As a raucous sold-out crowd cheered at the Warner Center Marriott grand ballroom in Woodland Hills, Raphael Carrao waited patiently for his opponent to come within striking distance. Seconds later, opportunity arose; an invisible line was crossed, and Carrao struck. Quickly and decisively, Carrao made his professional debut in Mixed Martial Arts on June 21 a successful one.
Reflecting afterward on his victory in a 155-pound lightweight MMA match against Russian amateur boxing and wrestling champion Georgiy Savlokhov, Carrao said he achieved it by doing what he does best.
“I knew if I got him to the ground I could win. That was the key,” said Carrao, owner and instructor at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Malibu Club off Pacific Coast Highway. “Don’t let him stand up again. When I got him in the mounted position, it was over.”
Utilizing his skills, knowledge and precision technique of Jiu-Jitsu, Carrao pulled a lightning quick leg sweep of Savlokhov, which resulted in a takedown. Carrao mounted and promptly finished Savlokhov with a barrage of pummeling hard-hitting punches to Savlokhov’s head. The fight was stopped on a technical knockout at 1:08 of round one due to strikes.
“I couldn’t believe I won. It was the best feeling ever,” Carrao said.
Born in Sao Paulo State, Brazil, Carrao began studying Judo at age 10 and Muay Thai as a young teenager. Yet his love for Jiu-Jitsu, or “gentle arts” as he calls it, became his passion. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu offers the advantage of not requiring extraordinary strength or physical stature. It is a sophisticated martial art, which Carrao has embraced since the age of 19.
Under the tutelage of Master Roberto Godoy and Roberto Tozi (Brazil’s top competition team), Carrao, 37, began to compete and win titles in various divisions. He moved to the United States in 2004 and continued his Jiu-Jitsu education under John and Rigan Machado.
Carrao founded the BJJ Malibu Club in 2008 where he currently teaches group and private classes for self-defense, competition and personal workouts.
“I can’t live without Jiu-Jitsu. I train every day and I teach it every day,” said Carrao, who earned a black belt in 2008 after 10 years of intense training.
Carrao’s success in Jiu-Jitsu competition continued as he won a gold medal at the 2006 Pan American Jiu-Jitsu championships, a silver medal in the 2008 Las Vegas Grapplers Quest, and a silver and bronze medal at the World Jiu-Jitsu Championships in 2010 and 2011, respectively.
With the Ultimate Fighting Championships becoming increasingly popular in the sports world, Carrao explored the idea of competing in MMA two years ago. Training under Jean Jacques Machado, a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu for more than 25 years, Carrao strengthened his ability in Jiu-Jitsu to prepare for MMA.
“An MMA fight is like surfing a big wave,” said Carrao, who is an avid surfer in Malibu in his free time. “You start paddling and you don’t stop. Once you commit, you don’t go back. Catching the wave and training for a fight is the hard part. When you ride it in and actually fight, that is the fun part.”
But that wouldn’t be enough for Carrao to succeed in the arena of mixed martial arts. He joined the infamous “Black House” in Los Angeles to learn the techniques of boxing and wrestling while improving his skills in Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu. “I have to improve upon my stand-up; my boxing, my Muay Thai, my footwork,” Carrao said. “I have so many people helping me. I love Jiu-Jitsu and MMA is interesting.”
Fighting alongside UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva, former champion Lyoto Machida and many other world-renowned fighters at the Black House, Carrao gained the confidence and MMA expertise to enter the ring competitively for the first time six weeks ago.
“My ground game is perfect. I feel strong and flexible,” Carrao explained. “My striking isn’t too bad. I felt so much love around me before the fight. People gave me good energy.”
As part of the “Mixed Combats: Rising Stars of MMA/Boxing/Muay Thai” event hosted by Sports and Entertainment and All Star Promotions, Carrao got a taste of the popular UFC and even came away with a victory. He intends to continue to fight in the near future.
“I want to fight again,” Carrao said. “I will train very hard and see if I can have another fight by September. Then we will see how that goes. This is fun.”