#84 - The Truth Behind Nathan Haddad’s ADCC Trials Run...

Speaker 1: Well, well, well. Look who's back for another episode of the Flow Grappling show. And boy oh boy, do we have a stacked episode for you guys. We got Nathan Haddad calling in. He's going to be bringing down his insane trials run. We're going to be talking main characters Jiu-Jitsu and we're going to be talking IBJJF Brasileiros. A lot to get to. But first, I want to tell you that the Flow Grappling show is brought to you by Meric Health, helping athletes optimize hormones, improve recovery, and maximize performance through precision lab testing and expert medical oversight. Use code Flow, that's F L O, now for 10% off both Meric Diagnostics and Meric Health and visit merichealth.com/flowgrappling. Like I said, 10% off, code Flow. Go get you some Meric Health now. Get your blood drawn. This is time to get healthy, you know? It's 2026. It's about time we stop messing around and got a little bit healthy. So head over to Meric and start your journey getting healthy today. Now let's jump into the episode. Speaker 1: What's up, everybody? Welcome back to the Flow Grappling show, aka the worst show on the internet. As always, I'm Trey Robinson. We got big Uncle Reed right there, Joey Gilps right there, and then calling in, very special guest, Nathan Haddad. Let's give it up for Nathan. Speaker 2: Nathan. Speaker 1: Welcome to the show, brother. Speaker 2: What's going on, Nathan? What's up, boys? Thanks for having me. Speaker 1: For sure, dude. Thanks for having me in. Thanks for thanks for joining in, you know. I think you had what I would say is one of the most electric runs of the trials, you know, and uh it's cool to get you on here to talk about it. We'll obviously dive into your trials run, some of your background, all of that. But I just got to ask, you know, how how have things changed since becoming a trials champion last weekend? Speaker 2: Dude, it's been crazy. It was probably like the craziest week of my entire life. Um, I stepped off the mat. I had like a thousand messages on my phone and um, just the support has been has been awesome. Um, and it's kind of cool, man. I mean, I think looking back at like previous years that I went to trials or just watching trials and, you know, you saw some of these like historic runs, you know, like I know everybody always talks about like J Rod's run or like Jacob Couch's run, like these guys that have done it in the division. Um, and it's it's a weird feeling to have cemented my place or myself in one of those places as like, I'm a guy that had that run and um, you know, people can look back on that and say like, well, yeah, he came out of nowhere and did it. It's it's pretty cool. Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure. I I think it's it was definitely of the event. I felt like probably the most electric run that happened. I know we we talked a little bit, you joined in on a live stream, you know, but we didn't get to dive into all the details, but it's kind of like there's there's two ways I feel like that you end up with a champion at trials. One is a champion who just looks like, okay, they're going to win. Like it's like, you know, they won't be denied this event. And then the other is like someone who just keeps accumulating insane matches, insane moments and it's like, holy shit, this guy like, he might do it. Like he's just building more and more momentum and I kind of feel like that's how yours felt watching, you know, you kind of you had a crazy match with Placido, crazy match with Dory, the insane semifinal, all of that. And so I've just want to ask you, you know, is that what it felt like? Did it feel like you just kept building momentum or for you was it always, you know, you knew you were going to get it done this time? Speaker 2: Dude, it's kind of crazy. Um, and I think I I spoke with maybe Joe about this on the mat or it's all such a blur, but in one of my interviews with with Flow, um, I like 100% thought I was going to win East Coast. Um, I went in and I was like, there's nobody here that's going to beat me. I'm going to run through everybody. Like I felt great, my training felt great. Um, and I was like, this is this is my time. And I got there and everybody was kind of talking like, man, 88, like, you know, there's there's some open spots at 88 right now. We'll see. And then uh I lost to John Blank in the in the quarters. And it was weird because flying out for this one, you know, there's so much talk about how good 88 was this time. Like, I mean, I was watching your all show, I'm reading all the articles. I'm like, man, 88 is stacked this time. And um, you know, I I've fought mostly at 170, so I was kind of kicking myself like, maybe I should have cut to 77. And uh I literally like did not want to go to trials the day before. Uh, my training that week was kind of off. Like I felt like my wrestling, like my scrambles weren't super good and I was like, man, I I don't know that I have it this week. Like I I don't know. And I was sitting at the airport like like really doubting myself and uh just was like, I'll go send it, you know, I I'm a professional. I know how to compete. When that switch flips, I'll be good. And uh it was kind of like each match that went just built a little bit more and I was feeling pretty good out there and, you know, just was uh kind of just a magical moment really. Speaker 1: Definitely. Speaker 3: Uh, you can't really have a run like you had without having a really difficult path. And uh, you know, we've named some of the guys that were in the way even before you got to the semis and the finals where obviously everybody's going to be world class. Uh, what were you thinking when the bracket came out? Speaker 2: Um, you know, it's really hard to like track past your first two matches, I feel like at trials. Um, I've done enough trials now where, you know, the first time I was really eaten up with it trying to figure out who am I going to fight in this round and who am I going to fight in this round. And uh, it it really was just overwhelming trying to predict who's going to be where. So, um, I kind of stopped doing that. I just looked at like, who do I have first? Do I know them and and survive and advance, you know, it's one match at a time. You just got to take it for what it is because everybody's hungry. Like everybody that goes to trials is, you know, they're trying to prove something. So it's not like you're getting scrubs in any round and uh that was kind of the way I saw it is like, I just have to go out there and be my best every single time. It doesn't matter who it is. Um, and then yeah, as it gets deeper, you know, the monsters just get better and you got to perform better each time. Speaker 1: Whenever, um, I I I want to ask you something about East Coast trials real quick. I can't remember exactly when this happened, but was it potentially you that that John Blank hit with the 360 no scope triangle? Speaker 2: No, uh, it wasn't. He arm barred me. I think that was his next match is when he hit the 360 triangle. Um, I fought him second round of day two and uh he just had a really nice entry, like a kind of a Choy bar entry and uh it was it was beautiful. It was a perfect arm bar. And, you know, it was one of those that like it really surprised me. Like I I thought for sure, like I said, that tournament I really felt probably the best I've ever felt. Um, you know, honestly speaking and um, he just caught me super perfect. So, yeah, it was it was a good one. Speaker 1: Yeah, I feel I feel like for John Blank, that was like, he was also feeling like, you know, this is the time. He was kind of on a heater there for sure. But I mean, is there something to be said about whenever you come into a tournament with like these own expectations on yourself of like, I feel like this is my time, this is it versus like, I might not even go, dude. So I guess I'll just show up and send it, do some crazy shit. Cuz that almost that felt like that was your game like every match where it was just you and Placido just doing some insane stuff. And we we have some of the footage that maybe we can start uh playing some of this and looking at some of this where it does just feel like you have this like, ah, screw it. I'm just going to send it. Even like late into your matches where you probably are up, you could be a little more chill, but you're like, nah, I'm still just going to do some crazy stuff. Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I that's kind of my style anyways. I always like to to fight. I've always thought of like, you know, Jiu-Jitsu as a fight, as a scrap. And and I like high-paced Jiu-Jitsu. Um, I've never been a huge fan of just like sitting around and we'll try to get the advantage and and see what happens. Like I like high-paced Jiu-Jitsu. If I can make it happen, I really like scrambling with guys. I think I can scramble with the best of them. Um, so that's kind of always my my mindset with it. And then really just something else too is like, every day in training, I I kind of repeat this mantra to myself, especially days where I don't feel good and maybe don't feel like training is, even on my worst day, I can beat the best guy in the world. And uh that was kind of I I've been telling myself that for years. And so that was kind of my mantra going into it is like, okay, let's see if you believe it now because, you know, it feels like it's not going to be your best day, but can you go and and, you know, scrap with these boys and and get it done. And uh I was able to do it this time. Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure. It seems like the mantra, you know, came true. At any certain point in time, did it kind of switch from, I'm not feeling good, I'm having a bad day to like, actually, I'm I'm feeling like the man now. Speaker 2: Yeah, I felt like after the Placido match, I was I was physically exhausted. Like this match was crazy. The pace was insane. And uh like my body was hurting pretty bad, but um mentally I felt pretty sharp and and, you know, my timing felt really good. There were a couple points in this match where I had some like looks at near subs and they felt pretty sharp and um I'd say probably after this match, I was feeling it a little bit more. Speaker 1: Gotcha, yeah. Just, you know, some some physical fatigue, you have to push through. I know we talked about that on the live stream, you know, kind of like that runner's wall where it's like, you got to get through that and then you find this kind of this new uh energy and everything. Speaker 3: I I do remember like like right after this match cuz I didn't get to watch this match live. There's so many matches going on, but I I Joe or Trey came running over and we're like, we just saw the best match of the entire tournament was was Nathan Haddad versus Placido Santos. Dude, you got to go back and watch this this match. Like Speaker 1: Dude, it happened multiple times. Yes, because this one it was me. I like filmed it and you like at the end you could like say something to my camera, you know, you're like, it's my time, something like that. Which, dude, sometimes people ask us like, how can I get more coverage? How can I do this? You know, first and foremost, win all the time. I don't know. Like, you know, I know that's hard, but it is like, if you win, you get the coverage. And two, talk to my camera. That's the number one cheat code for like, we will put you on Flow Grappling. If you do something cool and then talk to the camera and just be the man, you will get posted. Speaker 3: 900% rate increase in odds. Speaker 1: 100%. So, so you knew the the assignment, Nathan. That was great work by you, uh making sure, you know, that I was going to post that clip and I did. And uh but that one was the one where I ran over and I was like, yo, dude, Nathan Haddad is kind of sick, bro. Like I think he might be having a tournament. And then I remember like it was a match or two later where then Joe came running over and was like, dude, Nathan Haddad's killing it. And then you had that semifinal where I think everyone was like, holy shit, this guy's the man. So, Speaker 3: 100%. I I think that that is like a a obviously like your Jiu-Jitsu looked incredible and and you know, you just looked so fast and sharp, but I also think you just did an incredible job of just like showing who you are kind of finally a little bit to everybody and really kind of like relating, you know, who you are through your Jiu-Jitsu through this kind of performance art that you're doing. I feel like I I really got a good understanding, you know, from from afar from the outside of of kind of what Nathan Haddad is all about. Like I I know what that dude's all about after this tournament. Speaker 2: Yeah, I think in the past I kind of like not that I expected it to like come to me, but like I didn't I didn't really know where my place was, um, in those spots, you know, like I I'd have some good matches and afterwards I'd be like, man, like I really thought that would get posted or that would get an interview or that would get this. And uh it it almost turned into this thing of like, man, they're they're like avoiding me, right? Like not Flow specifically, but like, I don't know what's going on. And uh I I kind of flipped that to this trials. Like this trials was the first time I met Mo. Um, you know, I'd seen him obviously like everybody's trying to get on his radar, especially with ADCC and I kind of like bumped into him before the Placido match and was like, dude, I just need to introduce myself. Like at least just go up and tell him like who you are. And so I talked to him for a couple minutes, introduced myself and it was really cool because it kind of worked out perfectly where I introduced myself to him that morning and then he came running over when when he saw Placido going out because I know obviously everybody knows Placido and and he's a dog. And then uh after that match, he was like, dude, I know who you are now. So I was like, all right, that's good. At least we're kind of making some headway and I'm getting myself out there a little bit more. So, it was cool. Speaker 1: Yeah, you definitely definitely killed it on that regard too. Obviously, we all are familiar with you now and and uh are going to be watching pretty much everything now and I think the Jiu-Jitsu world is as well whenever it comes time for the ADCC World Championship. Um, I I want to I want to we basically have like your whole semifinal match. I kind of want to just watch the whole thing with you, but first, I want to ask you a Kentucky question. Is that cool? Can I can I ask you a Kentucky question? Speaker 3: Absolutely. Speaker 1: All right. So, Speaker 3: No Kentucky questions. We talked about this. Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm breaking the rules again. We we have a strict no Kentucky question on this podcast, but Speaker 3: Kentucky Cuban. Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, true. Have Speaker 2: Kentucky Cuban. Let's go. Speaker 1: Have you ever been to Wickliffe, Kentucky? Speaker 2: I haven't, man. I have not. I actually, this is going to sound terrible. I don't even know what that is or where that is. Speaker 1: Wickliffe, Kentucky is a place in Kentucky that I stopped one time whenever I was driving through and I had to go to the bathroom and I stopped at a gas station. And I said, is there anywhere you can piss in Wickliffe, Kentucky? And for some reason my friends always quote that and say it to me all the time. So, I just wanted to put you on game with Wickliffe. Speaker 3: Sounds like you haven't missed much. Speaker 2: I'll have to check it out. Speaker 1: Yeah. No, I'm just kidding. That yeah, it was uh I don't know, it had a weird vibe. But my actual question is, there's kind of some sneaky high-level grapplers coming out of Kentucky these days. Obviously, you have Jacob Couch, you Reese La Fever, right? Is it Speaker 3: Brandon Reed. Speaker 1: Yeah, uh all kind of Kentucky guys. Speaker 2: Yeah, I think Reese is I think Reese is Tennessee. Uh but close enough. Um Speaker 1: Do you guys do you guys are you cool with Tennessee or no? Speaker 2: Yeah, we're cool with them. Those are all those are all southern boys, man. They're they're we're up there with them. But uh no, it's pretty cool, man. And actually, like Couch and Brandon I've known for a really long time. Um, kind of in separate realms. You know, I've I've known Couch since I think we were blue belts. Um, when he was training out in uh Georgetown with some of the guys there and, you know, we had some cross-training sessions and he's the man. He's just such a good dude. Like deserves all the success he's gotten because he's just awesome. And uh same with Brandon. I met Brandon actually in high school. He wrestled for a team and uh we would have some like cross-training sessions in the summer where all the teams would get together and and wrestle a little bit. And um, it's just pretty cool to see like all three of us have kind of found our own paths going a little bit different directions, different teams, different places. I guess now they're both on the same team at Pedigo, but um, it's been cool to see like we were all able to to figure it out from here. So, yeah, I'm I'm super proud of of the town. Speaker 1: Definitely. Um, have you have you trained much with uh Pedigo? Have you ever visited that room or anything? Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely. I went there back gosh, maybe it was 2018. I I hope I'm remembering that right. They did a world's camp like way back in the day and that was the first time I had met Heath. Um, and I went down there and I only was able to stay for a couple days, but it was really good training. And then um, they had maybe a few years after that, um, Dante was down there visiting and uh I think Alejandro or Couch or one of them had sent me a message saying, hey, we're going to be training with Dante Leone if you want to come down and get some rounds in. And uh I went down for the day and trained with him there. They're good dudes and it's always really good training. Speaker 1: For sure. You know, the day one, Heath Pedigo came over to me and he was like, bro, you know, Nathan Haddad could just he could win this whole thing, right? So he kind of he pegged you as a guy who could do it pretty early on. I thought that was cool. Speaker 3: Actually, I was talking during your final, I ended up next to Heath and Dante for a little while. Uh, and they were like the whole time like, oh yeah, Nathan's going to win, like he should, you know, this is one of the craziest runs. Uh, and right before you hit that slide by, uh, Heath turns to me and goes, check out this slide by. Three, two, one, and you delivered on it. Right on time. It was crazy. Uh, yeah, shout out to Heath always being a wizard with that. Speaker 2: Absolutely. Speaker 3: And for you for hitting the slide by. Speaker 2: No, he's he's the man and and I I really appreciate him too because um, he's given me some great advice and and some great talks too of, you know, I I I do feel like that he's he's had some belief in me through the years and um, they've always treated me really well. So, yeah, I always appreciate those boys. Speaker 3: So, can you set the stage for us, Nathan? You make it to the semifinals. Uh, I assume maybe that your first time in the semifinals, that had to feel good. Jaden Groner there also kind of on a bit of a tear, kind of kind of uh has a similar uh come up in this tournament as you did where he had an incredible kind of run as well. So, just kind of how how are you feeling going into this match and what are what are your expectations? Speaker 2: Yeah, I felt good. Um, I I was telling Trey this on the live stream. After Placido, my body was trashed. Um, and then I fought Dieter the next round and we kind of had a little bit of a drawn out slower pace match and uh it felt like I kind of got through the runner's wall. So I felt good going into this match. Um, I had kind of caught out of the glimpse of my eye after the Dieter match. I saw Jaden submit um, Sean Yadamarco, I think. And uh it was a really nice submission and I thought, okay, he's he's on right now. Um, but I felt like I was going to be able to pass him when points came on. So I was kind of just being, you know, making some reads, seeing what he was doing. And he hit a really slick entry to my back. And uh as soon as he hit that, it was like, all right, now I think he scored twice like right off the rip. And it was one of those things where it was just killer be killed at that point. I knew that I had to sub him. Um, down six with like two minutes to go. Um, it it's just so hard to score on guys that are good like that. And I remember um, Wagner Rocha had given me this tip years ago of like, you can't get scored on. Like if you get scored on, it's so hard to get it back. And uh that was just kind of running through my mind like, you have to sub him now. Just put everything on the table. And uh again, it was kind of sub or be sub. So, I put myself in some danger. I knew that I was kind of giving up my leg before I hit the Kimura trap, but I didn't really care because, I mean, the brackets are going to show it the same way. You either advance or you don't. So, I figured I'll go give it a shot. Speaker 1: For sure. So, we kind of have the match playing now. Um, it's probably like a minute or so in. I don't think there's any points or anything yet. But can you kind of start breaking down to us, maybe kind of like what you're looking for here, how you're trying to attack this guard, what you're trying to set up and stuff like that at this point in the match? Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure. I mean, I I think really it was just how can I get into like the passing sequences that I want to get to. Um, obviously, I knew he was going to be very leg heavy. Uh, I had watched Jaden a lot on the PGF and and he's a stud. And so I was just kind of trying to get into situations I wanted to play from, um, out of that closed guard and then into like some split squat situations. Um, but he was really sharp. Like I said, he did a good job at kind of keeping me out of the positions that I normally pass guard from. Uh, it was hard to get my leg to the inside. It was hard for me to uh even beat his upper body. His control of like two on ones on the wrist was really good. And uh really a lot of this here was just kind of almost like jockeying for that that inside position. Like I I want a very specific position and he wants a very specific position. And so, um, you see us both kind of trying to get our spots here and he just had a really tight guard. It's hard to pass. Speaker 1: For sure. Speaker 3: Uh, eventually we're going to see that Kimura come into play in this match. Uh, I feel like that's something that we see in a lot of your matches, right? I went back and I watched a few of your other matches outside trials. Kimura comes up a lot. Tell me about your use of the Kimura. Speaker 2: Yeah, uh, it's just a spot that I'm I'm really good there and uh specifically even in this match, the waiter sweep. Um, when guys go waiter with me, I have a really good Kimura counter. I I do it in the gym all the time. Like I put myself in kind of that, I know some guys call it like black hole, some guys call it waiter. Like I feel very comfortable attacking from there. Um, and so the Kimura is already kind of one of my better submissions and then uh specifically that setup. I just knew as soon as I saw his hand scoop under that leg that I was going to sub him. Um, and it it just worked out really well. Speaker 1: Right here, we're kind of seeing the sequence uh that Jared used to get to your back. What's what's going through your head right now? It's probably probably not having a great time right here, right? Speaker 2: Yeah, no, this was this was pretty crappy. Um, yeah, I was trying really just to not let him score and then