In 2011, the Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to Brazil with a massive show at HSBC Arena capped by bouts featuring three legendary Brazilian fighters: “Shogun” Rua, Anderson Silva, and “Minotauro” Nogueira. On that same night, a rising star took his first step toward building the reputation his veteran peers acquired after several years of blood, sweat, and tears; the athlete in this case, Erick Silva, who fights in the UFC Fight Night co-main event this Wednesday in Barueri against South Korea’s Dong Hyun Kim. Silva (15-3, 1 NC), a native of Vila Velha, Espirito Santo, has fought five … Read the Full Article Here
In 2011, the Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to Brazil with a massive show at HSBC Arena capped by bouts featuring three legendary Brazilian fighters: “Shogun” Rua, Anderson Silva, and “Minotauro” Nogueira. On that same night, a rising star took his first step toward building the reputation his veteran peers acquired after several years of blood, sweat, and tears; the athlete in this case, Erick Silva, who fights in the UFC Fight Night co-main event this Wednesday in Barueri against South Korea’s Dong Hyun Kim. Silva (15-3, 1 NC), a native of Vila Velha, Espirito Santo, has fought five … Read the Full Article Here
There are two questions which have remained unchanged from the time interim UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao took the belt against Urijah Faber on July 21, 2012. The first is when will the title unification fight against Dominick Cruz happen? The second, does he consider himself the absolute champion of the 135-pound division leading up to his second defense this Saturday against former WEC kingpin Eddie Wineland in the co-main event of UFC 165 in Toronto?“The main point is, I’m happy showing what I’m capable of,” says the Nova Uniao product, avoiding direct answers to both queries. “If t … Read the Full Article Here
There are two questions which have remained unchanged from the time interim UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao took the belt against Urijah Faber on July 21, 2012. The first is when will the title unification fight against Dominick Cruz happen? The second, does he consider himself the absolute champion of the 135-pound division leading up to his second defense this Saturday against former WEC kingpin Eddie Wineland in the co-main event of UFC 165 in Toronto?“The main point is, I’m happy showing what I’m capable of,” says the Nova Uniao product, avoiding direct answers to both queries. “If t … Read the Full Article Here
Monday, February 11th – while the majority of the people living in Brazil are partying for the popular Carnival, one man is hitting pads in the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro in preparation to defend his interim bantamweight title on Saturday in London. That man is Renan Barão.
Of course, Barão is a UFC fighter who is aware of his responsibilities, and he doesn’t complain about that fact. He knows the job he needs to do against number one contender Michael McDonald in the main event of UFC on FUEL TV 7 at Wembley Arena. Seeing his teammates celebrating during the popular Brazilian party was a bit tough to deal with though.
“It’s hard to explain to outsiders what Carnival is here in Brazil,” he says. “The party is great and is such a national party. I’m okay with the fact that I’m not involved, but seeing my friends and teammates leaving the training sessions and going straight to these parties around Rio de Janeiro is funny. I hope my party will be after I defend my belt successfully against McDonald.”
Even though Barão is 100% focused on his job, it seems that with his Nova União peers enjoying the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, his training can’t be explored to its maximum. But Barão says he’s not alone on his quest, and the friends that are partying are just a small part of the crew.
“The great part of being a Nova União member is that you’ve got several of the guys preparing themselves for MMA shows,” he said, assuring his fans that he will be ready for battle. “So while there can be one guy who doesn’t have a fight scheduled, so his routine is less tough, we’ve got six or seven guys ready to give you a full hand at training sessions because they’re going to fight soon and can’t take it easy.
“And whether it’s ironic or not, I feel my training camp for this fight was better than ever,” Barão continues. “Cutting weight and other issues which can harm your condition heading up to a fight were excellent. Plus, like I said, I had many teammates who are UFC fighters, or they have fights on the same weekend or in February, so it combined for an amazing camp to take on McDonald.”
The importance of a training camp without any setbacks is the first key to Barão’s goals. He has McDonald now, and it’s his first step in cementing his name in the UFC. With a victorious fight against the challenger, Barão intends to have a title unification bout with currently sidelined champion Dominick Cruz later this year. But for now, he says “On February 16th I’ll have the most important fight of my life. I have my objectives and I can’t deny that I expected the unification instead of defending, but don’t confuse expectations with me not being focused. McDonald is between me and my dream and I trained strongly to keep what is mine now.”
