Representing Alliance San Diego at Fight 2 Win 95, Piter Frank will be taking on Johnny Tama of Stronghold in a 165 lbs. black belt gi match at Town and Country San Diego next Saturday night. It’s a familiar match, with both having faced each other many times before. The main difference will be that this one will be on the elevated F2W stage, with local BJJ fans watching their every move.
Born in Brazil, Piter emigrated to the US with the same dream as other black belts that preceded him – to make a living through the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. With that in mind, he’ll look to take another step forward when he takes on Johnny at F2W.
We recently caught up with Piter to get his thoughts on the matchup and learn more about his background.
Fight 2 Win 95 – Piter Frank (Alliance San Diego)
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I am Brazilian. I was born in the interior of Brazil but I grew up on the beach of Juquehy. I am the son of humble parents and my family always taught me to be a good person and to stick to my morals. In 2016 I moved to the United Sates to live my life for Jiu Jitsu. This was a huge challenge for me because in Brazil, I had a really good life. Despite this, I left everything that I had in Brazil to live my dream. Eventually I met my wife, Sara and now I am living in San Diego.
In my jiu jitsu I like to have fun. I fight with happiness and many times, I am able to transform difficult situations into submissions. I always fight for the submission.
When I am not training, I like to surf, skateboard, walk my dog, and to be with my wife. If I can pass on a good vibe to the people around me, for me this is the best.
How did you find martial arts? How do you approach competition?
My dad is a black belt in Kung Fu and I always wanted to fight but because of financial reasons, I could never fight or train. I tried to be a soccer player, I tried to be a surfer, but my destiny was to be a fighter. It was because of this that, one day in 2005 my friend Jhony Boy took me to go train judo. I began to train and I felt a huge pleasure. After two months of training, my sensei Uatila took me to a competition, and I ended up getting third place. I decided that I would never stop to fight. I then began to train jiujitsu in 2008 with my professor Vira Lata. I trained 1 year with him and then I moved to a different city, where I began to train with Cavaca. I trained with Cavaca until I received my black belt in 2016. Jiu Jitsu changed my life and made me into a better person. I learned to control myself, to resolve my personal problems, and to respect other people.
In my jiu jitsu I like to have fun. I fight with happiness and many times, I am able to transform difficult situations into submissions. I always fight for the submission.
Where do you train now? What’s it like?
Today I train at Alliance San Diego with Jhony Faria. Our training is always strong. We do a lot of specific training and rolling. I train 2 or 3 times a day. My biggest influences in Jiu Jitsu are Cavaca, Buchecha, Renanto Canuto, and Terere.
What accomplishment are you proudest of so far?
All of my accomplishments make me proud, but one of the most important accomplishments was winning both my weight class and absolute in Pan-American No Gi 2017. For me, this was such a great feeling because that year was filled with so many obstacles and I experienced so many losses in jiu jitsu in 2017, for example, I wasn’t even able to compete in the world championships that year, so I was very sad. To be able to come back and win my weight class and the absolute was a great accomplishment for me.
What’s the hardest part of your journey? What motivates you?
The biggest obstacle in my journey was in the beginning when I wanted to compete but I never had money to pay for my registration, traveling, to buy Gi’s . I needed to work to pay for college. I didn’t even have money to eat, but I always kept believing.
My biggest motivation in jiu jitsu and life is Cavaca and Buchecha because I have seen them persevere and never give up and I always look to them and it motivates me.
You’ll be competing about Johnny Tama at F2W95. Any thoughts on the match?
I hope that my opponent gives a good fight. We have known each other and fought together many times and we both know each other’s game. I am always preparing and I am always prepared to fight for the submission.
Any last words for the fans?
For my fans, I promise to fight and to give a good show. I always fight to get the submission.
