RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Bruno Frazatto is one of the top jiu-jitsu fighters in the world, but he won’t put on a gi to compete anymore.
A two-time Brazilian national champion, a gold medalist at the IBJJF Pan American Championship and the European Open champion, Frazatto (5-0) decided to leave the mats to focus on his MMA career after he signed a deal with Resurrection Fighting Alliance.
The jiu-jitsu expert makes his RFA debut on Oct. 25 in Iowa, where he faces undefeated William Osborne, and he’s ready for the new challenges of his career.
“I’m a MMA fighter now but I’ll try to take this fight to the ground, where I can do my best,” Frazatto told MMAFighting.com. “He won his last three fights and is pretty well-rounded, but not a specialist in anything. I know he’s tough, but I’m going to do my best.”
Frazatto is 5-0 in MMA with four finishes, but he took years to finally move from jiu-jitsu competition to mixed martial arts.
The featherweight accepted an invitation to teach jiu-jitsu to MMA fighters at Team Nogueira, and that made him return to the sport six years after his last fight in 2007.
Last June, a first-round submission over Fernando dos Santos, was enough to make Frazatto fall in love with MMA once again.
“My last fight was six years ago, but I fought last June and won,” he said. “I felt great. Training at Team Nogueira made me stronger and gave me the experience I needed to win. I’m completely focused on MMA now. I’ve signed a three-fight deal with RFA and that’s my focus now.”
Frazatto trains with the likes of Patricio Freire, Rony Jason and Patricky Pitbull, but Eduardo Pachu is the most important training partner for his RFA debut.
“Pachu is helping me a lot here,” he continued. “He has an excellent striking game and good takedown defense, just like my next opponent, but I have a lot of great sparring partners here. I’m learning more than teaching here now.”
Anthony Pettis’ brother, Sergio Pettis has signed a deal with the UFC after a successful run at RFA, and that’s Frazatto’s ultimate goal.
“My dream is to fight in the UFC, but I know that I’m not ready yet,” he said. “I need a year to win some fights and get more experience. Getting in there right now wouldn’t be the right moment. I want to get there and stay there.”