The size of the challenge in McDonald is huge, as Barão’s opponent is 15-1 with five wins under the Zuffa umbrella (WEC/UFC). Nearly one year ago he made a big statement in dispatching the former kingpin of the WEC’s 135-pound division, Miguel Angel Torres, in great fashion via first round knockout. You can also add in that the 22-year-old McDonald wants to become the youngest champion in UFC history. Is that too much for the champion to deal with? He says it’s the opposite.
“I have a mentor, Jair Lourenço, who keeps me away from these outside Octagon jitters,” he says. “I don’t have any concerns, as I’m going to fight my best possible, based on the training conducted by Lourenço and André Pederneiras, and I will keep my belt. On the other side, whether a great fighter in McDonald will or won’t be affected by the buzz over his name, I don’t care. He said his BJJ skills will be a secret, and I believe it’ll be a secret until our fight ends. I don’t believe he’ll try BJJ against me; this fight will be a standup war and I’m ready for it. The best of the best Barão will show up in London.”
So will we see a superior version of Barão than we have seen prior?
“Yes, this will be my fifth fight inside the UFC, and there is more to come, experience and fighting wise,” he says. “Training for each of these fights I do in the UFC is a constant learning process and I feel my potential is increasing before and after each of them.”
Fighting in UK for the second time in his career, Barão, who beat local idol Brad Pickett in his first trip, now wishes to bring the crowd to his side, making a sort of Brazilian Carnival filled by British fans.
“They couldn’t root for me when I fought there first, but they saw that I give my all,” he says. “I know they love fighters with this personality, so I hope to get their support, because I’m going with all my weapons into this title fight.”
Monday, February 11th – while the majority of the people living in Brazil are partying for the popular Carnival, one man is hitting pads in the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro in preparation to defend his interim bantamweight title on Saturday in London. That man is Renan Barão.
Of course, Barão is a UFC fighter who is aware of his responsibilities, and he doesn’t complain about that fact. He knows the job he needs to do against number one contender Michael McDonald in the main event of UFC on FUEL TV 7 at Wembley Arena. Seeing his teammates celebrating during the popular Brazilian party was a bit tough to deal with though.
“It’s hard to explain to outsiders what Carnival is here in Brazil,” he says. “The party is great and is such a national party. I’m okay with the fact that I’m not involved, but seeing my friends and teammates leaving the training sessions and going straight to these parties around Rio de Janeiro is funny. I hope my party will be after I defend my belt successfully against McDonald.”
Even though Barão is 100% focused on his job, it seems that with his Nova União peers enjoying the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, his training can’t be explored to its maximum. But Barão says he’s not alone on his quest, and the friends that are partying are just a small part of the crew.
“The great part of being a Nova União member is that you’ve got several of the guys preparing themselves for MMA shows,” he said, assuring his fans that he will be ready for battle. “So while there can be one guy who doesn’t have a fight scheduled, so his routine is less tough, we’ve got six or seven guys ready to give you a full hand at training sessions because they’re going to fight soon and can’t take it easy.
“And whether it’s ironic or not, I feel my training camp for this fight was better than ever,” Barão continues. “Cutting weight and other issues which can harm your condition heading up to a fight were excellent. Plus, like I said, I had many teammates who are UFC fighters, or they have fights on the same weekend or in February, so it combined for an amazing camp to take on McDonald.”
The importance of a training camp without any setbacks is the first key to Barão’s goals. He has McDonald now, and it’s his first step in cementing his name in the UFC. With a victorious fight against the challenger, Barão intends to have a title unification bout with currently sidelined champion Dominick Cruz later this year. But for now, he says “On February 16th I’ll have the most important fight of my life. I have my objectives and I can’t deny that I expected the unification instead of defending, but don’t confuse expectations with me not being focused. McDonald is between me and my dream and I trained strongly to keep what is mine now.”
