Emmanuela Oliveira 
By achieving consecutive victories, an athlete stands out and fans who follow the competitive world become interested in the next steps of this competitor who is always at the top. This is the case of Cássio Silva, a Brazilian black-belt who lives in Paris and is responsible for running the School of Champs.
In superfights modality, Cássio is coming off a recent victory at ADXC 3 in May, winning a gi fight in the cage against Marko Oikarainen, in Paris. In traditional competitions, with brackets, Cássio fought at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam in Turkey this weekend and, reinforcing his favoritism, was the champion of the event. The top of the AJP Tour rankings is one of his next targets, along with the desire to remain undefeated throughout the year.
“With each competition I participate in, I realize that I am far above my opponents in the category I am competing in. This makes me very confident about this goal.”.
Feeling one step ahead on a technical level, Cássio has no intention of staying in a comfort zone and admits the desire to face opponents who represent bigger dangers. In this regard, he mentions Welison Fernandes, who is well ranked among adults in the AJP.
“I always look for bigger challenges. Welison (Fernandes) fights in the adult division and he is always on the podium at Grand Slams. I don’t fight among the adults because of business, family and I teach a lot, but I can have a match and I can fight anyone in the adult category, in the 56 kg division. Everyone knows I’m a problem.”.
Meyram Maquiné was one of the top athletes of the Worlds, according to Cássio Silva
The IBJJF Worlds ended on June 2nd, crowning new champions and perpetuating old reigns. Like every active competitor, Cássio followed the competition and gave his opinion on the fighting style he enjoys watching the most. Meyram Maquiné, lightweight champion this season, was mentioned by Cássio as a fighter who stands out among the lighter weight divisions.
“I really like watching lightweight Jiu-Jitsu through Meyram (Maquiné) in the open class. I see a lot of people saying that they have the best Jiu-Jitsu in the world because they win the open class, but they weigh 100 kg. In my opinion, the best technique is not winning both divisions. There are many lightweights with impeccable Jiu-Jitsu, who will never win the absolute because of their weight. Those are the ones who could say they have the best technique.”.
Another much-discussed topic at the IBJJF Worlds concerns the rules, with important absences caused by disqualification. With a lot of experience in competition, Cássio felt it necessary to specialize and today considers that the set of rules, regardless of the competition, is not a problem for him.
“I study the rules a lot. I used to be a referee and I learned from some really good guys, like Vincent Nguyen, who now referees the IBJJF black-belt finals, the only non-Brazilian. This gives me an understanding of the rules. I’ve never had any problems with that and I’m still studying.”.
