Former police officer Bryant Pangelingan (Sabre BJJ) competes tonight when he takes on Inside BJJ’s Tim Freeman in a 200 lbs gi match. This will take place as part of the Fight 2 Win 97 event taking place at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Also a former bodybuilder, Bryant looked to be in great shape at weigh-ins and will look to display his skillset in front of Northern California Jiu-Jitsu fans.
We caught a few words with Bryant prior to the show.
Tell us a little about yourself and your story, both on and off the mats.
My family is from Guam, and I’m a military brat that was born in Germany but lived all over the place. Raised primarily in Northern California, i wrestled my whole life, graduated from Saint Mary’s College, and later a police officer for several years. Started JiuJitsu in 2003, and I’m currently a 2nd Degree blackbelt. I opened my own academy in 2014.
What has jiujitsu done for your life?
It’s brought me balance. I enjoy the grind, the learning about myself and others, and the chaos. On the outside it’s taken me all over the world and helped create some of the best friendships I’ve ever had.
Tell us something about your training.
I train in the gi, no gi, and wrestling every week. Competing or not. On my team, we have a lot of high level students…World Champs, Pan Am Champs..so it’s rough. My favorite influences in JiuJitsu are Roger Gracie and Marcelo Garcia.
What do you when you’re NOT training? What’s the rest of life like for you?
I’m a Dad, my son is 17. He plays baseball so a lot of my time is spent taking him to his training. I love cars and bmx bikes. And of course my dogs…Two American Bullies.
What are some of the things that matter most?
Family. And believing in yourself.
What’s one difficult thing you’ve had to overcome so far?
Injuries. Seeing myself slow down because of them. Trying to figure out if I’m done competing or not….it’s like telling a part of you to die.
This match at F2W 97 – why did you decide to compete?
I’ve been a competitor my whole life. Taking another match at F2W is a great way to feel alive. I don’t differentiate this from any other tournament. We’re gonna scrap.
Your opponent at F2W 97, what do you expect out of Tim Freeman?
A tough technical match.
How have you prepared for this match? Anything specific for your opponent? Any predictions?
I’ll be in even better shape than i was at No Gi Worlds. Nothing specific. We do everything on my team to be prepared for everything.
Do you have any message for your fans?
Thank you for the continued support of me and F2W.
Any last words before the match? Anybody you want to thank?
Honored to be here again.
Thank you to God, Family, Teacher and team.