The size of the challenge in McDonald is huge, as Barão’s opponent is 15-1 with five wins under the Zuffa umbrella (WEC/UFC). Nearly one year ago he made a big statement in dispatching the former kingpin of the WEC’s 135-pound division, Miguel Angel Torres, in great fashion via first round knockout. You can also add in that the 22-year-old McDonald wants to become the youngest champion in UFC history. Is that too much for the champion to deal with? He says it’s the opposite.
“I have a mentor, Jair Lourenço, who keeps me away from these outside Octagon jitters,” he says. “I don’t have any concerns, as I’m going to fight my best possible, based on the training conducted by Lourenço and André Pederneiras, and I will keep my belt. On the other side, whether a great fighter in McDonald will or won’t be affected by the buzz over his name, I don’t care. He said his BJJ skills will be a secret, and I believe it’ll be a secret until our fight ends. I don’t believe he’ll try BJJ against me; this fight will be a standup war and I’m ready for it. The best of the best Barão will show up in London.”
So will we see a superior version of Barão than we have seen prior?
“Yes, this will be my fifth fight inside the UFC, and there is more to come, experience and fighting wise,” he says. “Training for each of these fights I do in the UFC is a constant learning process and I feel my potential is increasing before and after each of them.”
Fighting in UK for the second time in his career, Barão, who beat local idol Brad Pickett in his first trip, now wishes to bring the crowd to his side, making a sort of Brazilian Carnival filled by British fans.
“They couldn’t root for me when I fought there first, but they saw that I give my all,” he says. “I know they love fighters with this personality, so I hope to get their support, because I’m going with all my weapons into this title fight.”
The last time the king of the featherweight division, Jose Aldo, was featured in our news section before his fight in January of 2012 against number one contender Chad Mendes at UFC 142, he alerted us on two matters, both of which came true.
“He [Mendes] will lose his undefeated record on January 14th; I see that happening,” said Aldo. “And if the KO happens, I’ll have a surprise for the fans, indeed.”
Aldo laughed, but that surprise really was a surprise, as the product of Nova União squad ran across the cage after knocking out Mendes in the first round, passed through the opened Octagon gate and literally celebrated his victory on the shoulders of the Brazilian fans in the crowd. (Watch his victory celebration)
He promised and he delivered.
“Yes, I did,” he says of the promise. “I had it on my mind already. The people, they were having a pretty animated party in the bleachers, so it was great to celebrate with them and they got real pumped.”
Aldo revealed that everything he did was very well planned, with only his wife Viviane and translator/friend Derek Kronig Lee knowing what was going to happen. Lee tried to dissuade Aldo of this mad idea, but the champion says that since he didn’t tell us before the fight what he’d do, only saying it would be a surprise, the fact is…
“If I knocked Mendes down, I’d run (laughs) to the fans,” he says. “Andre Pederneiras (his coach) didn’t know about it, because he could stop me. But at the end of it all, it was a beautiful and historic celebration with the crowd.”
The commotion caused by his post-fight run was small if we compare it to what happened to Aldo later in 2012. The sequence began with the birth of his first daughter, Joana, an injury that sidelined his opponent Erik Koch from a UFC 153 bout and brought Frankie Edgar to the table, and then his own injury from a motorcycle accident which sidelined the champ for the rest of the year. He tried to describe the ups and downs of the last 12 months, a difficult task because this is a man who only wants to fight.
“[Breathes deeply] Piece by piece, like a fighter, I didn’t change due to Joana’s birth; I’ll keep myself hungry and focused on my job. But it’s hard to talk about all those events because I don’t like to mix my private life with my professional life. Joana was born and changed my life. This is one more responsibility, and becoming a parent is the dream of every couple and thank God our time has come and it added a bunch of happiness to our home.”
“But if I stop for one moment to think about what happened to me (in 2012), besides the birth of Joana, I’ll get crazy. Koch, Hatsu Hioki and perhaps “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung could have been my challenges and none of them are in front of me. Frankie Edgar will be though.”
The Superfight against Edgar is the main event of UFC 156, scheduled for Saturday night in Las Vegas. Everybody wanted to see this fight, and everybody wanted to book it, either at featherweight or lightweight. The buzz of Aldo going up to 155 was huge, but once Edgar lost his rematch against Benson Henderson and Koch was forced out of the bout with Aldo, the Brazilian will welcome the former lightweight champion in his seventh consecutive title bout.
