Author: By Martins Denis / Translation Munique Bohnke

The newest Brazilian to become a UFC champion, interim bantamweight titleholder Renan Barão, got to see the other side of life as a UFC star, as he was the undisputed center of attention at a media event held Tuesday at the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon in Rio de Janeiro.

This exposure with the media was something that the fighter expected, because in the weeks before his duel for the title against Urijah Faber at UFC 149 last Saturday, Barão had already tasted a bit of the commitments he would have as a champion.

Interviews with web sites, magazines and newspapers would have their volume increased to more than triple, and that was confirmed when Barão, who, while a little embarrassed, answered every reporter at the event today. Still, he was caught by surprise with the amount of new fans and the increased demands of those who already knew him for some time.

In addition to his commitments with the media, Barão gave attention to every one of his followers. Answering several questions and taking photos, Barão realized that his status as a UFC fighter has been updated to idol in just over one year working in the organization. And Barão is more than willing to become as good at these matters as he is with his performances in the Octagon.

“We train to reach the highest point [be a champion], and the consequence is what we’re seeing,” said Barão. “Having this recognition is fantastic and I hope that more and more I exceed the expectations of my fans and get many others from now on.”

If his dominant win over Faber is any indication, the idea of Barao extending his reign is a promising one. Unbeaten in his last 32 fights, the interim champion has showed plenty of versatility in all four of his UFC fights since May of 2011. Dispatching former WEC champion Cole Escovedo, British star Brad Pickett, former WEC title challenger Scott Jorgensen, and finally Faber, Barão’s next step   is to return to his native Rio Grande do Norte at the beginning of next week. In the Octagon, there is nothing definite yet, as the unification against champion Dominick Cruz depends on the Californian’s recovery from a knee injury. This wait opens a spot for Barao to possibly defend his interim belt.

“I’ll fight whoever the president determines, whether it’s defending my title or unifying it against Cruz. It depends only on what Dana White decides for me,” said Barao.

After 13 episodes, the four finalists of the first edition of TUF Brazil are now known. In the featherweight division, Godofredo Pepey and Rony Jason were already guaranteed their spots. At middleweight, Daniel Sarafian was still waiting the result of the fight between Cezar Mutante from Team Vitor and Thiago Bodão from Team Wanderlei. Besides defining the last finalist of the reality show, the 13th episode of TUF also featured the participation of the narrator from Rede Globo, Galvão Bueno, who celebrated the fighters who did well inside the Octagon.

Galvão Bueno announced, among the other attractions of the night, the last fight of the seroes: Cezar Mutante vs Thiago Bodão. The fight would define the last finalist of the show, and the one who will compete for a UFC contract at UFC 147 on June 23rd in Belo Horizonte.

In preparation for combat, Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva praised the persistence and capacity for overcoming adversity of Bodão as his top qualities for the fight. However, the opinions diverged about Cezar Mutante. Wanderlei raised the possibility of Cezar being protected by Vitor because they were from the same team outside the house, and he said that he would only be convinced that Mutante is a great fighter when he defeated Bodão.

Before the fight, the fighters received the visit from Galvão Bueno, who talked with them and asked for their strategies. Mutante, almost prophetic, said he would try to take the advantages as they come, and that is exactly what he did.

The last semifinalists of the middleweight division entered the Octagon, and Mutante from the opening seconds, showed himself to be pretty confident. Soon he started to throw good punches at Bodão’s head, and his opponent felt the blows. After that, a spinning kick like that from capoeira (which got some compliments from Galvão after the fight) almost landed. The next one did hit though, as Cezar delivered a powerful side kick that hit Bodao flush in the face. He fell, knocked out, as Mutante guaranteed his spot in the final.

“What I did was focus and take advantage of the opportunity when it came up. It is a personal realization to fight on the UFC card.  I’ll give 100% to be the champion”, said Mutante, who submitted two opponents on TUF Brazil before knocking Bodão out.

After the fight, Galvao also announced the special awards from the show. Mutante got a Ford pickup truck for compiling the fastest total time in the Octagon during TUF Brazil: 7:29. Besides that, he also got a check for 45 thousand for best knockout (of Bodao). Best submission went to Rony Jason against Anistavio Gasparzinho, for his armlock in the quarterfinals. The best fight of the show was between Thiago Bodão and Trinaldo Massaranduba. In this case, both fighters got the prize.

This Saturday, the TUF Brazil champions will be crowned at UFC 147 in Belo Horizonte.

“There’s always a hurry,” said Mutante. “The next fight is always the most important.”  

“They are pursuing a dream, and this dream is to get to the final, be the champion and sign the contract with the UFC”, said Galvão.

The Ultimate Fighter Brazil is coming to an end, and on this week’s episode, the second athlete to compete in the featherweight final will emerge from the fight between Hugo Wolverine (Team Vitor) and Rony Jason (Team Wanderlei).

