UFC, WVC pioneer to receive documentary about career
Article excerpt
A pioneering grappler and former UFC fighter is the subject of an upcoming documentary that will chronicle his career. The project aims to recognize the contributions of one of the sport's most influential figures, whose legacy spans multiple fighting disciplines. While specific details about the documentary's release date and production team remain limited in this initial announcement, the film is expected to provide an in-depth look at his journey through combat sports. The documentary comes as the fighter's impact on grappling and mixed martial arts continues to resonate across the sport.
One of the greatest grapplers of our generation and a one-time
Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter is getting the recognition he deserves.
Thirty years after the iconic and bloody 30-minute final of the
WVC 3 tournament in Sao Paulo, Brazil, combatants Fabio Gurgel and Mark Kerr met again. The two came together backstage at the 30th edition of the Jiu-Jitsu World Championship on Saturday in California. Gurgel spoke to Sherdog about their reunion.
“Mark Kerr is a very pleasant person; we talked for almost half an hour,” Gurgel explained. “We talked about his film and, since he is representing a brand of sleep measurement rings, he gave me one as a gift. Interestingly, I am launching a corporate bioperformance product in Brazil called Impulso +. Exactly with the objective of bringing the culture of jiu-jitsu, to take care of the health of employees, to large companies. We talked a lot about this synergy.”
Rock the doc
During their conversation, which included talking about the film “The Smashing Machine” and its similarly named documentary, Gurgel felt inspired to get the ball rolling on his own video story. It is currently in production with involvement from the defunct WVC organization and its direction by Jorge Wolney Atalla of “Sequestero” fame.
“The film producers tried to buy the rights to the fight from [WVC producer] Frederico Lapenda, who wasn’t interested in selling. This sparked his desire to tell the other side of the story. Lapenda is a great friend and he contacted me, and that’s how the idea for the documentary about my career was born,” said Gurgel.
The focus of the documentary is not on the WVC 3 final itself, with that match just one point along the timeline that is Gurgel’s life. The film will also delve into the Alliance Jiu-Jitsu team which operates all around the world, as well as personal aspects like Gurgel receiving his BJJ black belt as a 19-year-old from master Romero Cavalcanti.
“Obviously, that fight is iconic in my career, but the documentary isn’t just about that,” the grappling ace noted. “I was part of the 1991 vale tudo fight against luta livre, then I fought in UFC 11, [and] I was a four-time jiu-jitsu world champion. The fact is that many people have fought and achieved much more than I have in jiu-jitsu and vale tudo, and even as a teacher.”
The 7th degree BJJ coral belt continued, “What I think makes my story interesting is the whole picture. I've trained hundreds of champions, we created the longest-running partnership and the most successful academy, and we’ve even transformed that into a business model that impacts millions of people. After all, today we have 300 schools in 32 countries and more than 60,000 students. So, if you put it all together, perhaps few people have done what I’ve done. We are already in the production phase. I'm eager to start filming.”