“The division was packed once again, but I knew if he lost his rematch against Bendo, he’d drop to 145,” Aldo told. “The fans say they expected this fight, and I do too. This is a dream match for me, because the man had an excellent history during his lightweight times and now we’ll see what will happen.”
Since the beginning of the UFC career of “The Answer” in the 155-division, people said he was too small for the peers. He answered by beating BJ Penn twice and Gray Maynard once. After two defeats in very close fights with Henderson, Edgar is in the weight class everybody wanted to see him compete in – featherweight. Aldo believes the New Jersey native is tough as nails, but that all the advantages are in his hands as he game plans for the former lightweight champion.
“He didn’t cut too much weight for the lightweights, but now he needs to,” Aldo analyzes. “The speed here [at 145] is a key factor too. He was fast at lightweight, and trying to emulate a few moves and the pace he set can open the gaps for counter attacks and things like that. So let’s see what happens.”
As for the assumption that since Edgar put in nearly 29 rounds in his last six fights compared to Aldo’s 20 that the later rounds will belong to the challenger if it goes that far, Aldo disagrees.
“Everything can be talked about and seen, but when the door locks there are many options for a fighter,” he said. “Before my fight against Urijah Faber in WEC, people said that if he pushed me to the limit of the fifth round, I’d break. But I did it and I did it twice in the UFC, proving I’m not just a champion of the early rounds; I’m the champion because I fight and pass through the challenges that are present.”
So we have to ask, will Aldo have a new celebration if he wins?
“If God permits, I’ll bring the victory and I’ll dedicate it to my daughter. What will it be? A surprise once again, but I promise nothing to get my manager and my coach mad.”
The last time the king of the featherweight division, Jose Aldo, was featured in our news section before his fight in January of 2012 against number one contender Chad Mendes at UFC 142, he alerted us on two matters, both of which came true.
“He [Mendes] will lose his undefeated record on January 14th; I see that happening,” said Aldo. “And if the KO happens, I’ll have a surprise for the fans, indeed.”
Aldo laughed, but that surprise really was a surprise, as the product of Nova União squad ran across the cage after knocking out Mendes in the first round, passed through the opened Octagon gate and literally celebrated his victory on the shoulders of the Brazilian fans in the crowd. (Watch his victory celebration)
He promised and he delivered.
“Yes, I did,” he says of the promise. “I had it on my mind already. The people, they were having a pretty animated party in the bleachers, so it was great to celebrate with them and they got real pumped.”
Aldo revealed that everything he did was very well planned, with only his wife Viviane and translator/friend Derek Kronig Lee knowing what was going to happen. Lee tried to dissuade Aldo of this mad idea, but the champion says that since he didn’t tell us before the fight what he’d do, only saying it would be a surprise, the fact is…
“If I knocked Mendes down, I’d run (laughs) to the fans,” he says. “Andre Pederneiras (his coach) didn’t know about it, because he could stop me. But at the end of it all, it was a beautiful and historic celebration with the crowd.”
The commotion caused by his post-fight run was small if we compare it to what happened to Aldo later in 2012. The sequence began with the birth of his first daughter, Joana, an injury that sidelined his opponent Erik Koch from a UFC 153 bout and brought Frankie Edgar to the table, and then his own injury from a motorcycle accident which sidelined the champ for the rest of the year. He tried to describe the ups and downs of the last 12 months, a difficult task because this is a man who only wants to fight.
“[Breathes deeply] Piece by piece, like a fighter, I didn’t change due to Joana’s birth; I’ll keep myself hungry and focused on my job. But it’s hard to talk about all those events because I don’t like to mix my private life with my professional life. Joana was born and changed my life. This is one more responsibility, and becoming a parent is the dream of every couple and thank God our time has come and it added a bunch of happiness to our home.”
“But if I stop for one moment to think about what happened to me (in 2012), besides the birth of Joana, I’ll get crazy. Koch, Hatsu Hioki and perhaps “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung could have been my challenges and none of them are in front of me. Frankie Edgar will be though.”