in doing so, he scored twice. Um, and then it was kind of like, don't let him sub you. You know, like obviously, I think every competitor athlete has those like negative thoughts that come through at some point. So, you know, he's on the back and you almost sit there and start writing the script of like, all right, well, I just heard Ryan Akin like scream in in the corner. So, I know he won. So, that means if I lose this match, I got to fight Angelo. Like it was already kind of starting to write that script and then I was just like, no, man, like we still got we still got something left. Like let's go figure out a way to win. And uh I was able to spin out and kind of get back in. But then like I said, as soon as I spun back into this position, it was like all systems go, just sub him. Like killer be killed right now. It doesn't matter about points, doesn't matter if he scores again. I got to get to that spot where I just was and see if I can sub him and um, in a a minute or so, we're able to get there. Speaker 3: You did almost, you looked for that exact same counter, it looked like. Speaker 2: Yeah, I I was looking for it because he put himself in waiter quite a bit and uh I I was noticing he just wouldn't scoop my leg the way that I wanted him to. And so when we actually get in the final sequence, you'll see I step my left leg up really high and I put my left hand on the floor like like day one mistake, like don't do this if you don't want to get swept or submitted. But uh I I kind of did it on purpose again, just really inviting him like, hey, it's going to be the easiest sweep of your life or the easiest leg entry of your life. Please just take it. And uh and I got lucky he did. Um, but yeah, you'll see me kind of start riding my left leg up here in a second. He off balances me pretty good. Um, and so the whole deal here is just clearing that frame. So once he gets to my armpit like that, it's on. Um, and that's where I'm able to really get a lot of looks at this Kimura. And then since my leg was still trapped, it's just straightened it out for the arm. Um, but I I felt his arm go on the Kimura. It was a pretty big pop there. So I knew that it was going to be a like good damage on the arm and then just taking it over my leg like that was all she wrote. Speaker 1: And that had to be an unbelievable feeling, right? To to know not just now that you're advancing to the finals, but to do it in that way where you're down 6-0, something where not many people ADCC rules can come back from a 6-0 deficit to end it by submission with one second left. That had to be an unreal feeling. Speaker 2: Dude, out of body experience. It was crazy. Like, yeah, the most just the craziest, most adrenaline rush ever. I mean, uh, yeah, like came back from the dead, but figured out a way. Speaker 3: Was it almost hard to get back up for the final considering you just like had that big of like an adrenaline rush? Speaker 2: You know, like physically, I felt really good for the final. Um, I I think the biggest battle for me for the final was was mentally. Um, again, just because like I I've fought Ryan two other times and he's beaten me by submission two other times. And so uh that kind of like walking that out and just putting that out of my brain of like, it doesn't matter that he's beaten you before, you can beat him again. Um, I I do a pretty good job at recovering in between matches. I always have. My cardio is one of my strong suits. And I train, I have really good strength conditioning coaches that like this is exactly how we train. Um, and so it's one of those things where I feel like I can do a lot of matches in a day and and still feel pretty fresh. Um, but it's just kind of getting over those hurdles of like, okay, but now this guy's going to be even tougher than the last guy. So you got to find a way to win. That's the hardest part. Speaker 1: What what was different about this match with Ryan for you? Speaker 2: Um, I think just my strategy. I had a really good strategy with him this time and the rule set favors me a little bit more. I do really well in ADCC rule set. Um, I've always enjoyed competing in that rule set. And I think really just the like you guys said, kind of having the day where it's like each match I built a little bit more like hype and belief and I was feeling it and and also I think I've been in some spots before on some big organizations where I was like this close. Like it was it felt like this was going to be my moment or whatever. And, you know, you come up a little bit short and like not much would change. Um, and it was always really like, oh, man, like I've been in two different pan like no-gi pan finals. Like I was in the absolute final at purple belt, lost on points. And then I was in the final at brown belt with uh Sebastian Rodriguez. I lost a ref's decision. And like both times after the match, I had a lot of regret. Like I could have maybe sent it a little bit harder and, you know, it's one of those like, was that my moment and I just blew it. And so walking out for this one, it was like, I'm not going to give up this moment. Like, I've made it this far. Like I am winning this match, whatever it takes. Speaker 1: Yeah, so obviously you got it done, you know, punched your ticket to Poland now and uh we'll be seeing you at the ADCC World Championship and everything. So we we kind of we talked about this a little bit uh when we were messaging back and forth. I was asking you about coming on, you know, where it's like, a lot of people talk about this now how you kind of came out of nowhere and all this. And it kind of reminds me of that quote where it's like, you know, it takes 10 years to become an overnight success. And that's kind of what people see is just like, it happened overnight. But you've been doing this for like 23 years now, right? Like like basically your whole life dedicated to Jiu-Jitsu. When when did you start training? How young were you and uh what was it like when you first started doing Jiu-Jitsu? Speaker 2: Yeah, so I started Jiu-Jitsu when I was six. Um, and obviously like 2003 in Kentucky, um, like we had never seen a black belt before. Um, you know, like a purple belt was the coolest thing ever. And my dad opened up our gym. So, my dad was doing self-defense and some kickboxing and boxing and uh he had this idea of like the core martial arts, like bringing everything together. And um, that's where we came up with Core. And he brought in all these different like specialists of different martial artists to run this program and run the gym. And he was able to get Helio Seneca. So, I give so much credit to Seneca. He's the first IBJJF black belt world champ in 1996. Um, he's a coral belt now. And Seneca literally lived in the gym from that time until he gave me his black belt. Uh or gave me my black belt. And I have had him as a coach, as a mentor for Jiu-Jitsu, uh ever since I can remember. I mean, I I don't really have any other memories of doing Jiu-Jitsu without him. And to have somebody that's been at the level and seen it and and kind of done it all is super it it's amazing. He's told me since I was a little kid like, you're going to be my champion, you're going to be next. Like, you know, you you just need to keep the path, stay the course. Um, and yeah, it's just been an amazing amazing thing to have. Um, and really being able to do that out of like my family's gym with the same coach is meant the world to me. Speaker 1: Did did you ever have a time where you thought about doing something else or were you always just locked in on the the Jiu-Jitsu path? Speaker 2: Um, I spent like a few years. I had done some boxing and kickboxing growing up and I spent a few years like pursuing MMA a little bit. I I had two amateur fights, like nothing of any crazy caliber. Um, but I thought maybe that was the direction I would go. It seemed like I had done a lot for me in Jiu-Jitsu at the time. And it was right when Jiu-Jitsu was kind of like what I would consider becoming mainstream. Like