The coaches’ expectations were different from the ones showed by Hugo Wolverine and Rony Jason heading into the bout. While the coaches see the usual battle of will, Jason makes it clear that despite knowing his opponent won’t fight on the ground, he doesn’t intend to avoid the fight standing up. On the other side, Wolverine says he will use his strong hands and his taekwondo background to score the victory.

Cloistered during the TUF Brazil season, the semifinalists and the other cast members are showing signs of missing their friends and family outside the house. They can’t wait to decide the last finalists of the featherweight and middleweight divisions and meet those outside.

The visit of the twin Brazilian brothers of the UFC, Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira and Rogério Nogueira lifts up the atmosphere thanks to all the charisma these two stars of the Octagon have. Using the green shirt of Team Vitor, Minotauro started joking that he was angry that they took his coach, Luiz Dórea, to participate in the reality show. Jason, Team Nogueira’s pupil, teased the brothers, saying they can’t only use the green shirt (Team Vitor). Fabricio Werdum entered the situation and put the blue shirt on Rogerio, all in good spirits.

In the house, while a soccer match goes on in the living room, Jason and Wolverine are in a different mindset. The fighter from Team Wanderlei was making the final adjustments on his cardio, and Vitor’s pupil was trying to find a suitable fight strategy with Daniel Sarafian.

A second visit motivated the fighters as well in the form of the former PRIDE GP and UFC light heavyweight champion, Shogun Rua. And he quickly found out how many fighters in the house appreciated his work. Anistávio Gasparzinho was the one who celebrated the most about the visit from his idol, who was also in the training center to watch the fight between Jason and Wolverine.
 
After 40 seconds of studying each other, Wolverine took the initiative with punches that were blocked by Rony, who applied a low kick while his adversary tried to counter strike with more punches. Soon, Wolverine had a nose bleed, and accidentally poked Jason in the eye. The fight was stopped for the referee to check on it, and as the fight resumed, the trading of punches remained unchanged.

The second round started almost just as the same, only this time, they took more than 40 seconds to strike a blow that hits the opponent. A front kick by Jason was felt by Wolverine and the fighter from Team Wanderlei went towards him with a mix of excitement and will to finish the fight, and he made Wolverine lose balance once again. Wolverine responded with a superman punch that opened a cut on Jason’s eye. But the duel was even, with Jason getting the takedown at the end of the round.

The pace of the last round was slower, and the punches weren’t hitting their target as in the previous 10 minutes. Jason got a takedown in the end, after throwing some punches before the bell indicated the end of the fight. It was all Rony Jason needed to earn the unanimous decision win.

“Everybody was talking about Hugo’s excellent boxing, so I made sure I would fight standing up as well, to show that I’m good at it too,” says the winner Jason. “I’ll make sure my fights last, to make it exciting. I celebrated a lot, and I had fun in there.”

Jason also showed his will to get his brother off drugs, and he was very emotional in dedicating the victory to him.

The first final of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil is set for UFC 147 on June 23rd: Rony Jason vs Godofredo Pepey.

Next week, it’s the last semifinal with Thiago Bodão facing Cezar Mutante. Who will win this war?

 

After so many battles in the Octagon and the tension outside the TUF Brazil house, a humorous challenge between the coaches Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort opens episode number 11. Using the most popular sport on the planet, football (soccer), to test the leaders of both teams, UFC president Dana White proposes a battle of 10 penalty kicks, with the one to score more goals winning R$45,000, while each person of the winning team would get R$ 2,000.

To help the coaches with tips, two of the finest football players were called – Paulo Henrique Ganso and Marcos, a five-time world champion. White joked with Wanderlei, expecting a little more from the former PRIDE champion, who used to strike with the best “soccer kicks” during his reign in Japan, but he didn’t show the same ability in the field. Belfort though, who already had a history with football, had everything to open a wide advantage against his adversary.

But Vitor started with a bad penalty kick and missed. Wand also couldn’t score on his first attempt. Both alternated good and bad moments, but in the end, the former light heavyweight champion of the UFC was victorious by a score of 7-5, making the green team very happy, specially Gasparzinho, who raised Octagon Girl Brittney Palmer in the air in celebration.

After the challenge, it was time for the determination of the first finalist in the middleweight category, a battle between Daniel Sarafian and Sergio Moraes. In breaking down the bout, it is possible that Sarafian won’t accept a fight on the ground, while Serginho will be looking for that at all times. And considering the pre-fight comments from both sides, that possibility was getting clearer by the moment.

Welterweight Demian Maia visited the training center on this episode. A training partner of Sarafian outside the house and a personal friend of Wanderlei, Maia used the green shirt and the leader of the blue team asked him why, so the former challenger to the belt explained it was due to his relationship with Sarafian.