The Superfight against Edgar is the main event of UFC 156, scheduled for Saturday night in Las Vegas. Everybody wanted to see this fight, and everybody wanted to book it, either at featherweight or lightweight. The buzz of Aldo going up to 155 was huge, but once Edgar lost his rematch against Benson Henderson and Koch was forced out of the bout with Aldo, the Brazilian will welcome the former lightweight champion in his seventh consecutive title bout.
“The division was packed once again, but I knew if he lost his rematch against Bendo, he’d drop to 145,” Aldo told. “The fans say they expected this fight, and I do too. This is a dream match for me, because the man had an excellent history during his lightweight times and now we’ll see what will happen.”
Since the beginning of the UFC career of “The Answer” in the 155-division, people said he was too small for the peers. He answered by beating BJ Penn twice and Gray Maynard once. After two defeats in very close fights with Henderson, Edgar is in the weight class everybody wanted to see him compete in – featherweight. Aldo believes the New Jersey native is tough as nails, but that all the advantages are in his hands as he game plans for the former lightweight champion.
“He didn’t cut too much weight for the lightweights, but now he needs to,” Aldo analyzes. “The speed here [at 145] is a key factor too. He was fast at lightweight, and trying to emulate a few moves and the pace he set can open the gaps for counter attacks and things like that. So let’s see what happens.”
As for the assumption that since Edgar put in nearly 29 rounds in his last six fights compared to Aldo’s 20 that the later rounds will belong to the challenger if it goes that far, Aldo disagrees.
“Everything can be talked about and seen, but when the door locks there are many options for a fighter,” he said. “Before my fight against Urijah Faber in WEC, people said that if he pushed me to the limit of the fifth round, I’d break. But I did it and I did it twice in the UFC, proving I’m not just a champion of the early rounds; I’m the champion because I fight and pass through the challenges that are present.”
So we have to ask, will Aldo have a new celebration if he wins?
“If God permits, I’ll bring the victory and I’ll dedicate it to my daughter. What will it be? A surprise once again, but I promise nothing to get my manager and my coach mad.”
Since his first UFC fight, Rousimar Palhares showed that he had the type of high-level ground game that, when matched with strength and work ethic, makes competitors true champions. Needless to say, fans and insiders eagerly discussed that possibility, dissecting his fights every step of the way.
And after three wins over David Branch, Dan Miller, and Mike Massenzio, it was expected that if he could earn a fourth consecutive victory against a top contender in Alan Belcher at UFC on FOX 3 in May, his title aspirations would shine even brighter. But it didn’t happen, as the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt was dispatched via TKO for the second time in his career.
“I had a bad night,” Palhares says. “I tried foot and leg locks and I didn’t sink them. I spent my strength as Belcher was inside my guard, I hesitated in taking control and I ate an elbow which destabilized me. Fights are like that. If you delay an action, the defeat approaches.”
Palhares has been down this road before, with losses to Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt resulting after lengthy winning streaks. So the question has to be asked – does the powerhouse from Brazil, in fact, feel the pressure of entering the realm of the top contenders?
“I don’t feel the pressure; we learn how to deal with that in Brazilian Top Team,” he said. “I do what I love. My dream is to be the champion, and I work every day for this. I watch and re-watch training sessions and fights, looking for what’s wrong and sharpening my qualities. My time will come and I’ll be ready to conquer the dream of the belt.”
Luckily, beyond the work in the gym and the film room, BTT founding member and former UFC middleweight champion Murillo Bustamante is the correct adviser to help his pupil get over any mental hurdles in a fight. Have you any doubt? Just look back at two matches of Bustamante’s career, the 40 minute draw with the much larger Tom Erickson, and the championship bout against Matt Lindland, and you see that Busta is the perfect man to perfect Rousimar’s mindset.
“A few times things happened to me that I don’t tell anyone because I believe everything will end up well,” Palhares said. “So I’ve changed it, I listen to Busta, and I also speak more about how I’m feeling in training and principally in the pre-fight moments. Bustamante helps me a lot because he’s a former champion, he did a lot of fighting, and he knows the manner to act in all situations. I learn every single day with him.”
