Whether you're one of his fans or not, you can't deny that AJ Agazarm has a lot of heart. Since earning his black belt in 2013, this 2014 no-gi world champion has competed in well over a hundred matches under a wide variety of rulesets and against opponents of all styles and backgrounds. And on Friday, June 23, he's going to give himself a whole new challenge when he goes up against former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson at Fight to Win Pro 37.


 
Agazarm has a way of making headlines every time he takes the F2W stage --- his first appearance shocked audiences when he was kicked off the stage by opponent and longtime rival Vagner Rocha, and his more recent match with Garry Tonon left spectators alternating between holding their breath in anticipation and yelling. Although he's a former bronze medalist at Worlds, Henderson is known more for his MMA accomplishments than his jiu-jitsu, and Agazarm knows that the pairing is a slightly unconventional one. "The matchup represents a clash not only of styles, techniques, and personalities, but also of philosophies. THAT is why it's interesting," he says, referring to himself as a "purist" and a "passionist" and Henderson as a "jack of all trades" and an "opportunist".
 
The fact that F2W is a sub-only promotion plays into Agazarm's favor; this guy is HARD to submit. He's developed a reputation for resisting joint locks that make his limbs look like they're on the verge of snapping in two. But as far as he's concerned, the physical aspects of jiu-jitsu aren't what matter… and he doesn't believe that many of his former opponents have what DOES matter. "The 'body' does not exist. The 'joints' do not exist. There is only the SPIRIT. This is why someone like [Garry] Tonon can occasionally occupy a position, but not a state; he knows nothing of the SPIRIT of Jiu-Jitsu. So when he achieves a position, he believes that equals success. And when it doesn't, he is left with NOTHING. He knows the COST of EVERYTHING, and the VALUE of NOTHING. Which is why, whether it is Vagner [Rocha] with his filthy, vicious sneak-attacks, Garry with his leg-locks, or [Dillon] Danis with his fat-boy smother-bore tactics, and the meaningless numbers bored judges assign to them, that I win: by transcending the corporeal, with the sublime."


 
This mentality is a large part of what keeps Agazarm pushing ahead and competing every chance he gets, whether he wins or loses his matches. "Defeat does not exist," he says. "I always move forward." That's why, regardless of the outcome of his match with Henderson, it won't be long until we see him putting it all on the line again; in mind, body, and spirit, he's always ready. "My Jiu-Jitsu mental profile is already in the 'Cloud', like everybody's emails. It is available, standing by, waiting to be summoned. Proven under the pressure of competition and opposition like a gospel, preserved in a psychological catacomb until the day of reckoning."
 
Many of Agazarm's opponents have been defeated after being on the receiving end of his drive to win, and if Henderson doesn't want to be one of them, he's going to have to get past not only Agazarm's technique, but also his insatiable thirst for victory. "I don't compete in jiu-jitsu," he says. "I am jiu-jitsu."