Just last year Romulo Barral had his emotional retirement from the IBJJF Worlds.
Romulo Barral, aged 34 is a black belt under Vinicius Magalhaes and competes for Gracie Barra, where he has won numerous championships. Romulo Barral is one of the top Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighters in the “Meio Pesado” weight division. Rômulo Barral maintained this black belt status in the years that followed with consistent medals at the top BJJ tournaments in the world. In August, 2011, Rômulo established his own Gracie Barra academy in Northridge, California, proving that he is also a coach. Romulo is a 5-time black belt world champion, 3-time silver medalist in the open weight division, and a NO GI world champion, and the 2013 ADCC champion.
Recently he got challenged to make middleweight to compete at Pans.
Barral’s students are both Felipe Pena and Gabriel Arges. Two attention grabbing up and comers who are both quite dominant in their matches so naturally Barral feels like he has to step up – Barral added:
“I got challenged by Gabriel, told me that I couldn’t make middleweight. So if it doesn’t challenge you it doesn’t change you. So I’m making middleweight. “
Still he opted to compete at Worlds at Medium Heavy!