That’s a good thing because his next fight in Australia is the real deal. Facing hometown favorite Hector “Lightning” Lombard, “Toquinho” will face a foe who suffered something similar as he did in his last fight. Lombard had an impressive winning streak prior to joining the UFC, and when he stepped into the Octagon, he suffered a disappointing decision loss to Tim Boetsch. Whether this was an issue having to do with Lombard’s mental game or not, Palhares doesn’t care; he just wants to finish 2012 with a 2-1 record.
“I’m not concerned with his psychological side,” he says. “I’m focused on my hard work for this fight. I want to show the unseen potential I have. I pray to God and I believe I’ll show it. And everybody will say, ‘that is the real Rousimar Palhares.'”
The previous fights of the two aside, this should be a bout to remember. Palhares is a well-known submission machine, and Lombard, a former Olympic judoka, unloads heavy strikes. But tonight, Palhares expects to leave the Octagon with his hand raised.
“I’m not satisfied with myself,” he said. “Because I didn’t win in May, I demand a lot from myself when I know I didn’t do enough. I want this victory more than ever.”
Since his first UFC fight, Rousimar Palhares showed that he had the type of high-level ground game that, when matched with strength and work ethic, makes competitors true champions. Needless to say, fans and insiders eagerly discussed that possibility, dissecting his fights every step of the way.
And after three wins over David Branch, Dan Miller, and Mike Massenzio, it was expected that if he could earn a fourth consecutive victory against a top contender in Alan Belcher at UFC on FOX 3 in May, his title aspirations would shine even brighter. But it didn’t happen, as the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt was dispatched via TKO for the second time in his career.
“I had a bad night,” Palhares says. “I tried foot and leg locks and I didn’t sink them. I spent my strength as Belcher was inside my guard, I hesitated in taking control and I ate an elbow which destabilized me. Fights are like that. If you delay an action, the defeat approaches.”
Palhares has been down this road before, with losses to Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt resulting after lengthy winning streaks. So the question has to be asked – does the powerhouse from Brazil, in fact, feel the pressure of entering the realm of the top contenders?
“I don’t feel the pressure; we learn how to deal with that in Brazilian Top Team,” he said. “I do what I love. My dream is to be the champion, and I work every day for this. I watch and re-watch training sessions and fights, looking for what’s wrong and sharpening my qualities. My time will come and I’ll be ready to conquer the dream of the belt.”
Luckily, beyond the work in the gym and the film room, BTT founding member and former UFC middleweight champion Murillo Bustamante is the correct adviser to help his pupil get over any mental hurdles in a fight. Have you any doubt? Just look back at two matches of Bustamante’s career, the 40 minute draw with the much larger Tom Erickson, and the championship bout against Matt Lindland, and you see that Busta is the perfect man to perfect Rousimar’s mindset.
“A few times things happened to me that I don’t tell anyone because I believe everything will end up well,” Palhares said. “So I’ve changed it, I listen to Busta, and I also speak more about how I’m feeling in training and principally in the pre-fight moments. Bustamante helps me a lot because he’s a former champion, he did a lot of fighting, and he knows the manner to act in all situations. I learn every single day with him.”
That’s a good thing because his next fight in Australia is the real deal. Facing hometown favorite Hector “Lightning” Lombard, “Toquinho” will face a foe who suffered something similar as he did in his last fight. Lombard had an impressive winning streak prior to joining the UFC, and when he stepped into the Octagon, he suffered a disappointing decision loss to Tim Boetsch. Whether this was an issue having to do with Lombard’s mental game or not, Palhares doesn’t care; he just wants to finish 2012 with a 2-1 record.
“I’m not concerned with his psychological side,” he says. “I’m focused on my hard work for this fight. I want to show the unseen potential I have. I pray to God and I believe I’ll show it. And everybody will say, ‘that is the real Rousimar Palhares.'”
The previous fights of the two aside, this should be a bout to remember. Palhares is a well-known submission machine, and Lombard, a former Olympic judoka, unloads heavy strikes. But tonight, Palhares expects to leave the Octagon with his hand raised.
“I’m not satisfied with myself,” he said. “Because I didn’t win in May, I demand a lot from myself when I know I didn’t do enough. I want this victory more than ever.”
