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[Fedorlei Gomipierre]

Shine Fights signs Abu Dhabi champ Braulio Estima to multi-fight deal by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Feb 01, 2010

The upstart Shine Fights organization has added an intriguing prospect to its roster in advance of an anticipated April fight card.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Braulio Estima (0-0 MMA), the 2009 Abu Dhabi Combat Club 88-kilogram and Absolute division champion, has signed a multi-fight agreement with the Shine Fight organization.

The Gracie Barra black belt is currently training alongside Renzo Gracie and is expected to make his MMA debut at Shine Fights' as-yet-unannounced third event, which is expected to take place in April.

Terms of the deal were not revealed, but the contract is believed to be a multi-fight, U.S.-exclusive agreement.

The head instructor of the Gracie Barra academy in Birmingham, England, Estima's stock has never been higher in the grappling world.

A black belt since 2003, Estima is a multiple-time World, European and Pan-American champion. Estima defeated noted grapplers and current MMA fighters Andre Galvao (3-1 MMA) and Alexandre "Xande" Ribeiro (2-0 MMA) en route to claiming his two titles at the 2009 Abu Dhabi Combat Club championships.

Estima competed in the 88-kilogram class in the Abu Dhabi tournament, which equates to approximately 194 pounds.

MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com) has learned from sources close to the promotion that Estima's first contest is likely to take place at a catchweight somewhere between the welterweight and middleweight divisions.

Shine Fights signs Abu Dhabi champ Braulio Estima to multi-fight deal | MMAjunkie.com

Hmmmm, sounds like another interesting pickup from Shine.

[beau420]

Agreed, Shine is picking up some decent guys. It will be interesting to see where Estima fights....at 205 or try and make the cut to 185.

They only have 2 fighters at 205 in Shine right now. But they have 9 at 185, including Ninja Rua and Falaniko Vitale.

Here is the list in case anyone is interested:

fighters

[tucker50]

I actually says he'll likely be fighting between 105 and 185, which means he is probably looking at slimming down to 170 long term. I don't know what kind of MMA training he has, but if his standup and wrestling can be even decent, he can be a real force. He is always looking for submissions and being agressive with his BJJ so it could transfer very well to MMA.