people knew what Jiu-Jitsu was. Because when I was coming up, like everybody thought I just did karate or Kung Fu or something. Like nobody knew what Jiu-Jitsu was. Um, and so when I started doing doing MMA, it seemed like that was going to be the path. And I actually went and trained at New Wave a little bit, um, with John and the guys there. And I had a conversation with John about it and and he kind of persuaded me to to just go back to Jiu-Jitsu. I I trained a little bit there and he said, you know, you're really close in Jiu-Jitsu and you're starting at the very beginning in MMA. So, you might as well pursue Jiu-Jitsu a little bit more and and I mean he kind of predicted it. This was, you know, maybe 2021 and he was like, Jiu-Jitsu is going to explode. Um, and you're already good enough. Just keep pushing there. And uh it was really good advice. I'm glad I took it and uh I just went full back into Jiu-Jitsu and haven't looked back since. Speaker 3: Can you tell me about uh, you know, you talked about Professor Seneca having, you know, long time belief in you, work with you for a long time. What was that conversation like with him after you win trials and and really have that moment? Tell me about that first conversation you had with him. Speaker 2: Yeah, it was awesome. I mean, you know, it's so interesting with him and if you know Seneca, you know exactly what I'm talking about. He's a perfectionist and he always expects that. And so, you know, even the conversation, it was just like, congratulations, I told you. You know, like it was like he there was no like crazy emotional rise. He's like, I told you this was going to happen since you were a little kid. Like now you finally believe me. Um, which is just cool. Like it's one of those things where, um, you know, Seneca's not fake like that. Like I've never heard him have these conversations with random people of, oh, you can do it or you can do it. He's very, very honest and uh since I was little, he said that like, it's going to be your time. You just keep pushing and so it was cool to to finally have that moment of like, all right, we did it. You know, we we did everything uh we had set our mind to do with this tournament. We we conquered it. So, now we get to go and punch our ticket to the big show. Speaker 1: Did did Seneca ever give you like a uh a funny Brazilian nickname? Brazilians love dishing out nicknames. I I'm pretty sure Seneca means sleepy, right? Isn't that like where that what the word means? Yeah. Did he ever try to give you one? Speaker 3: It does. Speaker 2: Dude, Yeah, and I hated it because there were some really cool nicknames in the gym. We had we had a guy come in his first day. He was like Pitbull. He was like the coolest name. Um, I didn't even get a Brazilian nickname. I just got Chubby Killer because I was a fat kid. He just basically called me this fat kid. He's like, that's my little Chubby Killer. Speaker 1: Chubby Killer. Chubby Killer kind of electric, to be honest. I I think you should potentially consider Speaker 3: Like what a what a classic Brazilian nickname. Chubby Killer. Speaker 1: Yes, I'm so glad that we asked. Speaker 2: Dude, yeah, I was a little I was a little fat kid in the room. So, I was the Chubby Killer. I'd go compete and he would he would scream it from the corner. And uh yeah, so that one has kind of stuck. Speaker 1: There's like Speaker 2: Unfortunately or fortunately. Speaker 1: There's like two ways you can get a kind of like nickname from a Brazilian guy. One is like hyper literal, like that is Chubby Killer. And then the other is like, it will never make sense. No matter how hard people try to explain it, it's just like, what what is happening, you know? But Chubby Killer, bro, I I might have to petition for you to kind of bring back that full branding heading into the ADCC World Championship. It'll be kind of sick, right? Speaker 2: Hey, listen, if the people like it, we'll bring it back. They can they can let me know. You send me some messages. I'll bring back the Chubby Killer. Speaker 1: All right, for sure. Speaker 3: How long you been watching uh the ADCC World Championships? What's what's it like to kind of now have this information that you're going to be there in Poland on the mats with some of the best grapplers in the world for a chance, you know, to to live in infamy, basically. Speaker 2: Yeah. Dude, it's insane. I mean, like back to Seneca, he went back um, whenever the last ADCC was when it was in Abu Dhabi. Um, he flew out for I think some Brazilian commentary. And uh that was the first time like ADCC was on my radar because he came back and he had like some ADCC gi's and rash guards. I have this like old ADCC rash guard that I was wearing when I was like 10 years old. And uh he gave it to us and um, you know, was telling us all about this like amazing tournament in Abu Dhabi. Like all the best fighters in the world go there. And um, yeah, it's it's been on my radar ever since. And it was just one of those things where, you know, even coming up early on, I felt like I wasn't ready for trials. Like I'd hear about trials, see it. I was like, I got to wait until I feel like I can win. I don't like competing at tournaments, um, you know, or I didn't like at least in the past. If I didn't feel like I could go and win the tournament, I was like, there's no point. Like if I don't think I can win, I'm not going to go. And um, so I really held myself back until really 2020. Um, when I went to my first trials because I wanted to make sure like I had a chance to win the whole thing. And um, so yeah, it's been on my radar for a very long time. Speaker 1: For sure. I want to we we uh maybe just a couple more questions and then we might have to, you know, get you out of here and everything. I don't want to take up too much of your time. But one thing I want to know is, did you have like a favorite grappler? Did you have like your guy that you used to love to watch compete, to maybe emulate in the gym, but really just like your favorite grappler you would watch Jiu-Jitsu when you were younger? Speaker 2: Dude, there's so many. I mean, Seneca had me study a lot of people coming up. Obviously, like everybody watched Roger. Like Roger was the man. Um, especially when I was younger, like watching Roger matches was insane. I really enjoyed watching Buchecha as well. Um, and then as I started kind of moving into No-Gi, I've always been a really big fan of Wagner Rocha. And that makes it even cooler to me now is like, he's somebody that has mentored me a lot. I've gotten to train with him a lot since, um, you know, watching him fight when I was a little kid, which is pretty cool. Um, but yeah, there's there's so many great guys. All those dudes are like just legends in their own right. It's it's cool to, you know, be able to now compete on the same platform that those guys have and still compete on. Speaker 1: For sure. And then if you if we made a direct clone of Nathan Haddad, a one-to-one clone, he knows everything you know, has all the skills you have, and we put you up against yourself, would you be able to submit yourself? Speaker 2: Dude, yeah, I'm going to smoke myself. Speaker 3: That clone can't beat me. No way. Speaker 2: I got better strategy than the clone. Speaker 1: What about what about uh passing your own guard? Would you be able to pass your own guard? Speaker 2: Yeah, I'd for sure. I man, give me one extra day, right? If I have one more day of strategy than the clone, I'm going to kick his ass, man. He's not going to beat me. Speaker 1: All right, good good to hear. A lot of people are scared of their own clone, it seems, you know? They they don't want to talk bad on their clone, but I I like that energy that you just whoop your clone's ass. Speaker 3: I don't know. Let him know. Speaker 2: I'm going to smoke them, dude. Speaker 3: You've talked a bunch about Speaker 2: I don't know. Speaker 3: You've talked a bunch about strategy there, Nathan. Do you feel like that's kind of like