The Brazilian Notebook: “Shogun” vs. “Minotouro”
Portal da Vale Tudo Jun 9, 2005
The Brazilian Notebook: “Shogun” vs. “Minotouro” By Portal do Vale
Tudo In Brazil, the anxiety for the second round of the PRIDE
Middleweight Grand Prix grows every minute. The organizers didn’t
temper efforts to make a sensational card again, putting fire in
the rivalry between Chute Boxe and Brazilian Top Team with the
fight between Maurício “Shogun” and Rogério “Minotouro.”
Outside of the event, but always with a sharpened tongue, José “Pelé” provokes his Americans opponents and anxiously expects to give Matt Hughes a rematch.
“Shogun” vs. “Minotouro” — most anticipated match in PRIDE
GP
The fight that really puts into motion the discussion forums, at least in Brazil, is the one between Maurício ‘Shogun” Rua and Rogério “Minotouro” Nogueira. The bets are tight and none of the fighters’ fans are sure in their predictions.
“I think this fight was a good choice,” said Wanderlei. “Both have the same height, they are big guys. I think it has everything to become the most anticipated fight of the event. Minotouro is in a very good phase, is fighting really well, but Shogun is excessively good — the guy is almost ‘flying’ and if he keeps with the seriousness that he had in his preparation for the Jackson fight, I think he is going to win.”
“I’m betting all my fishes on him,” the PRIDE middleweight champion continued. “He is in a very good phase, training hard standing, is really good on the ground; it will be very difficult to catch him on the ground and standing, his technique is really strong. We believe in the victory, but the opponent will be really tough.”
On the other side, Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira bets his brother will be winner of the PRIDE GP.
“Rogério is, without a doubt, the most complete fighter in the tourney,” said Rodrigo. “He trades well standing, is good in putting his opponents down and has a great ground technique. He is ready to show this in the ring and become the PRIDE GP champion.”
“Minotouro” talks about “Shogun”
Already preparing for the fight against “Shogun,” Nogueira told us what he thinks about his opponent: “He is really tough and is very well prepared,” analyzed ‘Minotouro.’
“What he did with Quinton Jackson was amazing and that gave him confidence and raised his moral. The thing is that none of us can really change a lot is our style because we already have a very solid one, which can’t be changed in the last minute. Of course, I will make some little adaptations until the fight. He is a fighter that trades really well, and my goal will be to make a similar preparation as the one I did for the fight against Alistair Overeem, because they have similar styles — they fight Muay Thai and like to trade standing with kicks and knees.”
José “Pelé” provokes Americans One of the only fighters in the world to have defeated UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes, José “Pelé” Landy laments the fact that UFC never called him to fight.
“They never called me to fight there,” he said. “It would be a dream for me to let go my elbows. When I see the Ultimate circuit, I see a bunch of friends hindering my entrance to revolutionize MMA in the U.S. I have already won against Matt Hughes, was clearly robbed against Dave Menne and gave a punishment to Pat Miletich, the American’s trainer. It’s good to emphasize that I knocked Matt Hughes out.”
About the fight with Hughes in the Warriors War event, “Pelé” says of his effort in the fight: “I did everything that nobody did to [Hughes]. Put him down, but he fell on top position, left out of his ground-and-pound and knocked him out.” After beating Fabrício Monteiro in Jungle Fight 4, José “Pelé” expects to fight in the August edition of Gladiator FC, in Japan. Marco Ruas in Brazil, bets on Wanderlei Silva for the PRIDE GP
Marco Ruas came to Brazil to strengthen Pedro Rizzo’s training for PRIDE. The UFC 7 champion also guarantees that he will return to the ring this year. “I’m waiting an offer,” said Ruas, “but I don’t want to fight just for money. I want to fight for the victory because for me my name is more important. They already called me for a fight, but I have to be prepared to fight.
Because I have to remake my schedules, I have to stop my classes. I pay my bills with the classes that I taught in the academy. Nowadays the business is more professional, everybody is training and the people that take it seriously don’t have another job. So it has to be this way and take it seriously, to achieve a good result.”
With his eyes towards the PRIDE GP, the Brazilian already made his bet: “I’m still betting in Wanderlei,” Ruas affirmed. “He is the favorite. He proved to me that he is the kind of guy who believes a lot in himself. I take off my hat for him. I don’t have anything more to say. There are other great fighters in this tourney, but I believe in Wanderlei.”
Crosley Gracie talks about his first loss in PRIDE
After good participations in previous editions of PRIDE, Crosley Gracie suffered his first loss in the Japanese event. The Gracie was defeated by Akihiro Gono in May’s Bushido 7, and told us about the match.
“Even with the fact that I have broken my hand at the beginning of the fight, I think I dominated the first round and half of the second when I lost the mount and felt underneath him,” Gracie explained. “He had two good moments in the fight — that was a punch that knocked me down and a foot stomp in my face in the end of the last round that made my nose bleed.
“The punch which knocked me down didn’t cause any real damage, because I felt aware, pulling guard and getting back on my feet right away. I think I fought well considering the circumstances.”
Early in the fight Crosley injured his hand and that, he said, changed his fight game during the remaining portion of the bout. “At the beginning I thought the pain was going to stop,” he said. “I didn’t know it was broken. But during the fight I realized that my hand couldn’t close because of the swelling. … Because I couldn’t trade with both hands effectively, I took the fight to the ground, but even there I had difficulties to achieve a good grip to go for a submission. In other words my fight game on the ground was only based in movements, but I tried to hit him the way I could.”
After having surgery on his hand, the Brazilian will stay out of training for six to eight weeks.
MECA is back
The most traditional Brazilian mixed martial arts event, the MECA FC, had gone one year without realizing a show. But now the organizers confirmed the next edition of the event will take place July 9, and has already some fights confirmed.
Fabricio Morango (Gracie Humaitá) vs. Gleidson Tibau (Kimura)
Gabriel Gladiador (Fighteam) vs. Jair Sorriso (Gracie Pitbull)
Delson Pe-de-Chumbo (Gracie Pitbull) vs. Claudinho de Angra
Fabrício Monteiro (Fabrício JJ) vs. Thales Leites (Nova União)
Valdir Kabeca (Union RS) vs. Rafael Tatu (Gracie Pitbull)
Evangelista “Cyborg” (Chute Boxe) vs. TBA
Helio Dipp (Boxe Garra) vs. TBA
Rodrigo Riscado (Nova União – Campos) vs. TBA
Storm Samurai will happen this Saturday
According to organizers Rudimar Fedrigo and Rafael Cordeiro, the forecast for Storm Samurai FC, which will happen this Saturday in Curitiba, will have a live attendance of 10,000 people. For that, the organization realized a card with great attractions:
MMA:
Marcelo Brito (Thai Boxe/Arena) vs. Gleidson Tibau (Kimura Nova União-RN)
Joselino Índio (Equipe 1) vs. Jadson Costa (Chute Boxe)
Helio Dipp (Boxe Guarra) vs. Rodrigo Riscado (Nova União - Campos)
Cláudio Matos Popeye (Chute Boxe) vs. Eduardo Pamplona (Never Shake)
Felipe (Profight) vs. Vitor Viana (Never Shake)
Henrique Silveira BA (Chute Boxe) vs. Sebastian Lali (Equipe 1)
Vagner Gaveas (Noguchi) vs. Erilson Paraíba (Gracie Barra - BH)
Ricardo Macula (Fight team) vs. Fernando Lageado (Chute Boxe)
Muay Thai:
Luis Sorriso (Chute Boxe) vs. Marcão (Never Shake)
Lúcio Aurélio (BTT) vs. Nelson Jaca (Octagon Chute Boxe)
Minotauro Fight 1 pleased Nogueira Brothers
Minotauro Fight 1, organized by Rodrigo “Minotauro” and Rogério “Minotouro” Nogueira along with the boxing trainer Luiz Dórea, was realized May 31 featured great fights, with the stand out being the victory of Edson Drago against Bruno Carvalho.
MMA:
Vanessa Santos (Cabula Fight) def. Camila Pitbull (Taurus Combat) KO R3
Will Ribeiro (Boxe Thai) def. Rogério dos Santos (Rio Grande do Sul) TKO R2
Márcio Bittencourt (Fight Club/Thai Combate) Drew Estevão Bolívia (Taurus Combat)
Genilton Van Dame (Taurus Combat) def. Cleiton Souza (Fight Club/Thai Combat)
Enock Neto (Taurus Combat) def. Heitor Moura (Fight Club/Thai Combat)
Yuri Fernandes (Taurus Combat) def. Wanderson Vandinho (Senhor do Bonfim) side choke R2
Bryan Rafiq (França) def. Averaldo Ferreira (Jacaré Team/Thai Combat) rear-naked choke R1
Cezar Profeta (Bushida) def. Luis Buda (Fight Club/Thai Combat) kimura R1
Edilberto Crocotá (Campo Formoso) def. Leônidas Godim (Taurus Combat) guillotine R1
Danilo Índio (BTT - Brasilia) def. Alexandre Lima (Edson Carvalho) decision
Edson Drago (Rio Grande do Sul) def. Bruno Carvalho (Edson Carvalho) TKO R1
Boxing:
Kelson Pinto (Bahia) def João Pereira (São Paulo) KO
News and notes
Royce Gracie doesn’t stop. The idol is still traveling offering seminars and spreading out jiu-jitsu to the planet. “I’m still traveling a lot,” he said. “Last month I went to Hawaii, Canada, England, Las Vegas and I’ve just returned from Mexico. I was there teaching the “Federales.” To put an end with the rumors that he would fight in the next months, Royce said, “Fight for me only in the end of the year, but I still don’t know against whom.”
Not fighting on Bushido 7 because of pneumonia, Luiz “Buscapé” has already set a date to return to the event, July 17, in Bushido 8. Besides him, Marcus Aurélio is another Brazilian confirmed to fight. The rumor that surfaced in Brazil is that Jean Silva will be the next opponent of Takanori Gomi.
Outside of the event, but always with a sharpened tongue, José “Pelé” provokes his Americans opponents and anxiously expects to give Matt Hughes a rematch.
Advertisement
The fight that really puts into motion the discussion forums, at least in Brazil, is the one between Maurício ‘Shogun” Rua and Rogério “Minotouro” Nogueira. The bets are tight and none of the fighters’ fans are sure in their predictions.
Wanderlei Silva, Rua’s
teammate in Chute Boxe, talked about the bout.
“I think this fight was a good choice,” said Wanderlei. “Both have the same height, they are big guys. I think it has everything to become the most anticipated fight of the event. Minotouro is in a very good phase, is fighting really well, but Shogun is excessively good — the guy is almost ‘flying’ and if he keeps with the seriousness that he had in his preparation for the Jackson fight, I think he is going to win.”
“I’m betting all my fishes on him,” the PRIDE middleweight champion continued. “He is in a very good phase, training hard standing, is really good on the ground; it will be very difficult to catch him on the ground and standing, his technique is really strong. We believe in the victory, but the opponent will be really tough.”
On the other side, Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira bets his brother will be winner of the PRIDE GP.
“Rogério is, without a doubt, the most complete fighter in the tourney,” said Rodrigo. “He trades well standing, is good in putting his opponents down and has a great ground technique. He is ready to show this in the ring and become the PRIDE GP champion.”
“Minotouro” talks about “Shogun”
Already preparing for the fight against “Shogun,” Nogueira told us what he thinks about his opponent: “He is really tough and is very well prepared,” analyzed ‘Minotouro.’
“What he did with Quinton Jackson was amazing and that gave him confidence and raised his moral. The thing is that none of us can really change a lot is our style because we already have a very solid one, which can’t be changed in the last minute. Of course, I will make some little adaptations until the fight. He is a fighter that trades really well, and my goal will be to make a similar preparation as the one I did for the fight against Alistair Overeem, because they have similar styles — they fight Muay Thai and like to trade standing with kicks and knees.”
José “Pelé” provokes Americans One of the only fighters in the world to have defeated UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes, José “Pelé” Landy laments the fact that UFC never called him to fight.
“They never called me to fight there,” he said. “It would be a dream for me to let go my elbows. When I see the Ultimate circuit, I see a bunch of friends hindering my entrance to revolutionize MMA in the U.S. I have already won against Matt Hughes, was clearly robbed against Dave Menne and gave a punishment to Pat Miletich, the American’s trainer. It’s good to emphasize that I knocked Matt Hughes out.”
About the fight with Hughes in the Warriors War event, “Pelé” says of his effort in the fight: “I did everything that nobody did to [Hughes]. Put him down, but he fell on top position, left out of his ground-and-pound and knocked him out.” After beating Fabrício Monteiro in Jungle Fight 4, José “Pelé” expects to fight in the August edition of Gladiator FC, in Japan. Marco Ruas in Brazil, bets on Wanderlei Silva for the PRIDE GP
Marco Ruas came to Brazil to strengthen Pedro Rizzo’s training for PRIDE. The UFC 7 champion also guarantees that he will return to the ring this year. “I’m waiting an offer,” said Ruas, “but I don’t want to fight just for money. I want to fight for the victory because for me my name is more important. They already called me for a fight, but I have to be prepared to fight.
Because I have to remake my schedules, I have to stop my classes. I pay my bills with the classes that I taught in the academy. Nowadays the business is more professional, everybody is training and the people that take it seriously don’t have another job. So it has to be this way and take it seriously, to achieve a good result.”
With his eyes towards the PRIDE GP, the Brazilian already made his bet: “I’m still betting in Wanderlei,” Ruas affirmed. “He is the favorite. He proved to me that he is the kind of guy who believes a lot in himself. I take off my hat for him. I don’t have anything more to say. There are other great fighters in this tourney, but I believe in Wanderlei.”
Crosley Gracie talks about his first loss in PRIDE
After good participations in previous editions of PRIDE, Crosley Gracie suffered his first loss in the Japanese event. The Gracie was defeated by Akihiro Gono in May’s Bushido 7, and told us about the match.
“Even with the fact that I have broken my hand at the beginning of the fight, I think I dominated the first round and half of the second when I lost the mount and felt underneath him,” Gracie explained. “He had two good moments in the fight — that was a punch that knocked me down and a foot stomp in my face in the end of the last round that made my nose bleed.
“The punch which knocked me down didn’t cause any real damage, because I felt aware, pulling guard and getting back on my feet right away. I think I fought well considering the circumstances.”
Early in the fight Crosley injured his hand and that, he said, changed his fight game during the remaining portion of the bout. “At the beginning I thought the pain was going to stop,” he said. “I didn’t know it was broken. But during the fight I realized that my hand couldn’t close because of the swelling. … Because I couldn’t trade with both hands effectively, I took the fight to the ground, but even there I had difficulties to achieve a good grip to go for a submission. In other words my fight game on the ground was only based in movements, but I tried to hit him the way I could.”
After having surgery on his hand, the Brazilian will stay out of training for six to eight weeks.
MECA is back
The most traditional Brazilian mixed martial arts event, the MECA FC, had gone one year without realizing a show. But now the organizers confirmed the next edition of the event will take place July 9, and has already some fights confirmed.
Fabricio Morango (Gracie Humaitá) vs. Gleidson Tibau (Kimura)
Gabriel Gladiador (Fighteam) vs. Jair Sorriso (Gracie Pitbull)
Delson Pe-de-Chumbo (Gracie Pitbull) vs. Claudinho de Angra
Fabrício Monteiro (Fabrício JJ) vs. Thales Leites (Nova União)
Valdir Kabeca (Union RS) vs. Rafael Tatu (Gracie Pitbull)
Evangelista “Cyborg” (Chute Boxe) vs. TBA
Helio Dipp (Boxe Garra) vs. TBA
Rodrigo Riscado (Nova União – Campos) vs. TBA
Storm Samurai will happen this Saturday
According to organizers Rudimar Fedrigo and Rafael Cordeiro, the forecast for Storm Samurai FC, which will happen this Saturday in Curitiba, will have a live attendance of 10,000 people. For that, the organization realized a card with great attractions:
MMA:
Marcelo Brito (Thai Boxe/Arena) vs. Gleidson Tibau (Kimura Nova União-RN)
Joselino Índio (Equipe 1) vs. Jadson Costa (Chute Boxe)
Helio Dipp (Boxe Guarra) vs. Rodrigo Riscado (Nova União - Campos)
Cláudio Matos Popeye (Chute Boxe) vs. Eduardo Pamplona (Never Shake)
Felipe (Profight) vs. Vitor Viana (Never Shake)
Henrique Silveira BA (Chute Boxe) vs. Sebastian Lali (Equipe 1)
Vagner Gaveas (Noguchi) vs. Erilson Paraíba (Gracie Barra - BH)
Ricardo Macula (Fight team) vs. Fernando Lageado (Chute Boxe)
Muay Thai:
Luis Sorriso (Chute Boxe) vs. Marcão (Never Shake)
Lúcio Aurélio (BTT) vs. Nelson Jaca (Octagon Chute Boxe)
Minotauro Fight 1 pleased Nogueira Brothers
Minotauro Fight 1, organized by Rodrigo “Minotauro” and Rogério “Minotouro” Nogueira along with the boxing trainer Luiz Dórea, was realized May 31 featured great fights, with the stand out being the victory of Edson Drago against Bruno Carvalho.
MMA:
Vanessa Santos (Cabula Fight) def. Camila Pitbull (Taurus Combat) KO R3
Will Ribeiro (Boxe Thai) def. Rogério dos Santos (Rio Grande do Sul) TKO R2
Márcio Bittencourt (Fight Club/Thai Combate) Drew Estevão Bolívia (Taurus Combat)
Genilton Van Dame (Taurus Combat) def. Cleiton Souza (Fight Club/Thai Combat)
Enock Neto (Taurus Combat) def. Heitor Moura (Fight Club/Thai Combat)
Yuri Fernandes (Taurus Combat) def. Wanderson Vandinho (Senhor do Bonfim) side choke R2
Bryan Rafiq (França) def. Averaldo Ferreira (Jacaré Team/Thai Combat) rear-naked choke R1
Cezar Profeta (Bushida) def. Luis Buda (Fight Club/Thai Combat) kimura R1
Edilberto Crocotá (Campo Formoso) def. Leônidas Godim (Taurus Combat) guillotine R1
Danilo Índio (BTT - Brasilia) def. Alexandre Lima (Edson Carvalho) decision
Edson Drago (Rio Grande do Sul) def. Bruno Carvalho (Edson Carvalho) TKO R1
Boxing:
Kelson Pinto (Bahia) def João Pereira (São Paulo) KO
News and notes
Royce Gracie doesn’t stop. The idol is still traveling offering seminars and spreading out jiu-jitsu to the planet. “I’m still traveling a lot,” he said. “Last month I went to Hawaii, Canada, England, Las Vegas and I’ve just returned from Mexico. I was there teaching the “Federales.” To put an end with the rumors that he would fight in the next months, Royce said, “Fight for me only in the end of the year, but I still don’t know against whom.”
Not fighting on Bushido 7 because of pneumonia, Luiz “Buscapé” has already set a date to return to the event, July 17, in Bushido 8. Besides him, Marcus Aurélio is another Brazilian confirmed to fight. The rumor that surfaced in Brazil is that Jean Silva will be the next opponent of Takanori Gomi.
