Rafael Cavalcante eyes March return to UFC after weighing 255 pounds due to injury

Forced out of a light heavyweight clash with Ovince St. Preux in November due to a shoulder injury, Rafael Cavalcante is anxious to get back in action.

The former Strikeforce 205-pound champion couldn’t do much in the gym during recovery time. In fact, “Feijao” couldn’t do anything at all for a few weeks, and that made him gain a lot of weight.

“I couldn’t train or work out. I couldn’t even run, man,” Cavalcante told MMAFighting.com. “I went up to 255 pounds. I was soft. I lost a lot already, and I want to stay at 230 to train well for my next fight.

“I returned to training in December, but it was a complicated injury. I never had an injury that kept me out this long,” he continued. “I went for a takedown and my sparring defended it, and my elbow popped. It didn’t hurt that much and I kept training. I went back home and when I woke up the next day, I couldn’t feel my arm. I tried to train anyway but my coach Rogerio Camoes said I was insane and told me to cancel the fight.”

Back to training to help Anderson Silva train for his UFC return on Jan. 31 against Nick Diaz, Cavalcante hopes to enter the Octagon in March. And if he could choose, he would like to be part of the yet-to-be-confirmed UFC Fight Night 63 card in Rio de Janeiro on March 21.

“I want to fight in March,” “Feijao” said. “That’s my goal.”

At 1-2 under the UFC banner with a quick win over Igor Pokrajac sandwiched by losses to Thiago Silva and Ryan Bader, Cavalcante won’t call anyone out.

“I never asked for anything,” he said. “The only fight I really asked for was Bader because I wanted to fight him for a long time, but I will be ready to fight anyone. I want to fight more this year, so I will stay in shape for anyone.”

Despite enjoying fighting wrestlers, “Feijao” would rather face a striker in his next bout. Why? Because he’s tired of watching “laying and praying” inside the Octagon.

“I’ve watched fights, like Phil Davis vs. Glover Teixeira, and if the UFC continues with this type of ugly, boring fights… They don’t try to knock you out or submit you,” Cavalcante said. “Now, they don’t even try to take you down. They just hand in there, close to the fence, for 15 minutes and they win. When they go to the ground, they don’t try to pass the guard, submit you, or even punch you. It’s not this type of fight that made the UFC become what it is today. They have to change this.”

Forced out of a light heavyweight clash with Ovince St. Preux in November due to a shoulder injury, Rafael Cavalcante is anxious to get back in action.

The former Strikeforce 205-pound champion couldn’t do much in the gym during recovery time. In fact, “Feijao” couldn’t do anything at all for a few weeks, and that made him gain a lot of weight.

“I couldn’t train or work out. I couldn’t even run, man,” Cavalcante told MMAFighting.com. “I went up to 255 pounds. I was soft. I lost a lot already, and I want to stay at 230 to train well for my next fight.

“I returned to training in December, but it was a complicated injury. I never had an injury that kept me out this long,” he continued. “I went for a takedown and my sparring defended it, and my elbow popped. It didn’t hurt that much and I kept training. I went back home and when I woke up the next day, I couldn’t feel my arm. I tried to train anyway but my coach Rogerio Camoes said I was insane and told me to cancel the fight.”

Back to training to help Anderson Silva train for his UFC return on Jan. 31 against Nick Diaz, Cavalcante hopes to enter the Octagon in March. And if he could choose, he would like to be part of the yet-to-be-confirmed UFC Fight Night 63 card in Rio de Janeiro on March 21.

“I want to fight in March,” “Feijao” said. “That’s my goal.”

At 1-2 under the UFC banner with a quick win over Igor Pokrajac sandwiched by losses to Thiago Silva and Ryan Bader, Cavalcante won’t call anyone out.

“I never asked for anything,” he said. “The only fight I really asked for was Bader because I wanted to fight him for a long time, but I will be ready to fight anyone. I want to fight more this year, so I will stay in shape for anyone.”

Despite enjoying fighting wrestlers, “Feijao” would rather face a striker in his next bout. Why? Because he’s tired of watching “laying and praying” inside the Octagon.

“I’ve watched fights, like Phil Davis vs. Glover Teixeira, and if the UFC continues with this type of ugly, boring fights… They don’t try to knock you out or submit you,” Cavalcante said. “Now, they don’t even try to take you down. They just hand in there, close to the fence, for 15 minutes and they win. When they go to the ground, they don’t try to pass the guard, submit you, or even punch you. It’s not this type of fight that made the UFC become what it is today. They have to change this.”