“I fell in love with the sport” - Matheus Gabriel says BJJ had an immediate impact in his life

Matheus Gabriel was not exactly thrilled when his grandmother forced him into BJJ training. Over time, the Brazilian grappler fell in love with the sport. He now sits just hours away from his ONE Championship debut and the biggest match of his still-developing combat sports career.

Gabriel will make his first walk to the Circle at ONE on Prime Video 5 on Friday night. He will be tasked with dethroning the promotion’s first-ever lightweight submission grappling world champion, Kade Ruotolo. Before he heads to the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Matheus Gabriel shared the impact Brazilian jiu-jitsu had on his life in an interview with ONE Championship:

“After I started jiu-jitsu, I became a more disciplined kid and my education started to improve too, both at home and at school. At first, I didn't like to train, I thought that grabbing thing was weird. And I liked playing soccer the most. My grandmother forced me to train, but over time, I fell in love with the sport.”

Reigning champion Kade Ruotolo enters the contest as the most accomplished 19-year-old BJJ practitioner in the world. Capturing a win over Asian MMA legend Shinya Aoki in his promotional debut, Ruotolo went on to become the youngest competitor to become an ADCC world champion.

A month later, he made history again by capturing ONE’s inaugural lightweight submission grappling title.

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Matheus Gabriel is happy to play the role of underdog against Kade Ruotolo

When Matheus Gabriel Matheus steps into the Circle against Kade Ruotolo, he’ll do so as a pretty significant underdog. Understandable considering the dominant year that Ruotolo had, but Gabriel is more than willing to embrace that role. In an interview with Jiu-Jitsu Times, Gabriel said:

“I know myself. I’m always confident in myself. If I’m the underdog, I actually kind of like it. I want to surprise people. I want them to go, ‘Wow, who’s that guy?’ Because I know this is my debut – I haven’t fought in ONE yet – so I’m the underdog, and that’s no problem; there’s no pressure, you know? I like being the underdog, so I can surprise people."

No matter how things go for Matheus Gabriel at ONE on Prime Video 5, the Brazilian grappling standout is just happy to be part of the ONE Championship family:

“It’s an honor to be a part of ONE Championship – it’s a huge accomplishment for my career, to join all those legends who have been a part of ONE. I watched all of them [compete here], and now I’m at ONE Championship! It’s so crazy.”

ONE on Prime Video 5: De Ridder vs. Malykhin broadcasts live on Friday, December 2, and is free for fans in the United States and Canada with an Amazon Prime subscription.