see the fight going?
Brasco:  I know he was an NFL player and obviously is a great athlete. I know he doesn’t have a wrestling background or much grappling experience outside MMA and throws hard. But when you’re an athlete like him, you can compensate pretty well for any weaknesses. I am definitely not taking him lightly – I expect a war!

MMA Spot:  From my understanding, you’ve had a hard time getting fights and generally take fights on short notice; do you think it is because of your credentials and accomplishments in grappling circles?
Brasco:  My credentials definitely are intimidating. I am sure, to a fighter who is trying to build a record and gain experience in MMA, so fighting against me is sometimes not in their best interest as even if they are a favorite to win, it isn’t a sure thing. I have taken fights on short notice…most notably the one I lost, that was also held in a boxing ring, which I haven’t ever even trained in. I also took the Bellator fight on six days notice and I won that one. So I am even so to say.

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Courtesy of Shine Fight Promotions:

David McKinney

I’ve never seen Brian Fuery’s desk, nor do I even know if he has one, but I assume that the nameplate sitting atop would read Brian Fuery: Athlete. He’s at an early point in his career, so he probably hasn’t made time to get the promotional business cards, coffee mugs or t-shirts, however, the people will know soon enough.

Fuery started out as a defensive back for the Miami Hurricanes during their heyday in the 1990’s. Although some former football players let the fame go to their heads, Fuery would say of his football career, “The thing about being a football player at Miami is that there is a huge brotherhood.” No bragging about how good he was or dreams about how his football career could parlay into a lush insurance job where he could get clients based on his name. Instead of accepting the cushy office jobs that were offered to him post-graduation, Fuery opted to serve his country by joining the U.S. Air Force.

Upon his return from duty, gone were those cushy job offers. Intuition, however, prevailed careening him towards entrepreneurship as a personal trainer in the Miami area. It was fate for his endeavor as a personal trainer provided Fuery the opportunity to find what he was really supposed to do: train for professional fighting.

“I was actually lifting weights in the gym, and a guy from Team [Pablo] Popovitch was actually doing Russian kettle bells, and I walked into the gym, and he was asking me about Russian kettle bells. He was wearing a pair of Team Popovitch shorts, and I asked him where I could buy a pair. So I stopped by the school and sat down with Pablo, and I was pretty much a wrap. He told me to try a class, because he knew I was a really good high school wrestler. And from the very first class, I loved it.”

And now, Fuery is a two-time world jiu-jitsu champion, a Pan-Am Games champion, a North American Grappling Association (NAGA) champion, and a Grappler’s Quest champion. Now he is a fighter, and he’s a natural, not only because of his athleticism, but because he learned early in his life that there were a lot of people who could help him, and that he would go far if only he allowed himself to be molded into a bad-ass dude.

Perhaps Fuery even learned some of his humility from his coach, world champion Pablo Popovitch, who reigns as one of the most decorated players in the history of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. “The guy is super knowledgeable,” says Fuery, “he has an answer for everything. He’s very humble, and he’s the epitome of the martial way. I won’t train with anybody else. When he’s preparing you for a fight, the guy is so humble, and the great thing is that he’ll stop the entire class if you have a question in order to help you.”

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It’s great to be competing again, I loved it. I had good matches and it was a great warm up for the ADCC. Got to use my BJJ and my wrestling in every match and it gave me the opportunity to see what I need to work on to make my game better.
Here is the breakdown of my matches:

Pablo Popovitch VS Jo Jo Guarin:
Started with a quick takedown, passed the guard and established side control. Made a mistake on the side mount and Jo Jo had a good single leg attack. I defended the single and counterattacked with a double leg. From there we stayed on closed guard for about a minute where he was spending a lot of energy, I felt that he got  winded. After that I passed again, mounted, took his back and choke him out with Rear Naked Choke.
Score 15-0 and I submitted in the end via Rear Naked Choke

Pablo Popovitch Vs Jorge “Macaco”Patino
This was our 2nd match on the year; we had previously competed against each other in January. I worked to get a takedown, passed his guard and took his back. From there I went to an Arm bar but could not finish. End up on the bottom (guard) and that was the end of the match.
Score 8-0

Pablo Popovitch Vs Tom Manelski

Tom is a student of my great friend Bill. He surprised everyone by defeating the likes of: Efrain Ruiz(FFA Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Head Instructor), Matt Arroyo(UFC Fighter) and Bill “The Grill “Cooper, in which was the favorite to be in the finals against me. In the end it was Tom that made all the way to the finals. I started the matched with a takedown, we kind of went out of bounds, the referee pushed us back to the middle but I felt I didn’t have a chance to control the half guard that well. He turned on the knees and stood up on me. After a minute or so I shot a single leg and switched for a double(it was a nice takedown). One more time we went out of bounds, back in the middle I shot another single leg but this time I was able to secure his back with the hooks. After a minute or so on the back I went for an arm bar but the time expired. Great match!
Score 8-0

James Brasco competed at the Louisiana Fighting Championship in a professional MMA bout winning by submission in less than two minutes. His opponent was David knight who had an experience advantage with 16 fights under his belt holding a record of 9-7. Brasco used his superior wrestling and BJJ to finish the bout. Brasco now has a professional record of 4-1 with his only loss coming via doctor stoppage due to a cut. Congrats to our wrestling coach !!!!