I was listening to a podcast this morning from recent days and one of the dudes from Brazil mentioned he used to work at a place that made pig's food or something. Grew up with 11 siblings or something ... had to steal from work to provide food for his family.
Wikipedia -
Palhares grew up in the Brazilian countryside in a poor family. He recalls working to help the family as young as age seven and said they did not always have enough food for everyone. He eventually had to leave his shanty and move underneath a local bridge in a tent city slum.[2]
He claimed the Fury Fighting Championship middleweight title in December 2007 after defeating Flavio Mura, Pan-Am Jiu-Jitsu champion Fabio Negao, and Chute Boxe's Daniel Acacio in a tournament.
Palhares earned his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under former UFC champion Murilo Bustamante and Bebeo Duarte. Experts in martial arts touted Palhares as one of the most naturally gifted grapplers today.[3]
Having spent his entire early career competing in Brazil, Palhares' first bout outside his home country was in the US at UFC 84. Toquinho has a good ground game and the ability to take the fight to the mat. He is considered to be one of the best in the world at leg locks, such as the heel hook and kneebar.[4] Palhares took 2nd place in the under 88kg 2011 ADCC, finishing his first three opponents quickly by heel hook, before losing to established World Champion Andre Galvao in the final, by points.