one of your your strong suits in in grappling as well? Cuz like, I'll be honest, kind of going into, you know, obviously I was like, dang, Nathan is having an incredible run. Now he's got to fight Ryan and I was thinking that maybe Ryan would would kind of have the better ADCC strategy. But obviously that was kind of flipped on his head and I thought that you kind of had the better ADCC strategy. So is that do you feel like that kind of like cerebral nature of the ADCC rule set and and the strategy is is kind of like one of your strong suits? Speaker 2: Absolutely. That's all credit to Seneca for that as well. I mean, that's something that he has tried to drive in me since I was a little kid. Um, I used to just go to tournaments and I would like send it every single time, every single match, even matches where I was like dominating and I'd get caught in something stupid or, you know, get scored on when I didn't need to, roll onto a submission when I didn't need to. And uh he would always tell me that like, you have to have strategy. You need to slow yourself down. Like I know you're fast and you can scramble, but sometimes you need to play the game a little bit. And I feel like I went through a a period where I almost swung the pendulum too far the other way and I was over analyzing stuff. And then he would kind of have that conversation again of like, your strategy's good now, but you need to pull the trigger. Like now you need to kind of show your speed and your scrambling ability. And uh this tournament it just kind of lined up perfectly. But that's something that we talk about in the gym all the time. Like strategy is very, very uh on the front of my mind because everybody has good Jiu-Jitsu. Like everybody now, you know, you ask them, how do you do this technique or how do you do that technique? Everyone knows. Like it's not a secret how to escape mount or how to like pass the guard. Um, but when to do what is what makes or breaks a fighter. And so, um, I think that's something I have a very strong suit in. Speaker 1: I I think one of the awesome aspects of like learning how strategic you are, how good at strategy you are, is that a lot of times there's like this synonymous nature of like strategy and being boring in Jiu-Jitsu, you know? And that's not true at all when it in your matches where it's like to hear that you are so strategic, you're doing so much kind of uh stuff that's like, you know, like like even how you break down like baiting the the waiter sweeps so that you can jump into the Kimura and ultimately you won via that strategy right there where you recognize it in live time and kind of were able to implement it. I mean, that's awesome, dude. It makes it so cool to not just hear you talk about Jiu-Jitsu, but to be able to watch you do Jiu-Jitsu knowing that like there's so much going on on the the the pre-match side, the like what you're problem solving while it's happening, but then for it to come out in such an exciting way with these kind of crazy scrambles, hunting subs and all that. So, you know, I just want to say that it it's sick watching you do Jiu-Jitsu, Nathan, and I'm stoked you're at uh you're going to be at the ADCC World Championship. So, um, you know, it's it's cool to have you on and we appreciate you coming on the show as well. Where can uh where can everyone kind of, you know, follow you and and learn more about you, get to know you better on the interwebs, I suppose. Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely. Um, obviously I have my Instagram. It's just my name, Nathan Haddad and then underscore. Um, I also have an online training program too. So if guys want to check that out, I teach a lot of strategy, a lot of different techniques on there. It's coreprobjj.com. Um, I have a little over 200 students on there right now. It's been pretty fun to kind of meet different people and strategize their game plan. So, would love it if you guys hopped on there as well. Speaker 3: Man, I I do sorry. Speaker 1: I was just going to say, Nathan, that it it seems like the uh your Instagram's been blowing up recently. Is that true? Is it has this been kind of really blown up the Instagram? Speaker 2: Yeah, it it definitely has. It's uh it's been awesome. It's been a tad bit overwhelming, but cool. I've been trying to respond and answer everybody's messages because, you know, the support does mean a whole whole lot to me. So, um, yeah, it's been awesome. Everyone who's checked that out, I I really appreciate all the follows, all the messages. It's been cool. Speaker 3: And it was a crazy tournament. Any any other uh athletes there kind of strike your eye as fun to watch or anybody else you were super hyped to to watch there at the West Coast trials? Speaker 2: Dude, I got to I got to shout out my Cuban brother there, Michael Saints. That dude is a monster. Um, no, he he killed it. They have a really cool family. It's always fun to watch him and, um, you know, having competed at 77 too a lot. It's it's fun to see that division. That division's so fun. It's so fast and it was cool to see him get it done as well. Speaker 1: How into Cuban coffee are you? Speaker 2: Dude, it's the best. Speaker 1: Because Speaker 2: It's the best. Speaker 1: The live stream ended up sparking a debate because we had Michael call in too at one point and he was talking about Cuban coffee. And then the the chatters were saying Colombian and Greek coffee better than Cuban coffee. I'm undecided. Speaker 3: What about Vietnamese coffee? Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I was shouting out Vietnamese coffee. Speaker 2: Cuban coffee's the way to go, man. You got to try the Cuban coffee. Speaker 1: All right. Well, you know, maybe we'll maybe we'll try to visit you and we can get some Cuban coffee with you. You should honestly, we should go all go to Miami and we can do a Cubans plus Flow in Miami type of thing and just go to little Cuba, you know? Speaker 3: Let's do it. Speaker 1: Hey, let's bring let's bring Flow Grappling to Kentucky, man. I got a nice gym. I got 600 students. You guys can come out, train with the boys. We get a little a little bit of some shots before Poland. You guys got to come out. Speaker 1: All right, bro. Speaker 3: Let's do it. Let's make it happen. Let's do it. Speaker 1: Well, thank you for uh calling into the show and everything, Nathan. We'll kind of let you get off here now. We got to talk a little Brasileiros and we got main character coming up too. But we appreciate you coming on. It was great talking to you. Great great getting to know you more and everything. So, we appreciate it, Nathan. Speaker 2: I really appreciate you guys. We'll see you guys in Poland. Speaker 3: Heck yeah, man. See you there. Speaker 1: See you, brother. Speaker 2: Good boys. Speaker 1: All right, cool. So, that was Nathan Haddad calling in. I still see him on the background, you know, but I think he's hanging up now. So we won't say anything mean about him yet until he. Um, but no, Nathan really cool dude. It was cool it's cool like, you know, like I I I didn't know too much about Nathan Haddad before the trials. I'll admit that, you know what I mean? Maybe I should and boy oh boy, do I know about him now? And it's like kind of kind of cool seeing how, you know, how much he thinks about Jiu-Jitsu, how uh how he looks at everything and just seems like a cool guy. So, I'm a pretty big fan of Nathan Haddad. But I guess we should we only have like 25 minutes left. We got to dive into Brasileiros and main character Jiu-Jitsu. Which one do you guys want to talk about first? Speaker 3: Uh, let's talk about main character first a little bit. Obviously, they got a big event coming up here this week. Kind of a a a camp going on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Bringing some of the best Jiu-Jitsu names in in the country down to Central Texas here. Got a bunch of seminars and stuff that you can check out and go to and then it all caps off. They got two events going on. Got