The Jean Jacques Machado black belt started training BJJ in May 1994, and now instructs at his 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Hollywood, California. Bravo won the Abu Dhabi North American Trials lightweight division on October 5, 2002, in San Diego, California, earning the Most Technical Fighter Of The Night award and went onto the 2003 Abu Dhabi Championships in San Paulo, Brazil, where he secured a submission win over legendary Royler Gracie. Visit Eddie's Website Interview by Brent Little When and why did you start jiu jitsu? UFC 2. I was already doing Karate and I thought that was the shit. I was doing that for about a year. And then me and my buddy, we were both boxing fanatics, we saw the highlights for UFC 1… We thought it was fake… Then my buddy heard that it was actually real, and then my buddy heard that some Iranian guy was grabbing people by the necks and choking them out by the throat. I was like "What?" "They beat a karate guy?" I thought for sure I had the best style. Then when I saw UFC 2, I realized that jiu jitsu was for me cause I wrestled a couple of years in high school. And I thought, man, I know a move, I know the twister, which is actually called the guillotine. So I looked up some jiu jitsu schools and found Jean-Jacques Machado's. According to the ancient Sumerian text, the oldest version of the bible, there is a tenth planet in our solar system called Nibiru where a highly advanced human-like civilization lives. Their jiu jitsu must be off the hook. – Eddie Bravo When did you decide to start using the unorthodox style that strayed from the jiu jitsu taught at most jiu jitsu schools? Well, I never planned to create a style…. I wanted to get good at no-gi jiu jitsu. I saw too many jiu jitsu guys not doing anything once they got into the cage and took their gis off, especially in the guard…Except for a couple of armbars and triangles that Royce pulled off, no one else was doing anything from their back…. This was embarrassing. This was the martial art that I was bragging about to all of my friends. Then, we would watch the UFC or any other fighting show, and we would see a Brazilian jiu jitsu guy on his back…we didn't see any sweeps, any armbars, or any triangles. And it was pretty easy to figure out why: they weren't used to pulling off those techniques without having something to hold on to with the gi. So, I decided not to start my only style; I just wanted to make sure that if I ever did M.M.A., I didn't want to be lost, on my back especially. So immediately, after a year of jiu jitsu, I changed my style with the gi to more of a no-gi style … I wanted jiu jitsu to work without the gi. I'm trying to give jiu jitsu a good name again. I'm not trying to battle all these Brazilians; they are the ones tripping out on me about not wearing the gi. I'm trying to bring jiu jitsu back up by tossing the gi. That's what's going to make jiu jitsu better. Do you think that someone needs a good base in gi to be good at no-gi? That's the biggest myth ever; that's all about money. It's ridiculous. That's like saying that if you want to be a Greco-Roman world champion, you need to train judo for four years, first. … It's the biggest crock of shit. About the Royler fight, some people say that you got lucky. What do you have to say to them? Anybody who thinks I got lucky really doesn't know me or how good I am… Any guy my weight is always going to be in trouble with me. Anybody that knows me on the West Coast knows that I can tap anybody that's my weight. I tapped out black belts when I was a purple belt. And as a brown belt, I would tap out black belts without the gi…. So if you think that I got lucky, then you just don't know me. That's cool; I understand. You are probably a big Royler fan, and I have always been a big Royler fan. So I don't blame anyone for thinking that, they just don't know me. Rumor has it that you are fighting at the next ADCC. Is that true? Well, I haven't been officially invited, but I am pretty sure that I'm going to be invited. I would be shocked if I wasn't. Rumor also has it that if you are invited, then you will fight Royler Gracie first. Are you looking forward to that if it does happen? I hope they give me Royler first. The sooner I get the chance to tap him again and prove to everybody that it wasn't a fluke, the better. Anything could happen…. He could get me. The guy has been doing jiu jitsu for thirty-five years, so, of course, he has the ability to tap me out. I just won that day. I can beat him again; he could beat me. We'll go back and forth. Anyone who rolls with black belts on a regular basis knows what I'm talking about. If you are rolling with tough guys, you are going to get caught. I just got caught by a black belt the other day training at Jean-Jacque's, but I catch him too… We go back and forth. So, Royler does have the ability to catch me, but I definitely have the ability to catch him again, too. That wasn't like a one time deal. If we rolled ten times, I would catch him a few times, and he might catch me a few times. Who knows? Personally, I feel you got to put your money on me. I am way better than I was when I fought him. My technique has evolved a lot more since the last time we fought. I don't think he's evolved too much; he's pretty basic: bread and butter jiu jitsu. You gotta put your money on me. Are there any other guys at your weight class that you would want to fight at ADCC? I'd like to fight Leo Viera, again, with a different mindset: fresher. The last time I fought him... I am not making any excuses; that guy is a bad motherfucker…that guy is one of the best guys in the world… He beat me fair and square… But I had just beat Royler Gracie. That's like winning the Super Bowl and having to go out and play another football game. I wasn't in the right mindset…. This time, if we meet again, I will have a different mindset. I am going to go out there and attack him. Aside from ADCC, what are your plans for the future? To keep building my school up as quickly as possible. It's very important to me to prove that my style is effective…I am out to prove that you do not need a gi to get good at no-gi jiu jitsu… I already got guys that have never touched a gi … and they are beating guys with a lot more jiu jitsu experience than they have... I also have a book that is coming out in the next three months. All Interviews