On Sunday afternoon in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Davi Ramos became the greatest submission grappler in the world at 77 kg. Heading into ADCC, Ramos was seen by many as an underdog to take home gold, but he proved all naysayers wrong with perhaps the most exciting performance of the weekend. Following his memorable victory over Lucas Lepri, Ramos is hoping to reinvigorate his MMA career and earn a contract with the UFC.
In an interview with Sherdog.com, Ramos declared that he hoped his win would garner him some attention from the UFC:
“Now, I’ll focus myself on MMA once again,” he said. “Every ADCC champion earns a very good visibility, so I hope this trophy puts me one step closer to the UFC.”
While Ramos’ exploits on the mat are a thing of legend, his performances in the cage haven’t quite reached spectacular heights. Ramos won his first four MMA fights, 3 by submission and one via knockout but, in his most recent fight, he came out on the wrong end of a decision against David Rickels in Bellator.
Ramos won his first match of the weekend against Young-Ahm Noh via Mata Leao and his second against Gabriel Rollo on points. It wasn’t until the final day of the competition, however, that Ramos really stepped up a gear. In the semifinals he submitted the UFC’s Gilbert Burns before submitting Lucas Lepri with a spectacular flying armbar in the final.