an event Saturday night and an event Sunday night. Uh, I feel like things have have changed around a little bit recently with the card. But um, a little here and there. There's always going to be people dropping out, you know what I mean? But you got Marlon to Jeek versus Nick Nick Mataya, I believe is still uh still the main event there. So, uh, man, that's an incredible matchup. Speaker 1: Six title matches here on main character Jiu-Jitsu. Sunday evening going to be six title matches. Going to be awesome. Got everybody from Reese La Fever to uh versus Johnny Grippo. Number one pound for pound Helena Kravar is going to be in action. Natasha Dragan, Shane Forgoso. Uh, Jane just looked really, really good on WNO, for example. Kade Citos and Josh Cisneros for the welterweight title. That's a fresh matchup that just got added. Uh, Mo Black for uh Mo Black is out. It's going to be Amanda Bruce versus Jasmine Hocha for the 135-pound title. These are all incredible matches. These are one of the best No-Gi cards of the year so far. Uh, I think this is going to have a lot of great action that fans are going to like. Submission only rule set. Uh, super similar to a WNO. Plus there's more matches on the card. Guys like Felipe Andrew and Genio are going to be on here. It's going to be awesome. Speaker 3: You got to think. You got to think that Nick is kind of still maybe trying to angle into ADCC and a win over ADCC, you know, European trials champion Marlon to Jeek is definitely going to really help kind of put him on that short list of uh of of invites potentially. You know, there's there's fewer and fewer invites, but obviously a win over Marlon would be I think a a big step in the right direction there. So, Speaker 1: For sure. Yeah, I was going to I was going to point out there's like another uh there's a second little page on this graphic of of matches and everything with Felipe Costa, John Blank, Winston Torres, Abe, Austin Max Hansen, Francisco Lolo, Gus Smith, Hunter Cohen, Pat Chagoli, Goop Ice. Goop Ice coming out to Austin. It's about to get chilly up in Austin. You know, I'm going to bust out my cardigan. And then Jocelyn, Chelsea Coleman. So, I mean, this card is really insane. Kamoy's obviously doing a super cool thing here with the whole camp, you know, the way the there's seminars all week and open mats and then ultimately back-to-back events, which is pretty nuts. Um, Kamoy, you get you guys think Kamoy's stressed? You guys think he's stressed about doing this or he kind of he kind of always has like a calm, cool demeanor about him. I don't I couldn't really see a guy like Kamoy getting too stressed, but this seems like a hard thing to pull out pull off without shaking in your boots a little bit, you know what I mean? Speaker 3: He's doing an awesome job. I mean, just look, you know, the list of people that he has coming in for the seminars. Everybody from, you know, Cassia Mora to John Donnaher to Andy Varella to Del Fornerino. Uh, you know, just a uh a crazy JT Torres, just an eclectic, crazy group of people. Uh, and then Saturday's going to be more of the like, we've talked about main characters, like the crazy show where anything could happen. I think that's going to be a little bit more the Saturday energy of the like, you know, uh uh no holds barred, match types you've never seen, that kind of thing. Uh, but then Sunday's going to be for the thoroughbreds, right? Sunday's going to be where the real action takes place, where the best of the best come. Speaker 1: Man, that uh Felipe Costa versus John Blank. That's that's actually a pretty sick match. And like that's something that you could see at ADCC Worlds like quarterfinals or something like that. And we've just Felipe has just looked so good out there recently, I feel like. And and but John just feels like maybe he's kind of like a step above a lot of a lot of the rest of the Jiu-Jitsu community. So, we're going to kind of see how that how that Speaker 3: Here's what I would be worried about if I were, not worried about, that's not the right word, but like if I'm breaking down this match, a lot of what Sebastian Natard was able to do early against uh Felipe is going to be a lot of what John Blank tries to do too, right? Uh, and so I feel like, man, if Sebastian got really good and and deep into these leg entanglements and arm bars and stuff, uh uh maybe uh uh John's going to be able to recreate some of that. Maybe not. Speaker 1: I rolled with John one time and he just was a hammer. He just beat the brakes off me. And uh so I'm always impressed when people can do stuff to John Blank. Speaker 3: You didn't win? Speaker 1: I didn't win. I was like, man, that guy is Speaker 3: I was with Felipe Costa and he absolutely whooped me. So, Speaker 1: Same thing goes the other way. Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah. So, um, no, man, I just love that this is going on in Austin. Like you said, and just Cassia Mora, Adel Fornerino, JT Torres, John Blank, like who else do you want to learn from? You know, there's literally like, you know, that that's kind of just an incredible list. So you can probably up your Jiu-Jitsu game. I know you need it. So definitely check out the uh the camp to up the Jiu-Jitsu game a little bit. And then yeah, you can watch on Flow, of course, Saturday and Sunday night as well if you're not in Austin. What what's the the Rodeo's called? What is it called again? I forget the name of the the venue. Speaker 1: It's a Rodeo complex here. Yeah. Plaza del Toro or something like that. Speaker 3: Plaza del Toro, yeah, yeah, yeah. Speaker 1: Yeah, so bring your boots, bring your spurs. Get ready to freaking. Speaker 3: Down there towards uh Circuit of the Americas. Speaker 1: Oh, is it kind of like Mustang Ridge? Speaker 3: It's a title venue. Yeah. I think I've been there before. Yeah. It is pretty uh uh cool little spot. Yeah. Speaker 1: Okay, really? Okay, cool. But main character should be sick for sure, to be honest. I think it's going to be very cool. So, um, now we've got to. Speaker 3: There's so many good matches. It's almost hard to like give them all their due. You know what I mean? We're just trying to Speaker 1: Johnny Grippo versus Reese La Fever. That's another one where Reese is trying to kind of snipe the ADCC champion and hopefully get some of that kind of good favor going into um, the next season. I think Hunter Cohen's actually out. So it's Pat Chagoli versus Sebastian Natard now. Speaker 3: There you go. I thought Sebastian was on the card somewhere. There you go. Speaker 1: Sebastian Natard uh number one maniac. So, and then the main character Jiu-Jitsu 9 on Saturday. It's got some crazy stuff too. Like that's the one with uh the teams. Speaker 3: Yeah. Speaker 1: Uh Dean and Nicola versus the Odell boys. Speaker 3: Not even the team, but I was talking about, but that is going to be probably. Speaker 1: Yeah, it's the real team, the tag team match. Um, is going down on that one. So, definitely some crazy stuff. Michael Saints was originally supposed to be in this, but he got hurt. He said during the live stream that he actually hurt his shoulder first match of trials. And uh, you know, so. Speaker 3: All right. Yeah, yeah. The gold medal feels pretty good. So, Speaker 1: Yeah. Um, all right, let's uh we got to talk a little bit about IBJJF Brasileiros because it's going on right now. I could be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure it's today's like blue belts and some masters and then tomorrow's purple belts and masters and then brown belts on Thursday, Friday and then black belts Saturday, Sunday. So, a full week of incredible Jiu-Jitsu coming at you guys from Sao Paulo, Brazil. A little bit of the Gi action. We've been we've been doing too much No-Gi lately, bro. Let's get back to the Gi. Let's get back to the roots. Poh, you know what I'm saying? We got to put the Gi back on and uh and enjoy some Gi Jiu-Jitsu. So, what do you what do you guys most excited about for this