Besides the highly anticipated Lightweight GP and a range of other attractions, Copa Podio, set for January 9, in the Wonderful City of Rio de Janeiro, will feature an interesting battle between the "Cabras da Peste", lead by non-other than Bráulio Estima, and a team of Vikings, commanded by Danish giant Alexander Trans. The two captains will face off in July, at the second battle.

At the first encounter, in January, the Cabras da Peste team will be composed of Yan 'Pica-Pau', Kessy 'Paraíba' and Rafael Vasconcelos, up against the team of giant Vikings, set to arrive in Rio with Espen Mathiesen, Ida 'Xuxú' Floisvik and Tommy Langaker.

In the first match, the current brown belt world champion, from Ceará, Yan Lucas Pica-Pau, will be putting his gentle art skills to test against the very tough Norwegian Espen Mathiesen, a berimbolo specialist that has already reached the highest position on the podium at a European championship. The match up will be at 76 kg/167.55 lbs.

In the second clash between the Cabras da Peste and Vikings, we will see a bout of up to 70 kg/ 154.3 lbs between female contenders, adding a touch of charm to the competition. From Northeast Brazil, Kessy 'Paraíba', from Gracie Barra, will come to heads with Norwegian country-girl Ida 'Xuxu' Floisvik, representing the team of legendary Roger Gracie.

In the last fight of the first stage, the heaviest of the lot will step into action, in the 92 kg/202.82 lbs category. A student of Leandro Lo, Rafael Vasconcelos was called upon to face the talented student of the Mendes brothers, Tommy Langaker, who will be representing the Vikings.

It is important to remember that a submission always scores highest and is worth 5 points, while a points win is worth 3 and a win through advantage worth 2. A draw earns one point for each team and matches will last a maximum 10 minutes.

Vikings and Cabras da Peste to define title in the last stage of the season

Six Scandinavian fighters will go up against six fighters from the Northeast of Brazil, in an epic battle set to last the whole of season 4, which promises to be the best yet in the professional Jiu-Jitsu league. The winning team will only be decided at the last event, at the end of the year. Who will come out on top in this battle of titans? The strength and hot blood of the Northeasterners or the cool calm of the Viking warriors?

Constantly innovating and arranging unprecedented action for his event, Copa Podio president, Jeferson Maycá, spoke more about the decision to further enhance the appreciation of the gentle art in the four corners of the globe, as well as here at home, obviously.

"Since the first season, we have always made space for non-Brazilian fighters with the goal of developing the growth and popularity of the gentle art all around the world. We have already featured American, Italian, Arabian, Dominican, Argentine, Polish and Portuguese fighters, and now it's time for the Vikings".

Besides the idea of putting the hot-blooded Cabras da Peste up against the renowned coldness of the Viking warriors, the president of the league needed two recognized names to captain the teams. And there is no one better than the four-time light-heavyweight black belt champion, Bráulio Estima, who will be forced to bring his A-game against the 'King of Europe', super-heavyweight Alexander Trans. trans has already racked up six European titles wearing different belts, as well as two world championship titles, one as a brown belt and the other as a purple belt.

"I had already signed a deal with Trans to compete in the 4th season, as I have always felt he is a typical representative of the Viking people. I wanted to create a unique introduction for him in the event and I came up with the idea of the Viking invasion, which has matured and, as the folks from the Northeast have been calling for a representative in Copa Podio, the match up against the Cabras da Pest came naturally", explains Maycá.

If the choice of Trans as the leader of the 'Viking hoard' was considered perfect by event organizers, there is no one better than the legendary 'Caracará' to represent the hot blood of the Cabras da Peste, according to Maycá.

"I already had the Viking leader, so I need to choose a leader for the Cabras. I was really pleased when 'Carcará' accepted the challenge, as he weight 15 kg/ 33 lbs less than Trans. You can bet that the battle between the Vikings and Cabras da Peste will go down in the history books of jiu-jitsu and we will be revealing major talents among the young fighters from both teams", he said.

Below are the match ups for the battle between the Vikings and Cabras da Peste, which will play out in the third and last stage of the 4th season, at the Heavyweight GP, in matches yet to be defined.

Espen Mathiesen (Norway) x Yan Pica-pau (Ceará) - January 9

Tommy Langaker (Norway) x Rafael Vasconcelos (Ceará) – January 9

Ida Floisvik (Norway) x Kessy Pereira (Paraíba) – January 9

Nic Ruben (Norway) x Matheus Floresta (Sergipe) – January 9

Sebastian Brosche (Sweden) x Horlando Monteiro (Natal) – January 9

Alexander Trans (Denmark) x Bráulio Estima (Pernambuco) – January 9