Serginho Moraes (Team Wanderlei) vs Daniel Sarafian (Team Vitor)

At the beginning of the fight, Serginho showed that he would try to take the fight to the ground, but he surprised everyone with some right kicks and a right hand. After that, Sarafian opened himself too much and was taken down, but he fought to stay close to the fence to get back up and leave no room for Serginho to work his jiu-jitsu. Both clinched against the fence, and without much action, the referee told them to stand up. Two perfect front kicks in Serginho’s face were the beginning of the end. He tried the takedown, but with no strength left, he didn’t succeed. After that, Sarafian waited for the right time to apply a beautiful flying knee that took Serginho down, and after two more punches, the referee halted the fight. It was a big win for the emotional Sarafian, who could not hold back the tears trying to console his opponent.

“Man, by the time I felt I was in the final. I don’t know what to tell you, man. It’s a feeling of relief because I was very tense”, said Sarafian, the first finalist of the middleweight division. “I knew the danger of fighting him. Serginho is a great athlete, a three time jiu-jitsu champion. I’m very happy, very relieved. I dedicate myself a lot, and I try hard in everything I do. I work for that 24 hours a day in my head.”

A cry of happiness for the victory on one side, and a cry for the defeat on the other, but back in the house, it was time for a little joy in the group. Beer, singing and pool playing were going on, with a few fighters trying to enjoy the most of the moment.

In the training center, Rony Jason and Hugo Wolverine are in the preparation for the second semifinal of the featherweight class, and the expectations are around not just this fight, but also about trying not to think of Pepey, who is already in the final.

Later, what started as a joke from Vitor between a crew member and Gasparzinho almost turns into trouble after that. The joker of the house has a phobia of being tied, and a few members didn’t hesitate on testing his patience. Rodrigo Damm paid the price for that, and suffered the “rage” of his disaffection in the house, as he never in the mood for jokes, but was the first to get the tape to tie Gasparzinho down. But after a broken door here and a trash can thrown there by Gasparzinho, everything seems to get back to normal.  

With the change of fighters that resulted in Vina, Renee Forte and Pe de Chumbo going to Team Vitor, and Pepey, Thiago Bodão and Sergio Moraes going to Team Wanderlei, the fights between the ex-teammates are sealed.

At the beginning of episode 10 of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil, the semifinal battles between training partners in the house were defined in both divisions by UFC president Dana White:

Hugo Wolverine vs Rony Jason
Serginho vs Daniel Sarafian
Cezar Mutante vs Bodão

As for the fourth bout, Rodrigo Damm, who was going to face Pepey, was not able to continue in the competition. Feeling strong pain in his ribs, Damm (Team Vitor) needed to be taken to the hospital to get checked out, and the doctors said that he was not able to fight.

The bad news united all in the house, who all hoped for Damm to get well soon, but now there is the question of who will replace him in the semifinals.

With no opponent, Pepey said he was ready to fight anyone, but he thought he could advance to the finals by forfeit, because it was fair. This possibility was not taken into consideration, especially because now there is a window for the featherweights who lost in the quarterfinals to have a second chance.

Vina, who lost to Wolverine, was the one blessed with new life in the tournament, and he will face Pepey.

“I am too happy, man,” said the emotional Vina.  “Knowing that I can represent my family one more time. My wife will be so proud of me, and my friends, my family. I wanna go up there and fight for all these people like I have been doing all my life.”

Soon after the weigh in, Wanderlei did something to motivate the team, and he brought burgers and fries for everyone. In this relaxing time, Bodão, who came from the green team, said he was divided between who to cheer for, but would be giving his support for his team partner, Pepey. The always honest Massaranduba said that Pepey – his new training partner – was a one style fighter, and that Vina had everything to beat him.

White was there for the first semifinal bouts, and even though he saw different past performances from the competitors, where Pepey played it safe in his fight and Vina went for a dominant win in his qualifier, the UFC boss said that the fight between the two would be tight.

The semifinal fights are three rounds of five minutes each, and Pepey didn’t waste time standing up. At the first opportunity he took the fight to the ground and tried to pound away inside Vina’s guard. In a scramble, Vina almost got Pepey’s back, but ended on the bottom. The fighter from Team Vitor then defended a kimura and started his ground and pound while defending other submission attempts. The fight went back up for a few moments and Pepey pulled guard, but he was being punished with many blows as he went for Vina’s arm. Pepey continued to suffer from the punches of Vina until he got a second kimura, reversed the position and attacked with an arm lock from the mount.  The fight once again returned to the feet, and Pepey tried to get Vina’s foot in a move like Ryo Chonan did with Anderson Silva, but was unsuccessful in completing the leg lock. The fight was back and forth, with both fighters already showing fatigue in the last 20 seconds of the round, which ended with Pepey trying another armbar.