Brasileiros? Speaker 3: I mean, I you know, I I feel like you got to talk about Gabby versus Sarah Galvao here. Um, sorry, I'm going to sneeze. Speaker 1: Oh. Speaker 3: Oh. Speaker 1: Everyone sit quietly and wait for Reed to sneeze or not. Speaker 3: Oh. Gabby and Sarah, number one rivalry going on right now. One and one through the first two majors. Yeah, one and one through the first two majors. Gabby Pasanha, Sarah Galvao. To me, that just is the storyline of this IBJJF kind of Gi season. And I know maybe people are a little tired of hearing us talk about it or are a little tired of the kind of rivalry that's brewing, but but and I wouldn't even necessarily call it a rivalry, but it is clearly the two best females who wear a Gi and they've met twice now and they're one and one against each other. It is an incredible storyline. One of the things that that I'm most interested, not only at Brasileiros, but to see how that is going to play out at Worlds as well. Cuz really, you know, obviously, uh both these girls are really, really want that that world title, especially Sarah, her first year at Black Belt. It's kind of she spelled out a lot of her goals for this year. It includes winning ADCC, it includes winning Worlds. And standing in her way is arguably the greatest female grappler to put on a Gi of all time, Gabby Pasanha. And it's an incredible storyline. Um, the match that the both matches they've been they've had so far have been super close, you know, and uh I just think it makes for incredible drama, incredible storylines to to follow here for this Brasileiros as we kind of go right into Worlds. So, I'm sorry if you're a little tired of hearing us talk about this, but to me, there is nothing more. But there is nothing more interesting in the world of of the IBJJF um kind of season than than Gabby versus Sarah. Speaker 1: I'm not sorry. I'll say it all again. I'll make everybody listen to me say exactly what Reed just said. Freaking suck it, dude. I'm just kidding. What what are you most excited for, Joe? Speaker 3: Well, you know, I do want to co-sign a lot of what you're saying. I do think that uh, you know, it's not like that it is an inevitable match. There's obviously more pitfalls that can happen down there in Brazil. We saw even Gabby stumbled in the absolute last year, right? You know, Brasileiros is a place where incredible things can happen. And uh uh I think that yeah, something that's really interesting to me is the way that both of these matches have been decided in the last minute. And if that's going to influence some of the strategy moving forward, maybe Gabby tries to score earlier and put herself up on the scoreboard and make Sarah have to chase her a little bit later, rather than having a match that's that in the in the uh the the margins uh late. For me, something I'm really looking forward to is see if uh we're going to have some people be able to complete the Grand Slam. We have three people still alive for the IBJJF Grand Slam. That's Diego Pato, that's Tainan Dalpra, that's Gabby Pasanha. I believe they're the only three who are still eligible for the IBJJF Grand Slam. Diego Pato and Tainan Dalpra going for their third. Gabby Pasanha going for her record fifth IBJJF Grand Slam. She's able to accomplish this, she will beat the record of Gabby Pasanha, who accomplished four. Speaker 1: That's the most Grand Slams in history. Speaker 3: I believe so. Speaker 1: Wow. I I think to be honest with you guys, I think I'm most excited for probably Gabby Sarah. But let's push that aside so I don't just pick the same thing as everyone else. I think the thing I get most excited for for an event like Brasileiros, specifically kind of Brasileiros because it it has this wild environment. You get like so many fresh faces from uh from people in Brazil, you know, that can't travel outside. You get you get this crazy mix of specifically colored belt action. Speaker 3: It's the best colored belt action. Speaker 1: Yeah. So, so I think watching the colored belts and more specifically, the colored belt absolute each day is kind of something I'm most excited for. It's going to be kind of sick to know like roughly around, you know, like the evening time, you could flip on Flow and be watching like the colored belt absolute where you're going to see some some kid who everyone in the comments is going to argue is not a purple belt, you know, just murdering some people. And then you next day you can watch this a light feather purple going up against an ultra heavy purple and seeing like this kid pull some crazy stuff. Like basically just every day knowing you get the absolutes like that for these colored belt divisions. Whenever they're going to be absolute killers. I make a joke about everyone saying he's not a purple belt. That's just inevitable whenever you watch a major like Brasileiros or something. Um, they're all just really good at Jiu-Jitsu. I hate to break the news to the to the casual hobbyist, but they're just really good and that's kind of how the belts work is, you know, they're still really good, but they're a purple belt. Speaker 3: Yeah, they're an awesome purple belt. Speaker 1: Yeah. And uh so that's what I get excited for is watching those colored belts every day. Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean that's that's where guys like Mayram, where where down there just cleaning up at the blue purple belt level. I remember guys like Heron Gracie, you know, we're we're making crazy runs at at Brasileiros at at that kind of level. And obviously all those guys have kind of gone on to to, you know, be a staple in Black Belt and stuff like that. So it's just like this is where you really get a glimpse of what Jiu-Jitsu the Black Belt level is going to look like in two, three, four, five years. Yeah, and I'm not going to lie, dude. I like whenever I see a little Gringo out there. Get a little get a little American boy to cheer for, you know. Speaker 3: Doesn't happen often, but Speaker 1: Yeah, no, it doesn't happen often and you don't usually get to see a lot of matches from them. But when you do, it's pretty sick. So, so I'll be trying to I'll be trying to spot out some Gringos. Speaker 3: And then every once in a while when you do and they do have a lot of matches, they I'm thinking about like a Nolan, who he also does like have like a Braga, Alves, Silva, thrown on the end of the name. Yeah. You know, just a crazy JT Torres, just an eclectic, crazy group of people. Uh, and then more and more examples there, but adding Felipe Andrew, a guy who's won Worlds before, that's awesome for that division. Only going to make it tougher, only going to make it for more better Jiu-Jitsu. Uh, a lot of great stuff happening. Pato going for like his 11th, I think, straight IBJJF gold. Speaker 1: That's crazy. Speaker 3: Yeah, that dude's on a tear. Like that dude is just crazy. It's like, you know, there were there was a time where I feel like we were we were thinking that like some people were getting close to him and stuff like that in the Gi and it's just like, no, never mind. Speaker 1: Put it back down. Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, to Pato. Baby Shark is, but like that's kind of it. Yeah, yeah. Uh, no, yeah, I mean it's just like you can be watching, you know, uh Jiu-Jitsu every day this week. Brasileiros is going on every day this week here. Um, starts early, ends in the afternoon. So if you want to be locked in on just kind of current trends and what's going on in Jiu-Jitsu, you can be watching every day here on Flow. We got main character going on this weekend as well. Um, tons and tons of events on Flow Grappling. So if you like watching, man, this is the place. Speaker 1: Yeah, make sure you guys tune into those ones. Go give Nathan Haddad some love, you know, give him a follow, you know, go uh go check out his other stuff. And hold on, scoot the scoot the camera over, Nick. I want to do a secret reveal. The the side one. And we'll see you guys in the next episode.