We caught up with Samir Chantre (view profile) while he was visiting his original coach in Rio de Janeiro. On vacation but still training for his Fight To Win Pro 25 superfight with Gianni Grippo, Chantre gave his thoughts about the match and how he feels it will go. 

My first competition [of 2017] is Fight To Win in Arizona. I faced Gianni before, two times, one victory each. I'm very excited about it. February 4, it's going to be a great start.

The submission-only superfight means that Chantre sees this match going differently to their last encounters. He had a 73% finishing rate last year, and wants to make sure that ratio stays high in 2017. 

Gianni is a very strategic fighter, very smart and has great jiu-jitsu, very technical. One of the most talented athletes out there. 

We fought two times, he beat me at Pans 2013, and the same year I beat him in the final of Vegas Open. I was very close to getting a submission. 

We both won by points, but I'm pretty sure this time -- we're not going to have any points -- we're both going to be looking for submission, pushing the pace. 

If you see my fights, out of 15 fights this past year 11 ended by submission. I'm really excited for this match, submission only.

Headlining Fight To Win Pro 25 is a black belt match between Mackenzie Dern and Pati Fontes. Also, a co-main event match featuring Jeff Glover vs Tanquinho! Watch it LIVE or On Demand only on FloGrappling.