In the second round, Pepey didn’t try to trade with Vina, and he went for his legs to take him down. Vina worked with an open guard and tried to scrap, and Pepey punched him a few times until he could get to his side. The attack of Pepey made Vina stay on the bottom, but Vina worked his punches from that position despite the green team asking him to stand up. Team Vitor was instructing him, in order to  avoid what was coming, but he chose to fight on the ground and Pepey got a kimura. Then Vina gave up on the mount and Pepey changed to an arm lock, ending the fight.

“I’m a damn warrior,” said Pepey, the first finalist. “It’s an eye for an eye. I’d rather see his mom crying than mine. It was a war in there, I had a hard time but I got the victory.”

Very emotional, Pepey also got the respect and admiration from Wanderlei, who had a wrong impression of the fighter.

On Vina’s side everyone saw that the athlete – even though He was not 100% – gave his best. But Vitor was emphatic when he said his pupil made a mistake not listening to his corner.

On the next episode, Serginho and Sarafian will determine who will be the first middleweight finalist, and if that depends on the staredown that both had before the fight, we won’t be seeing anyone taking it easy in this fight.

For the second time in the inaugural season of TUF Brazil, a fight (the last quarterfinal of the middleweight category) was selected in the previous episode, leaving the fans and experts with a whole week to talk about Delson Pe de Chumbo vs. Serginho Moraes.

Before the staredown between the two fighters in the final duel of the middleweight division involving Serginho and Pé de Chumbo, Vitor Belfort – who started winning again after the setback in the last quarterfinal of the featherweight class – recalled all the results of the two divisions.

In the analysis that the two coaches made of the last fight, Vitor hoped Serginho would use his world championship jiu-jitsu to dictate the fight. But he pointed out that he did not see Serginho as committed to his preparation in the house. Wanderlei Silva believed that Pé de Chumbo, with his experience aligned with his standup game, will have the weapons that should give him the victory.

The two jiu-jitsu black belts, who have both won major titles in the gentle art, voiced all the difficulties that they’ve both had before arriving where they are today. Regardless of living in Teresópolis or in the outskirts of São Paulo, the two have come a long way.

The visit of UFC middleweight champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva excited the blue side of the house – and just this side, since the pound-for-pound king of  MMA has no sympathy for Vitor. The Spider was part of the old squad of Wanderlei and Rafael Cordeiro (Chute Boxe), and Leonardo Macarrão had his dream come true after training with the champion, who pretended to be knocked out by Wand’s pupil.
    
In this week’s fight, a surprising front kick struck by Serginho in the direction of the face of Pé de Chumbo was the first moment of action in the opening round. The fighter of Team Wanderlei responded with a right hand, but he did not follow up. The two clinched and traded knees until an accidental hit below the belt line of Pé de Chumbo, and the fight was stopped for a few seconds.

When the fight resumed, Serginho took advantage of a kick from Pé de Chumbo, grabbing his leg and taking him down easily. Pé de Chumbo tried to work with the open guard while Wand asked him to stand up. The fight went back up for a few seconds, but in a failed attempt to take the fight to the ground, Pé de Chumbo almost gave away the mount, and in a wrong move he gave his back to Serginho, who did not hesitate. From there it was a matter of seconds until the fighter of Team Vitor applied a rear naked choke and finished the fight between the two jiu-jitsu world champions in the Octagon of TUF Brazil.

“Guys from Vila Olimpia, COHAB, Alliance family out there, from the heart, we’re together. I’m very happy, very happy. Thank you everyone who cheered, everybody who believed it,” said Serginho, who celebrated before speaking the names of his children and promising better gifts.  “My daughter is always with me, Bia and of course, my son, Rick too, that’s right, they are always with me. [The victory] was for you. Daddy is coming, the money is increasing, the presents will also be bigger.”

Seven members of Team Vitor and only one from Team Wanderlei are in the semifinals of the two divisions (featherweight and middleweight), opening room for a question: How to balance the fights without favoring or harming any competitor? Dana White, the UFC president, has the answer with a direct redistribution of the classified fighters.

The green team of Vitor Belfort, is uncomfortable with the possibility of changing teams, except for Serginho and Thiago Bodão. The two have an opinion about the philosophy of Team Vitor, and what was actually used or not.

Wanderlei sent Vina and Renee Forte without hesitation for Vitor, while a raffle defined Pé de Chumbo would also be a member of the green team.

Vitor, clearly unhappy and emotional, argued about those athletes who could not go to the blue team, so he sent Serginho, Bodão and Godofredo Pepey. The first two ones had already shown their desire for the change, Pepey didn’t.

For the 10th episode of TUF Brazil, viewes will need to stay alert for the crucial changes in the two teams. Team Vitor, winner of seven matches in the quarterfinals, and Team Wanderlei, who triumphed in only one, now have new members. With this situation, former teammates of the green team may face each other sooner than many had expected. Stay tuned next Sunday.