Rudson Mateus has got a monkey on his back, and the only way to shake it off is to win big at the 2019 IBJJF European Championships. 

Even though Rudson had a strong year in 2018 becoming Brazilian National champion and taking bronze at both the 2018 Worlds and Pans, he didn’t make it out of the first round at Euros, losing to the tough-as-nails Charles Negromonte. 

And the year before that, while still a brown belt, Rudson lost in the first round to River Dillon of the UK. 

Nobody doubts how dangerous Rudson is. He’s got one of the best closed guards in the business, and he’s hit the ground running already in 2019 by taking second at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam, losing to Lucas Hulk via decision in the final. 

Rudson’s relationship with Euros has been rocky over the last two years. But there’s only one way to eliminate the kind of self doubt that comes with a string of sub-par performances at a tournament: go out there and win. 

It’s certainly not going to be easy. His first round match is about as tough a test as you could get: the 2015 World champion and three-time European champ Claudio Calasans. And even if he manages to beat Calasans, waiting for him deeper into the bracket are the likes of Horlando Monteiro and Lucas Barbosa. 

Watch the 2019 IBJJF European Championships

Jan. 15-20 | Lisbon, Portugal