Erick “Indio” Silva is happy – very happy – to be fighting in his home country of Brazil against big-name opponent Jon Fitch on the main card of UFC 153 this Saturday night in Rio de Janeiro. To understanding why the fighter is in such a good mood now,…
Erick “Indio” Silva is happy – very happy – to be fighting in his home country of Brazil against big-name opponent Jon Fitch on the main card of UFC 153 this Saturday night in Rio de Janeiro. To understanding why the fighter is in such a good mood now, it’s important to remember what the welterweight prospect went through in his first two UFC bouts in Rio.
Despite facing his originally scheduled opponent, Charlie Brenneman, in his last bout at UFC on FX 3 in June, the X-Gym representative never had the same ‘luck’ when he was fighting at home.
Before the fight which resulted in a big knockout over Luis Ramos at UFC 134 back in August 2011, Erick was supposed to face TUF 1 veteran Mike Swick. But the AKA member withdrew from the match due to an injury and the Brazilian ended up facing his countryman in Ramos. In early 2012, the story repeated itself, but with a different outcome. Scheduled to face heavy hitter Siyar Bahadurzada, the welterweight division’s Silva collided against another countryman, Carlo Prater, and lost by disqualification.
With that said, you can imagine why Silva is smiling when talking about a full camp focused on one man from beginning to end.
“This is superb,” he affirms. “We can plan, study the foe’s game, and put together a great strategy, but when an adversary changes, it’s tough to adapt. But those things happening were good to show that we can impose our game when we don’t have much time to prepare for a specific new opponent. I’m very happy for this too. I train to dictate the pace, it worked, and I showed what I could do. And against Jon Fitch it’s not going to be different. He’s a top five fighter, but our tactics are to impose my style over his.”
So far so good. But at any moment of his training camp did his coaches slow the pace, expecting that the bad news of an opponent switch were happening again?
Silva laughs.
“We were prepared since we’ve got experience in this. We’re facing a veteran of the UFC, a former title challenger, so this was the chance for me to use this experience to train smart and not get injured, (hence) losing the opportunity of facing a high caliber fighter like Fitch.”
There is no doubt that Fitch is the biggest challenge in Silva’s career, mainly if we look at the fighters he faced inside the Octagon: a former Shooto champion, a former WEC title contender and a tough wrestler. One after one, “Índio” was climbing up the rankings, even with the defeat to Prater, which the Brazilian fighter doesn’t believe harmed his run through the welterweight division.
“I face things that happen in my life at the correct time,” he says. “I understand what my career is going through now but look at Fitch; he got his title fight after eight fights. We need to only think about working.”
Working hard and observing the division are two things Erick does well. The Espirito Santo native keeps his focus on hard training and his eyes on the welterweight rankings. This is a routine he adopted to realize where he fits.
“You need to be up to date on that,” he said. “The professional fighter needs to be aware of what’s happening in his division. A few days ago I finished my training and the TV aired fights with UFC welterweights. My teammates asked, ‘are you going to fight them?’ I said ‘no’, but I need to keep my eye on the division because you never know who’s going to be your next opponent. I don’t freak out like, ‘I need to fight top 10s, I need to fight top 10s,’ but I need to have knowledge of who is ahead of me.”
And now he’s fighting a top ten, not just that, but a talented fighter with great wrestling and grappling skills in Fitch. The former challenger for the welterweight belt’s main weapon is the ground control where he drags his opponent to the mat and pressures him for 15 minutes or until he gets an opening for a submission. Silva knows that, and his strategy and his outlook for the fight is very simple.
“He never faced a guy who moves like me,” Silva says. “He’s very good on controlling the clinch and taking people down, but for it to happen he needs to reach me first. Of course this is a 15 minute fight, and perhaps he can find the perfect time, but I’m prepared to defend and to fight wherever I need to. Fitch is a good with his game plan, but I’m explosive and confident.
“Fitch will face the best Erick Silva who ever stepped into the Octagon,” he continues. “Each fight I evolve, I get stronger, and I’ve dealt nicely with the weight cut. I’m coming from three good fights and I’m very excited for this challenge. I’m pumped.”
