Gabriel Almada 
Black belt Ronaldo Junior is confirmed at the Grand Slam Miami, to be held on September 16 and 17, and intends to repeat the feat of the last edition of the championship. Ronaldo put his plastic and finishing Jiu-Jitsu and became champion at the event.
Ronaldo is a student of Professor André Galvão and represents Atos in San Diego, California. Ronaldo is one of the most exciting athletes of his generation and always provides electrifying duels.
The Atos athlete is registered in the 85kg division and will not have an easy time winning the title. Names like Uanderson Ferreira, Mateus Rodrigues and Lucas Norat will toughen the dispute in the key.
In a chat with the VF Comunica team, Ronaldo Junior commented on the expectation to fight at Grand Slam Miami and expressed his desire to venture into grappling.
VF COMUNICA: Last year, you won the Grand Slam Miami. What will be your strategy to repeat the feat?
RONALDO JUNIOR: In 2022, I won the Grand Slam on my birthday and it was amazing. This year, I will defend my title. I hope to do good fights and develop a beautiful and offensive BJJ, the way I like to fight. The strategy is always the same: fight forward and look for the highlights.
How do you analyze this fight against Sebastian Rodriguez?
It will be an incredible fight, I want to be at my best.
In which areas do you think you will excel over Sebastian?
I am a complete athlete, I have the resources to get the better of him in any way the fight goes.
On what points of your game did you focus on evolving after the World Championships?
After the World Championships, my biggest goal was to recover my injuries. I am already 100% recovered and I feel ready for the next challenges until the end of the year.
Do you intend to compete in grappling soon or is your focus only on the gi?
I really want to compete in grappling for the first time in my career. I have been reconciling the two modalities in my training routine, maybe Pan Nogi will be my return to grappling, wait.
