UFC 101 Review: Ricardo Almeida Talks Escaping The Kendall Grove Armbar

by Kelvin Hunt on Aug 12, 2009 9:00 AM EDT in News Comment 8 comments

Ricardo Almeida

Ricardo Almeida talks to Graciemag.com:

When you fight you have to not only be physically prepared, but mentally prepared to deal with this type of change of tides when it happens. Sometimes you are doing well in a fight, a knee gets through in the thai clinch, you land and the guy starts hitting you and a bunch of things happen. At that moment [the armbar], I was pressing him up against the fencing, so he used the fencing to spin and pull me into the armbar. That armbar was fully sunk. I felt I wouldn’t be able to get out and kind of waited for my arm to pop and get loose so I could try and get out. But he ended up adjusting the grip on my wrist and it loosened a bit, so I managed to pull out my elbow and spin over. I think the fight was a good one. I kept my cool the whole time, knowing what I had to do to win one round at a time.

I have to say, I saw where Almeida's elbow was positioned and thought it was all over. However, being the accomplished grappler that Almeida is, he managed to stay calm and get through the tough spot. I guess the legend of Gracie's refusing to tap continues with Almeida, who got his blackbelt from Renzo Gracie. Almeida will now go down to the welterweight division and try to make an impact against a division full of wrestlers and grapplers. How do you like his chances?

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wow. i waited for it to pop, so it would loosen…..wow. gritty.

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by theworldsoldestsport on Aug 12, 2009 11:06 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I really like Almeida and I hope he does well… his cardio is a little suspect (I’ve seen him tire before) and I wonder if he can acclimate to the weight cut

Bloody hell.

by 3PA on Aug 12, 2009 11:09 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

If he can make 170 pounds (he’ll have to lose some muscle), I think Almeida will do well. I still don’t think that he can beat St. Pierre, however “Waited for my arm to pop so I could get out.” Haha….Almeida is gangsta!

by SlickRick00 on Aug 12, 2009 11:13 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

what weight does Almeida walk around at? Dude seems to always gas in his 185 fights, I don’t know if the cut will be a good one for him, welterweights seem to be pretty non-stop types…but I do think his BJJ will come in handy at that weight and give some problems

by Charles Walker on Aug 12, 2009 11:24 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

He said he was 187 on fight night against Grove.

Bloody hell.

by 3PA on Aug 12, 2009 11:29 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I think it’s his style of fighting that makes him gas….his takedowns are not the best in the world…because he has to work and work and work…then he finally gets the take down…that zaps a lot of energy….but yea, when I read he was gonna let his jawn pop…I was like…wow…son gangsta!

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by Kelvin Hunt on Aug 12, 2009 12:05 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

That armbar was fully sunk. I felt I wouldn’t be able to get out and kind of waited for my arm to pop and get loose so I could try and get out.

Man, what a stud. That’s like waiting for your hand to fall off so you can pull your arm out of a beartrap.. balls the size of WATERMELONS! I don’t know how good he’ll do at 170; a lot of those boys are wrasslers, and we’ve seen at times strong top position will nullify good BJJ. Who knows how his cardio will do, but he’ll need it. Boy ain’t got no stand-up, so he’s going to spend a lot of time either on his back, or shooting for three rounds.

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by -Neil- on Aug 12, 2009 1:53 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs