The Brazilian Notebook
Portal da Vale Tudo Apr 13, 2005
With the PRIDE middleweight Grand Prix around the corner, the
anticipation is beginning to rise in Brazil. Top Brazilian athletes
will be in the event and they will only have tough opponents ahead.
Rogério "Minotouro" Nogueira faces the excellent Dan Henderson. Wanderlei Silva rematches
Hidehiko Yoshida, but his bombastic declarations are on fighters
that are not even on the card, like Ortiz, Couture and Liddell.
Also, after his sixth successful SHOOTO title defense, Alexandre Pequeno tells us what his next objectives are and who he wants to face.
The fact is champions like Wanderlei and "Pequeno" always want
more.
Silva: PRIDE GP, Tito Ortiz and his thoughts on Couture-Liddell
"Now I am giving an emphasis in the cardiovascular part,” Silva told Sherdog.com, "training sufficient jiu-jitsu to get better every time. Already I am in the total preparation."
After the fight between Vítor Belfort and Tito Ortiz, Silva spoke on which of the two would like to face and explained the reason. "If Ortiz will be in PRIDE I have the biggest will to fight with him," Silva said. "He is a very boring fighter. As well as everybody [else], I also want to beat him up. To fight with him I would even take a smaller purse, no problem. I would pound his face with the biggest pleasure. He gives declarations that have no basis on reality."
On the confrontation between Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, the Brazilian says that he desires to face the winner of the fight. "I hope I’ll have an adversary after this one. I do not know how their conditioning is, but Couture won the first one and if he plays the same he will be once again successful. I am rooting for Couture because I want to face him."
With Rudimar Fedrigo and Rafael Cordeiro in Japan with Luiz Azeredo and Daniel Acácio for PRIDE Bushido 6, Silva is currently in charge of the training in Chute Boxe.
Alexandre Pequeno comments victory in the SHOOTO
Alexandre “Pequeno” Nogueira finally defended his SHOOTO title against fellow Brazilian João Roque. In a judges’ decision "Pequeno" kept his crown for the sixth time. The champion of the category up to 65-kg (143-lbs.) talked about his fight.
"I knew that João Roque was an excellent fighter, so I worked a lot on my stamina and technique, looking for a way to surprise him." With a more open Muay Thai game, the champion really surprised his adversary; his preparation was with great strikers, he explained.
"I’ve been training Muay Thai for a long time with Toniko Junior,” Nogueira said, “but I perfected my game with Anderson Silva and with Jose "Pelé" Landy in his last stay in Curitiba. I improved my hands and I loosen my striking, this helped me to get more confident.”
After many title defenses, "Pequeno" talked his next objective, "I want to fight PRIDE GP under 70-kg,” he said. "I’ll get the weight and to show my guillotine choke in this category. I want to face Jens Pulver and later Takanori Gomi.”
Rogério "Minotouro" Nogueira anxious to face Henderson
Rogério "Minotouro" Nogueira was happy to find out that he would be facing Dan Henderson in the first phase of PRIDE GP. "I wanted to face him for a long time,” Nogueira said. "Was very happy with this choice, because he is a very hard adversary."
The Brazilian, who has been training with his team, counts mainly on the aid of his brother, Rodrigo "Minotauro," who’s faced Henderson twice. "[I am] already training with Rodrigo some positions for this fight,” he said, “but I am certain that Henderson evolved very much since his last fight against my brother."
"I’m gonna come after him,” informs Rogério what he intends to do in the fight. “I’ll come after him striking, and if the fight goes to the ground I’ll submit him. I want to be successful."
Renato Babalu not afraid of the cage
In an interview with our friends from Nocaute, Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral talked a bout his next fight in UFC 52 against Travis Wiuff. “I never got into a fight with so much will as in this one,” Sobral said. “I just want to kick everybody’s ass. I want to hurt him, beat the crap out of him. Nothing personal, of course.”
“Babalu” said that he wants to face the champion of the LHW division, whoever it is. “I want to beat the champ, who for now is Couture, but I can’t go directly after him because I lost my turn. But I’ll come up there again, and if he is with the belt I’ll beat him up.”
When asked about the cage, which has been in the way of many Brazilians, the fighter said, “I’ll fight anywhere. Everybody that loses in the UFC says that he is not a cage fighter, but I believe that if a man is born to fight he will do it in any place, even in the bathroom if he has to. The deal is to practice for the kind of situations that you will face in the environment.”
Nakamura comes back to Japan
Kazuhiro Nakamura spent a few weeks training in Brazil, in the headquarters of Ruas Vale Tudo. The Japanese also trained with the fighters from Nova Uniao, a team that forms an alliance with the RVT. According to Pedro Rizzo, Nakamura has improved after his stay in Brazil. "Nakamura is one hard fella," Rizzo said. "He corrected some defects in his game and improved sufficiently. I think he will put up a good fight with anyone in this GP."
Nakamura was really impressed with Rizzo’s Muay Thai and with the jiu-jitsu of the world champion Vítor "Shaolin" Ribeiro. Walking in Carioca beaches, the Japanese was approached by a Brazilian fan that asked him what would happen if Ryan Gracie appeared there at that moment. Likeable and with a camera in the hand, Nakamura said, “I would take a photo with the Gracie."
Ankle injury takes Ebenezer off of Jungle 4
Veteran of UFC, PRIDE, K-1, IVC, Jungle Fight, Heat, among other great events, the experienced Ebenezer Braga suffered a injury in the ankle and had that to postpone his next commitment, Jungle Fight 4.
"I am with a problem in a ligament of my ankle and I’m not allowed to train for a while,” he said. “But I’m already doing physiotherapy and soon I will be back."
While he recovers, he is taking care of the organization of his event, the Juiz De Fora Fight 2. “The event is going to happen on the 16th, will be one of a kind. And in September we will make another great event with fighters from the main teams of Brazil."
HEAT is back
After one and a half years without an event, Heat FC is back. The third edition will take place on April 14 and the card has names from big teams such as BTT, Kimura and Gracie Humaitá:
Adriano Nasal (BTT) vs. Rivânio Aranha (Gold Team Natal)
Henrique Chocolate (BTT) vs. Silmar Rodrigues (TT JJ)
Marcelo Dourado (Gracie Humaitá) vs. Jorge Rodrigues (Kimura)
Sérgio Junior (Combate Real) vs. Charles Andrade (Paraíba)
Vasilly Krilov (Russia) vs. Fábio Bolinho (Kimura)
Barão (Kimura) vs. João Paulo (Fight Club)
Rondinelle (Fight Club) vs. Erivaldo Caicó (TT JJ)
News and Notes
A few weeks away from the PRIDE GP, Vítor Belfort is again out of the Brazilian Top Team. The reason offered for both parts was a lack in agreement in relation to the rules of the team. Belfort will prepare himself for the event with athletes who will be enlisted by him of the wrestling, jiu-jitsu and boxing. …
The Jungle Fight 4 already has a set date, May 21, in Brazil. Wallid Ismail, organizer of the event, promises that fifth edition will be in Las Vegas. On the card Ismail discloses nothing, saying that only when the fights are signed will they be announced to the public. …
Out of the ring since Jungle Fight 3, Assuério Silva plans his return to ring. Training with the Master of Karatê Ademir da Costa, Assuério told us that he will fight again in June, in an international event. …
Aléssio Sakara might be off to Japan soon. This, according to him, because the organizers of PRIDE had entered in negotiations with his manager and the expectation is that he will soon be with the Japanese organization. …
Antoine Jaoude conquered his eleventh Brazilian Wrestling Championship. After the event, which happened last month, the Ruas Vale Tudo athlete confirmed said he is ready again to defend Brazil in the Pan-American Championship in April, in Guatemala. Among other champions: for Adrian Jaoude, brother of Antoine, and Juliana Borges, who is fighting in ADCC 2005, as well as MMA veterans Rodrigo Damm and Carlos Clayton. …
March’s TATAME magazine remembers the biggest Brazilian rivalry between jiu-jitsu against luta livre in special a fight between its two main representatives in the end of 80s, Rickson Gracie and Hugo Duarte. Days later the two fight at the beach, Duarte convinces the fighters of his style to invade the main academy of the Gracies at the time. The confrontation between Duarte and Rickson ended after punches in the mount. Amateurism is truth, but an unforgettable time for those who lived it. Nowadays the rivalry between jiu-jitsu and Luta livre does not exist in Brazil. …
The promoters of ADCC invited many Brazilians to ADCC 2005, which is taking place in May in California. Big names of MMA such as Renzo Gracie, Antoine Jaoude e Alexandre “Cacareco” are among the invited. But one question remains unanswered: Why is SHOOTO champion Alexandre “Pequeno” not among them? What does he need to do to prove that he is one of the top grapplers under 65z-kg? …
Also, after his sixth successful SHOOTO title defense, Alexandre Pequeno tells us what his next objectives are and who he wants to face.
Advertisement
Silva: PRIDE GP, Tito Ortiz and his thoughts on Couture-Liddell
Wanderlei Silva will
defend the PRIDE middleweight GP championship this year. In his
first fight, he faces the Japan’s Hidehiko Yoshida. The Brazilian
is almost ready.
"Now I am giving an emphasis in the cardiovascular part,” Silva told Sherdog.com, "training sufficient jiu-jitsu to get better every time. Already I am in the total preparation."
After the fight between Vítor Belfort and Tito Ortiz, Silva spoke on which of the two would like to face and explained the reason. "If Ortiz will be in PRIDE I have the biggest will to fight with him," Silva said. "He is a very boring fighter. As well as everybody [else], I also want to beat him up. To fight with him I would even take a smaller purse, no problem. I would pound his face with the biggest pleasure. He gives declarations that have no basis on reality."
On the confrontation between Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, the Brazilian says that he desires to face the winner of the fight. "I hope I’ll have an adversary after this one. I do not know how their conditioning is, but Couture won the first one and if he plays the same he will be once again successful. I am rooting for Couture because I want to face him."
With Rudimar Fedrigo and Rafael Cordeiro in Japan with Luiz Azeredo and Daniel Acácio for PRIDE Bushido 6, Silva is currently in charge of the training in Chute Boxe.
Alexandre Pequeno comments victory in the SHOOTO
Alexandre “Pequeno” Nogueira finally defended his SHOOTO title against fellow Brazilian João Roque. In a judges’ decision "Pequeno" kept his crown for the sixth time. The champion of the category up to 65-kg (143-lbs.) talked about his fight.
"I knew that João Roque was an excellent fighter, so I worked a lot on my stamina and technique, looking for a way to surprise him." With a more open Muay Thai game, the champion really surprised his adversary; his preparation was with great strikers, he explained.
"I’ve been training Muay Thai for a long time with Toniko Junior,” Nogueira said, “but I perfected my game with Anderson Silva and with Jose "Pelé" Landy in his last stay in Curitiba. I improved my hands and I loosen my striking, this helped me to get more confident.”
After many title defenses, "Pequeno" talked his next objective, "I want to fight PRIDE GP under 70-kg,” he said. "I’ll get the weight and to show my guillotine choke in this category. I want to face Jens Pulver and later Takanori Gomi.”
Rogério "Minotouro" Nogueira anxious to face Henderson
Rogério "Minotouro" Nogueira was happy to find out that he would be facing Dan Henderson in the first phase of PRIDE GP. "I wanted to face him for a long time,” Nogueira said. "Was very happy with this choice, because he is a very hard adversary."
The Brazilian, who has been training with his team, counts mainly on the aid of his brother, Rodrigo "Minotauro," who’s faced Henderson twice. "[I am] already training with Rodrigo some positions for this fight,” he said, “but I am certain that Henderson evolved very much since his last fight against my brother."
"I’m gonna come after him,” informs Rogério what he intends to do in the fight. “I’ll come after him striking, and if the fight goes to the ground I’ll submit him. I want to be successful."
Renato Babalu not afraid of the cage
In an interview with our friends from Nocaute, Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral talked a bout his next fight in UFC 52 against Travis Wiuff. “I never got into a fight with so much will as in this one,” Sobral said. “I just want to kick everybody’s ass. I want to hurt him, beat the crap out of him. Nothing personal, of course.”
“Babalu” said that he wants to face the champion of the LHW division, whoever it is. “I want to beat the champ, who for now is Couture, but I can’t go directly after him because I lost my turn. But I’ll come up there again, and if he is with the belt I’ll beat him up.”
When asked about the cage, which has been in the way of many Brazilians, the fighter said, “I’ll fight anywhere. Everybody that loses in the UFC says that he is not a cage fighter, but I believe that if a man is born to fight he will do it in any place, even in the bathroom if he has to. The deal is to practice for the kind of situations that you will face in the environment.”
Nakamura comes back to Japan
Kazuhiro Nakamura spent a few weeks training in Brazil, in the headquarters of Ruas Vale Tudo. The Japanese also trained with the fighters from Nova Uniao, a team that forms an alliance with the RVT. According to Pedro Rizzo, Nakamura has improved after his stay in Brazil. "Nakamura is one hard fella," Rizzo said. "He corrected some defects in his game and improved sufficiently. I think he will put up a good fight with anyone in this GP."
Nakamura was really impressed with Rizzo’s Muay Thai and with the jiu-jitsu of the world champion Vítor "Shaolin" Ribeiro. Walking in Carioca beaches, the Japanese was approached by a Brazilian fan that asked him what would happen if Ryan Gracie appeared there at that moment. Likeable and with a camera in the hand, Nakamura said, “I would take a photo with the Gracie."
Ankle injury takes Ebenezer off of Jungle 4
Veteran of UFC, PRIDE, K-1, IVC, Jungle Fight, Heat, among other great events, the experienced Ebenezer Braga suffered a injury in the ankle and had that to postpone his next commitment, Jungle Fight 4.
"I am with a problem in a ligament of my ankle and I’m not allowed to train for a while,” he said. “But I’m already doing physiotherapy and soon I will be back."
While he recovers, he is taking care of the organization of his event, the Juiz De Fora Fight 2. “The event is going to happen on the 16th, will be one of a kind. And in September we will make another great event with fighters from the main teams of Brazil."
HEAT is back
After one and a half years without an event, Heat FC is back. The third edition will take place on April 14 and the card has names from big teams such as BTT, Kimura and Gracie Humaitá:
Adriano Nasal (BTT) vs. Rivânio Aranha (Gold Team Natal)
Henrique Chocolate (BTT) vs. Silmar Rodrigues (TT JJ)
Marcelo Dourado (Gracie Humaitá) vs. Jorge Rodrigues (Kimura)
Sérgio Junior (Combate Real) vs. Charles Andrade (Paraíba)
Vasilly Krilov (Russia) vs. Fábio Bolinho (Kimura)
Barão (Kimura) vs. João Paulo (Fight Club)
Rondinelle (Fight Club) vs. Erivaldo Caicó (TT JJ)
News and Notes
A few weeks away from the PRIDE GP, Vítor Belfort is again out of the Brazilian Top Team. The reason offered for both parts was a lack in agreement in relation to the rules of the team. Belfort will prepare himself for the event with athletes who will be enlisted by him of the wrestling, jiu-jitsu and boxing. …
The Jungle Fight 4 already has a set date, May 21, in Brazil. Wallid Ismail, organizer of the event, promises that fifth edition will be in Las Vegas. On the card Ismail discloses nothing, saying that only when the fights are signed will they be announced to the public. …
Out of the ring since Jungle Fight 3, Assuério Silva plans his return to ring. Training with the Master of Karatê Ademir da Costa, Assuério told us that he will fight again in June, in an international event. …
Aléssio Sakara might be off to Japan soon. This, according to him, because the organizers of PRIDE had entered in negotiations with his manager and the expectation is that he will soon be with the Japanese organization. …
Antoine Jaoude conquered his eleventh Brazilian Wrestling Championship. After the event, which happened last month, the Ruas Vale Tudo athlete confirmed said he is ready again to defend Brazil in the Pan-American Championship in April, in Guatemala. Among other champions: for Adrian Jaoude, brother of Antoine, and Juliana Borges, who is fighting in ADCC 2005, as well as MMA veterans Rodrigo Damm and Carlos Clayton. …
March’s TATAME magazine remembers the biggest Brazilian rivalry between jiu-jitsu against luta livre in special a fight between its two main representatives in the end of 80s, Rickson Gracie and Hugo Duarte. Days later the two fight at the beach, Duarte convinces the fighters of his style to invade the main academy of the Gracies at the time. The confrontation between Duarte and Rickson ended after punches in the mount. Amateurism is truth, but an unforgettable time for those who lived it. Nowadays the rivalry between jiu-jitsu and Luta livre does not exist in Brazil. …
The promoters of ADCC invited many Brazilians to ADCC 2005, which is taking place in May in California. Big names of MMA such as Renzo Gracie, Antoine Jaoude e Alexandre “Cacareco” are among the invited. But one question remains unanswered: Why is SHOOTO champion Alexandre “Pequeno” not among them? What does he need to do to prove that he is one of the top grapplers under 65z-kg? …
