Eduardo Penha eager to proudly represent legendary name in UFC – and 'crash somebody's party'
"Sergio's son, Sergio's son, Sergio's son."
Eduardo Penha remembers growing up and competing in jiu-jitsu tournaments; everyone knew who he was. His first name was irrelevant. His last name said everything the other competitors needed to know.
While some athletes struggle with being the child or family member of an all-time great, "Sergio's son" could not be happier to be Sergio's son. It's a badge of honor for the now 7-0 professional MMA fighter.
Sergio Penha is BJJ royalty – an eight-degree coral belt, with over nearly 50 years of experience. He may best be known for his battle vs. Rickson Gracie in the 1980s, as well as his contributions to the modern techniques of closed guard. His success extended into the MMA world as he coached Frank Mir to a UFC heavyweight title and Stephan Bonnar to a "The Ultimate Fighter 1" final.
"When I was young, I maybe did see, me being referred to as Sergio Penha's son," Eduardo Penha recently told MMA Junkie. "'Sergio's son, Sergio's son, Sergio's son.' I didn't really have my name, like, almost not an identity. Like, I was just his son. As I got older, I understand that that's not a negative thing. That? That's a blessing. Me being his son. He's an honorable man. He's got great character, great morals. He's always competed and put everything on the line. So if I'm his son, I'm I'm blessed to be in his footsteps and into his shadows and, if one day I surpass him, awesome. If I never do and this is where I live, I wouldn't want to be in anybody else's shadow other than, in my opinion, the greatest man."… I'd rather be in a great man's shadow than a thief, a con artist, and that be my father versus. People ask me my favorite fighter, my best friend, that's him to me. Now, I feel honored to be there and I feel blessed to be there versus sometime as a kid you see it more in an immature light, you know?"
While Penha credits his father with being a great dad first and foremost, he deems his teaching skills unparalleled. Penha says it was actually his own successes as a child that made him realize how much of a wizard his father was.
"I really like I never really trained anywhere else," Penha said. "I always trained with my dad. I found out how different he was. I always heard the stories. I always was around. I see people always coming up to him and stuff. But that was somewhat normal to me growing up. But when I realized that the massive difference was when I was 14. I'd go to Brazil every year and then I'd go there and I started training and I was training more and going to more competitive schools. Then I started understanding that the moves he's teaching me and the moves he's teaching our students, they're different. I would go somewhere as a 14 year old and I'd be hitting very rare moves, moves that, that a lot of people haven't seen before. I'd catch myself sometimes teaching and, to me, it was a little bit surreal. I was a child. That's when I noticed like, 'Man, clearly what I'm learning, clearly what I'm being taught by him is – it's different, you know?'"
Jiu-jitsu will always be his foundation and strong-suit, but Penha is adding onto the legacy of his surname in the world of MMA. He wrestled in high school and began focusing mainly on MMA over the COVID-19 pandemic. He debuted as an amateur in 2021 and as a professional in 2022.
His father continues to assist with his MMA aspirations, as does Steve Cantwell, a former UFC fighter and the final WEC light heavyweight champion in the promotion's history.
On the cusp of the UFC call, Penha is channeling all of the high-level experiences he's partaken in and witnessed over the course of his 29 years on Earth.
At Tuff-N-Uff 147 on Aug. 23, Penha showed off in front of a UFC matchmaker when he locked in a modified kimura – a move he's now calling the "Dudaplata." It's a spin on his nickname, "Duda."
"I've hit it a couple of times," Penha laughed. "I feel like I can throw a patent on it."
Penha is unbeaten as a pro, as he was as an amateur. It's evident that fighters can't really hang with him on the ground inside the MMA cage, at least not on the regional scene. Six of his seven wins have come by – you guessed it – submission.
With that in mind, Penha thinks it's time for his UFC call-up. He told this directly to UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby, who was in attendance for the recent "Dudaplata" display. One phone call is all Penha needs, he says, to crash whatever parties are going on in the UFC bantamweight division.
"I fought guys that were in the UFC. I fought guys that were knocking on the door and I think I showed extreme dominance," Penha said. "So I think if they want to throw me anywhere in the mix, I feel like I'm ready to crash somebody's party that's the way I see it. If they call me short notice, I got nothing to lose whether it's against a high, high, high ranked ranked opponent or a low ranked opponent or anywhere, anybody that weighs 135, 145, anywhere in between. If they give me an opportunity, I'm ready to crash somebody's party. I'm going in there reckless. I snuck in through the back door in this party and I'm here to take crash it. That's, that's how I see it."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC adding legendary bloodline? Son of BJJ great eager to sign soon
MMA Mixed Martial Arts News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos
