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tial arts and saw that there was a com- mon link between them.
Ruiz has done folkstyle, freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, Submission Wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu and Judo with a gi, Phillippino Martial Arts and some boxing and kick boxing.
“I tried to be open minded and experi- ment. I tried to compete in all the Grappling styles,” he said. When FILA announced that Grappling was an recognized style of international wrestling, Ruiz wanted to compete at that level.
“USA Wrestling is the best, most organ- ized organization in the grappling world. I have yet to see any tournaments run bet- ter than by USA Wrestling and by FILA. There is fairness in their events,” said Ruiz. “I have won a few World titles in other organizations. But I never won one with all the flags from FILA, where every- body is invited. There is a higher level of legitimacy there.” His first World Championships compet- ing in Grappling for USA Wrestling was in 2008 in Switzerland. Ruiz won a World silver medal there, losing in the finals to Jeff Monson, a former wrestler who is a Grappling legend and MMA star. “The first team I was on was really spe- cial,” said Ruiz. “It was my first real time competing with that international flavor. I wrestled Jeff Monson, who has been the best in the world in every Grappling organization. With the U.S. team, there were a lot of guys taking it very seriously. It was exciting competing against Jeff. In the finals, I made a couple of mistakes and it cost me. It encouraged me and motivated me to do more events.” In 2009, USA Wrestling hosted the Grappling World Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He wanted to win his first FILA Grappling World title competing on the U.S. home soil.
“I felt the gravity of the opportunity. The
last World Championships hosted in the USA before that was in 2003 in New York City. It was cool that I’d have another shot to win it in America. Anytime I have represented the USA, whether in Greco- Roman at the Pan Americans or at the Grappling World, you savor the experi- ence,” he said.
Ruiz had been injured and petitioned onto the U.S. team. He trained hard and competed well in the preliminary matches in Fort Lauderdale, and reached the finals against young Kelly Anundson, a former college wrestler who was starting his martial arts career. Ruiz lost to Anundson, taking home another World silver medal.
Brandon Ruiz takes control at the Grappling Worlds. Robbert Wijtman photo. “I made the mistake of overlooking
Kelly Anundson. I’ll never do that again,” said Ruiz. “I got a little too excited at that tournament. My conditional level was OK, but was not enough to beat a guy like Kelly. When I lost to Monson, it was a disappointment. Against Kelly, I really felt this was a guy I should be more competi- tive against.”
The 2010 Grappling Worlds were just three months after that, in Poland in March. Brandon did not have the time to raise the funds for that trip, so he did not attend. He was not sure if there would be another opportunity to get that elusive gold medal. However, the loss at the 2009 Grappling Worlds ignited a fire in Ruiz in all of his combat styles. This season, at the age of 34, Ruiz felt that he had reached a new level.
“For me, it has been great to have that level of maturity. I understand myself and know what I need to do. From 2009 to now, I have been on a quest to be great. It is not about winning titles. More than anything, I wanted to be great. The more I understood things, the more streamlined my training became,” he said. When USA Wrestling announced the
2011 Grappling Trials would be at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, Brandon was ready to give it another try. “I made some adjustments the last few weeks before Trials. I knew not to over- look Kelly. I knew it would be hell against him, but I said let’s go for it,” he said. Competing in the most competitive field
at the Trials, Ruiz reached the finals against Anundson, and came out with a 6-1 victory.
“I was able to give him a different look, weather the storm and keep to my strate- gy,” said Ruiz. “Kelly was a two-time World champion. Beating him was a con- fidence boost.”
At the Grappling World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, Ruiz was able to achieve his dream of winning a FILA World Grappling gold medal. “Coming up short twice, it was nerve wracking. My wife helped me to be ready mentally. Over time, your expectations change. I wanted to be the champion this year. I was able to stick to my game plan and execute,” said Ruiz.
He won four matches to capture the
World title. Ruiz opened with a 3-0 win over Clay Davidson of Canada. His sec- ond win was a submission over Hasan Bogdanov of Russia. In the semifinals, he beat Maicon Nunes of Brazil, 6-0. In the finals, Ruiz stopped Mikael Knutsson of Sweden, 3-0.
“I had a few close calls, and had some tough opponents,” said Ruiz. “In the finals, I got caught in a triangle. I remem- ber thinking I am not taking second again. I wasn’t in danger of submission, but if I didn’t get out, he had a chance to win a decision. I passed the guard and could advance from there. It was a sweet experience to come through it and exe- cute. It all came back to maturity.” When it was over, his wife Brynne told him that he went through the tournament without giving up a point, something Brandon had not realized. “I couldn’t do it without my wife’s love and support,” said Brandon. “She has been baptized by fire. She has helped me get where I need to be.”
15 USA Wrestler
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