“Maximus” Uncensored: Aurelio Talks Gomi, “Shaolin”
Best in the world?
Josh Gross Jun 3, 2006
Sherdog.com: A lot of people don’t know about the ZST Grand Prix
that you won. Your success in that tournament and going to Japan
and winning something like that, did that prepare you mentally to
succeed against someone like Gomi?
Aurelio: Of course. Fighting in ZST helped me a lot because I did three fights in one night and had a bunch of tough guys there. That night I beat Imanari, Morkevicius, another tough guy, and in the end I beat Clementi. Another tough guy. So in the end of the night I had no injury. Like last time against Gomi, I had no injury. Was nice for me, ZST, because it gave me a better head, stronger mind to support some situations like me and Gomi. I had a lot of pressure. Ninety-point-nine percent were for Gomi to win, and zero-point-one percent for Marcus. And I said fuck that. Fuck Gomi. Fuck everybody. Man, I’m going to beat this motherfucker. I don't give a shit what people are talking. You know, I know how good I am. I know I’m tough. Fuck that. And I started to be confident. Like that night in ZST I thought the same shit. “Fuck, I’m here in Japan. I have a bunch of tough guys to fight, but it’s a lot of money. I need this money. I need to help my family. I need this money.” And I put this goal, “I don’t give a shit if someone knocks me out, breaks my face, I’m going to win.” It made me strong.
Sherdog.com: Do you now feel you’re the No. 1 160-pound-and-under
fighter in the world?
Aurelio: Yeah, I feel it. I really feel. He was No. 1 already. He proved that. He beat the shit out of everybody. I beat him, so now I know I’m ready to fight against everyone in PRIDE. I know this. My last two fights I didn’t do so good because … I had some problems before. My head was not so good my last two times when I fought against Nakao and [Nakamura]. But now everything is nice in my life. My head is good. So I know I have enough skills to beat everyone. I’m confident because I train a lot.
Aurelio: No, they didn’t tell me yet. But I talked to them and told them I wanted a fucking rematch. I want this belt. So tell me when. I’m excited for that.
Sherdog.com: You said that last time no one picked you to win. What’s it going to be like this time, either as the favorite against Gomi or will people look it as an even fight? Does that change the pressure at all for you?
Aurelio: Man, I think this time it will be minimum 50-50. Now, I don’t know. People in Brazil will say Marcus Aurelio (Marcus Aurelio' class='LinkSilver'>Pictures) will win, 70 for me and 30 for him. I think. But you know, I don’t like to hear this shit because sometimes you look for this and people say what they want to say. Sometimes I don’t like to go to the Internet and see this. Like last time I went to the Internet before the fight, everyone said Marcus is going to lose, he has no chance. I said fuck that, I don’t want to sit in front of the computer anymore. But people are going to say what they want to say. I hope everybody likes my fights and I hope people say I’m going to win. It’s going to be a good fight for me. Good energy.
Sherdog.com: Marcus, how old are you?
Aurelio: I’m 32.
Sherdog.com: So you’ve been doing this for a while now. Things are starting to pay off.
Aurelio: Yeah. You know, MMA, professionally, I’ve been doing just for four years. That’s why I think American Top Team is the best team because everything we made, we made in four years. Four years ago I started to do MMA and now I beat the No. 1. We’re working good here. We’re working hard here. So I’m feeling good for this.
Sherdog.com: You started when you were 28. How did you come about stepping into the ring for the first time?
Aurelio: I fought a lot of time jiu-jitsu, and jiu-jitsu doesn’t give you good money. I came here because Dan (Lambert) invited me to come. He said, “Hey, I’m going to open a gym. We’re going to start doing MMA. You have good skills on the ground. You have good wrestling. So you have to start doing MMA. What do you think?” I said, “I think this is awesome. I like this, I want to do it.” He said, “Come here and you’re going to have big support. I’m going to start a team.” And then I started. I moved to America and started.
Aurelio: Of course. Fighting in ZST helped me a lot because I did three fights in one night and had a bunch of tough guys there. That night I beat Imanari, Morkevicius, another tough guy, and in the end I beat Clementi. Another tough guy. So in the end of the night I had no injury. Like last time against Gomi, I had no injury. Was nice for me, ZST, because it gave me a better head, stronger mind to support some situations like me and Gomi. I had a lot of pressure. Ninety-point-nine percent were for Gomi to win, and zero-point-one percent for Marcus. And I said fuck that. Fuck Gomi. Fuck everybody. Man, I’m going to beat this motherfucker. I don't give a shit what people are talking. You know, I know how good I am. I know I’m tough. Fuck that. And I started to be confident. Like that night in ZST I thought the same shit. “Fuck, I’m here in Japan. I have a bunch of tough guys to fight, but it’s a lot of money. I need this money. I need to help my family. I need this money.” And I put this goal, “I don’t give a shit if someone knocks me out, breaks my face, I’m going to win.” It made me strong.
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Aurelio: Yeah, I feel it. I really feel. He was No. 1 already. He proved that. He beat the shit out of everybody. I beat him, so now I know I’m ready to fight against everyone in PRIDE. I know this. My last two fights I didn’t do so good because … I had some problems before. My head was not so good my last two times when I fought against Nakao and [Nakamura]. But now everything is nice in my life. My head is good. So I know I have enough skills to beat everyone. I’m confident because I train a lot.
Sherdog.com: This was a non-title fight. Has PRIDE told you when
you’d fight for a title?
Aurelio: No, they didn’t tell me yet. But I talked to them and told them I wanted a fucking rematch. I want this belt. So tell me when. I’m excited for that.
Sherdog.com: You said that last time no one picked you to win. What’s it going to be like this time, either as the favorite against Gomi or will people look it as an even fight? Does that change the pressure at all for you?
Aurelio: Man, I think this time it will be minimum 50-50. Now, I don’t know. People in Brazil will say Marcus Aurelio (Marcus Aurelio' class='LinkSilver'>Pictures) will win, 70 for me and 30 for him. I think. But you know, I don’t like to hear this shit because sometimes you look for this and people say what they want to say. Sometimes I don’t like to go to the Internet and see this. Like last time I went to the Internet before the fight, everyone said Marcus is going to lose, he has no chance. I said fuck that, I don’t want to sit in front of the computer anymore. But people are going to say what they want to say. I hope everybody likes my fights and I hope people say I’m going to win. It’s going to be a good fight for me. Good energy.
Sherdog.com: Marcus, how old are you?
Aurelio: I’m 32.
Sherdog.com: So you’ve been doing this for a while now. Things are starting to pay off.
Aurelio: Yeah. You know, MMA, professionally, I’ve been doing just for four years. That’s why I think American Top Team is the best team because everything we made, we made in four years. Four years ago I started to do MMA and now I beat the No. 1. We’re working good here. We’re working hard here. So I’m feeling good for this.
Sherdog.com: You started when you were 28. How did you come about stepping into the ring for the first time?
Aurelio: I fought a lot of time jiu-jitsu, and jiu-jitsu doesn’t give you good money. I came here because Dan (Lambert) invited me to come. He said, “Hey, I’m going to open a gym. We’re going to start doing MMA. You have good skills on the ground. You have good wrestling. So you have to start doing MMA. What do you think?” I said, “I think this is awesome. I like this, I want to do it.” He said, “Come here and you’re going to have big support. I’m going to start a team.” And then I started. I moved to America and started.
