When the Gracie's started becoming established in America, Rorion Gracie released the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in Action video. It featured Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners fighting martial artists of different styles, which has been viewed by almost every person interested in grappling or NHB. One of the fighters in the video is Murilo Bustamante. He is one of Carlson Gracie's top fighters in both Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Vale Tudo. He was one of three fighters featured in the event called Grande Desafio: Jiu-Jitsu versus Luta Livre. His fight was after the Wallid Ismael versus Eugenio Tadeau and preceded Fabio Gurgel versus Denilson Lopes. That was back in 1991. Since then, he has beaten Joe Charles, Jerry Bohlander, and Chris Haseman, but he is probably most well known for his 40-minute war with the Big Cat Tom Erikson. Erikson outweighed Murilo by over 80lbs. Murilo neutralized Erikson in that match, which ended in a draw. This giant killer is surprisingly soft-spoken, well-mannered person, always respectful to others. When he spars with you, he neutralizes and counters your techniques effortlessly, while feeling light as a feather, always moving around your strength. I got together with Murilo after a seminar that he did at Martinez Physical Fitness Center, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii on December 11, 1999 and asked him why he has not fought since 1997, what it was like training with Carlson Gracie, why he has been so successful in NHB, and if he is interested in getting back into NHB.

FCF: First of all, why haven't we seen you in an NHB match since '97?
Murilo Bustamante: I did not get an offer that met my minimum requirements to fight so far. That's why I came back, training and competing in BJJ.

FCF: So you did want to enter NHB events?
MB: Yes, but the money was not right.

FCF: What have you been doing for the past few years?
MB: I have been training, teaching, and fighting [in BJJ]. I have two schools in Brazil and I teach Jiu-Jitsu everyday, in the morning, the day, and the night. And I have been training and working out. I have also been training in boxing and Judo.

FCF: Where are your schools?
MB: I have two schools in Brazil. One in Leblon, and the other in Urca.

FCF: How long have you been teaching?
MB: I have been teaching for 12 years.

FCF: You are considered by many, including myself, as one of the top Brazilian NHB fighters. Why do you think you have succeeded where others at your level have not?
MB: I really appreciate that you think that I'm one of the top fighters. The difference between me and the other guys, I think, is that fighting requires you to use your mind and your brain. You must think about what you should do, instead of just using power. Not only using your technique, but training smart and fighting smart. You must use your mind to accomplish that.

FCF: Just about everyone has seen your fight against Marcelo Mendes in the infamous Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in Action video. What a lot of people may not know is the background on your opponent or the Luta Livre-BJJ rivalry. Why don't you tell us about that?
MB: Everything is tied to the Luta Livre guys who challenged the Gracies. I went into fight one of the guys. Marcelo Mendes wasn't really prepared to fight me. Marcelo was a kickboxing instructor and freestyle [luta livre] fighter in Brazil. At that time, the Gracie's were not interested in exposing themselves to fight there, and I was in good shape, so they picked me to fight and represent Jiu-Jitsu. The challenge was with the Jiu-Jitsu guys, not specifically the Gracie family. I did not represent the Gracie family, I represented Jiu-Jitsu.

FCF: How is the rivalry now? Is there still a rivalry?
MB: The Luta Livre guys now realize that it's not a big thing or professional to go out and challenge people. They now incorporate Jiu-Jitsu in their training and become professionals, improving their level, instead of challenging people. Now a days, everyone is cool.

FCF: Did this come about right after those fights?
MB: No, it came about through the years.

FCF: How many vale tudo [NHB] fights have you had?
MB: In '91, I fought Marcelo Mendes in Jiu-Jitsu versus Luta Livre. In '96, versus Joe Charles in Universal Vale Tudo 2. And in '97 in Pentagon Combat versus Jerry Bohlander, along with Reality Superfighting.

FCF: You fought the Big Cat Tom Erikson in Reality Superfighting and gained a lot of notoriety for that because he vastly outweighed you and you both fought two times before that. Tell us about that match?
MB: Tom Erikson was really in good shape at that time, but so was I. The match was originally set up to last 30 minutes, but they made that fight last another 10 minutes. I felt a little tired in the last few minutes. But it was a good fight despite Erikson being larger and stronger than me.

FCF: You are currently undefeated in NHB. You are making it known that you want to get back into NHB. Tell us about that?
MB: I feel that I'm in good shape and I am willing to fight anyone. If the money's right, I will fight anyone. The only bad aspect regarding NHB presently is that they are using a lot of illegal drugs, getting stronger and stronger, and this is bad for the whole sport, using steroids. Also lower level fighters are entering NHB, accepting fights for very little money. This is lowering the amount that high level fighters are getting paid.

FCF: Are there any specific fighters you would like to face?
MB: I would like to fight Sakuraba and Frank Shamrock. Those are the best fighters representing other martial arts, other than Jiu-Jitsu. They are tough fighters and I would like to fight them.

FCF: Are you against fighting other Jiu-Jitsu guys?
MB: I don't like to fight against another Jiu-Jitsu guy, unless they challenged me and put the right money. But I would rather not. I love Jiu-Jitsu, and would rather not fight another Jiu-Jitsu fighter.

FCF: Have you received any offers or are you actively seeking out fights?
MB: I have a manager and I also came to America to do seminars to help promote myself. I hope to expose myself to promoters and draw some interest in myself.

FCF: Carlson Gracie is organizing his first NHB event called "Heroes" in February 12, 2000. Do you know anything about the event? If so, can you tell us about it.
MB: I don't have many details, but I know that he is putting together an event.

FCF: Tell us about your background? And how long have you been training in BJJ?
MB: I started training with Carlson Gracie when I was 10 years. My older brother's took me there. I have been training for 23 years.

FCF: Why did you choose Jiu-Jitsu?
MB: Why? My brothers trained in Jiu-Jitsu with Carlson Gracie. One day I went down there to check it out and fell in love with it. And I have been training ever since. I also went to college and got an Economics degree.

FCF: Has Carlson Gracie always been your instructor?
MB: Yes.

FCF: How long have your been a black belt and what rank are you?
MB: I am a fourth degree black belt and I have been a black belt for 12 years.

FCF: What was it like training with Carlson Gracie?
MB: I repect and love Carlson Gracie a lot. I owe everything that I know to Carlson Gracie. And at this point, I feel that I have helped Carlson by training and teaching for him and promoting things in Brazil.

FCF: The Carlson Gracie team has a lot of very well-known fighters. Do you all get together to train often or does everyone primarily train on their own?
MB: Generally, everybody takes care of their own business. But once a week, we all get together and train really hard. When competitions come up, we get together and spend time to train hard and prepare for the competition.

FCF: A lot of Carlson Gracie team members have entered NHB, for the most part with a lot of success. Why is it that so many prominent members of the team have gotten into fighting?
MB: I think that Carlson Gracie was the best fighter at that time. And a lot of his students follow his steps [into fighting].

FCF: You have many BJJ titles, but the one that has alluded you has been the Mundial [World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship], which you won this year. Please all the titles that you have won.
MB: This year, I was the Brasileiro champion [Brazilian National Champion]. I am the World Champion this year and I also won the Brazilian state championship. I am a four-time Brasileiro champion and Brasileiro state champion. I have a lot of championships under the Rio de Janeiro BJJ Federation.

FCF: You also competed in the past Abu Dhabi Submission Wrestling Championship [88-98kg division], beating two fighters, including Ricardo Almeidia. Then what happened?
MB: I went to Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and fought on Thursday. I didn't give myself enough time to adapt to the climate. Overall, I felt that I did really good, but I am looking forward to next year's competition. Next year, I will arrive a few weeks early in order to adapt myself to the climate and improve my performance, and win at Abu Dhabi. I felt a little tired, so I let Rigan Machado go on and stepped down. If I knew that Rigan was hurt and that they would bring Ricardo [Almeida] back in to fight him, I would have competed.

FCF: What did you think of the competition at Abu Dhabi and the performance of the BJJ guys?
MB: In general, the rules did not allow the BJJ guys to take advantage of the fight. The wrestlers were standing up and running from the ground fight. The good news is that the Prince at Abu Dhabi is going to change the rules and make it more fair for the BJJ guys and encourage ground fighting.

FCF: What did you think of the competition at Abu Dhabi?
MB: The Brazilians that went there were definitely the best. The level was really high and I think that everyone will improve next year.

FCF: You have expressed interest in Abu Dhabi 2000. Were you invited to Abu Dhabi yet?
MB: No, I haven't been invited at this moment, but I look forward to being invited. If not, I will go to Brazil and fight in one of the qualifiers.

FCF: What kind of training do you do?
MB: I am training very hard everyday in Jiu-Jitsu. I am also running, swimming, and training yoga. That's it.

FCF: Are you doing anything special for this year's Abu Dhabi?
MB: I am going to arrive early!

FCF: How long do you plan on competing?
MB: I feel that I have accomplished a lot of things already. And as long as I am motivated, I will continue to train and compete. Right now, I am focusing on my diet and healthy lifestyle. As long as I feel good, I will keep going.

FCF: Give us your opinion on the Ryan Gracie & Wallid Ismael fight?
MB: I hope that they solve their personal problems in the ring or behind closed doors of their academies without hurting Jiu-Jitsu. I think this is bad for Jiu-Jitsu. When this kind of thing happens, it is usually settled by going to someone's academy, like Carlson's, closing the doors and settling their differences.

FCF: Anything else you would like to add?
MB: I will keep my motivation to train and fight in Jiu-Jitsu and vale tudo. I am going to keep training, improving, and spreading the word of Jiu-Jitsu in America by doing seminars. I enjoy coming to places like Hawaii and helping everybody develop Jiu-Jitsu around the world, Europe, America, Brazil, everywhere. My dream is to see Jiu-Jitsu in the Olympics. I am really happy that they put together this seminar at Schofield [Barracks, a military facility in Wahiawa, Hawaii]. I really appreciate that Relson's students came, Nova Uniao's students came, Joao's [Morais] students came. That is my goal, to help spread Jiu-Jitsu in Hawaii, America and Europe.

FCF: And when are you coming back?
MB: Hopefully soon, I will have to see.
Joao Morais' adds: He wants to come back really fast [laughs] because he loves to surf.
MB: I'm coming back to compete in the Triple Crown [of surfing, three professional surfing events held in Hawaii]. [laughs]

FCF: Thank you for the interview and great seminar.
MB: No problem. Thank you.

Thanks to Joao Morais for translating and for his hospitality.