‘UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes’ — FX Preliminary Card Liveblog


(From L-R: Gabriel Gonzaga, UFC president Dana White, Squidward Q. Tentacles, and the guy who totally isn’t Dana White’s bodyguard. Photo via MMAJunkie)

Before the UFC 142 pay-per-view card kicks off from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, FX will be airing four fights from the preliminary card, featuring the return of veteran lightweight striker Sam Stout as well as formerly-retired heavyweight Gabriel Gonzaga. Follow us after the jump for round-by-round results from the live prelims broadcast starting at 8 p.m., courtesy of rookie CagePotato liveblogger Anthony Gannon. Porra, you guys!


(From L-R: Gabriel Gonzaga, UFC president Dana White, Squidward Q. Tentacles, and the guy who totally isn’t Dana White’s bodyguard. Photo via MMAJunkie)

Before the UFC 142 pay-per-view card kicks off from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, FX will be airing four fights from the preliminary card, featuring the return of veteran lightweight striker Sam Stout as well as formerly-retired heavyweight Gabriel Gonzaga. Follow us after the jump for round-by-round results from the live prelims broadcast starting at 8 p.m., courtesy of rookie CagePotato liveblogger Anthony Gannon. Porra, you guys!

Sup, Potatoheads. I’m known around these parts as Gan. I look sort of like a mini Butterbean, just without the shorts pulled up to my jugs and the toughness. I enjoy sophomoric humor, ridiculously large burritos, and Friday night bubble baths with a nice Chardonnay, except if it’s a 2004 of course, which everyone knows was simply an appalling year for subtle, buttery whites. That aside, I’m here for you tonight. So let’s do this.

This one is basically Brazil vs. The World, and if it’s anything like the last Brazil card, then the home field advantage will be immense. At UFC 134, with the exception of Luis Cane – who lost by blitzkrieg to Stanislav Nedkov – all of the other seven Brazilians who faced foreigners won their fights. Luis brought shame onto his country and has subsequently been exiled to Nepal. They play for keeps in Brazil. Somewhere out there at this very moment, the Nog Brothers, Anderson Silva, and Steven Seagal are sitting around a fire pit making final preparations for world subjugation by forcing us to change the way we pronounce our R’s.

First up is Ricardo Funch vs. Mike Pyle. Pyle is reppin’ the USA as the lone American on the undercard.

Round 1: They touch gloves and it’s on. Pyle throws knuckles, Funch blocks. Funch with a nice leg kick. They clinch and trade knees. Pyle is winging hooks, but it’s a straight right that finds its way in. Oof, a beautiful knee to the beard drops Funch and Pyle swarms in with punches. Mario Yamasaki steps in and saves Funch from further damage.

Mike Pyle wins by TKO at 1:22 of Round 1. The crowd is not pleased.

Next up is Yuri Alcantara vs. Michihiro Omigawa. And luckily we are treated to more commercials. Hot Hooter’s girls are advising us to beware of bad wings. Pretty ironic.

Round 1: Leon Roberts is our ref, and here we go. They come out hard, Omigawa walks into a heavy knee. Yuri lands another nasty knee to the midsection. Omigawa looks miserable already. Yuri lands a big left. Omigawa is getting his freak on in there, and he lands a left. Spinning back fist misses. “A” for effort. Yuri lands a nice combo. Head kick by Yuri misses. Yuri lands another big left. Huge knee to the body by Yuri, then a huge left has Omigawa rocked. Yuri takes his back and is dropping bombs. But Omigawa reverses ends up on top in Yuri’s guard. Omigawa moves to half guard and is landing a few pitter-patter shots. Yuri with a quick armbar, but Omigawa is saved by the bell.

Round 2: Yuri with a head kick, blocked by Omigawa. Omigawa lands a left. Uppercut whiffed by Yuri. Big left drops Omigawa, and Yuri is in butterfly guard. He moves to half guard, but Omigawa is looking for a leg. Yuri is having none of it. He takes Omigawa’s back, one hook in, and is punching him in the side of the head. Yuri going for a choke, looks good,but Omigawa escapes. Omigawa gets back to guard. Yuri lands a couple of shots, but this is a positional battle right now. Yuri escapes guard, is in half guard, but Omigawa is slippery. Yuri lands a couple shots, Omigawa is bleeding from the ear. Good round for Yuri.

Round 3: Yuri misses a knee while Omigawa lands a short left. Omigawa is still getting his freak on, Yuri looks a little fatigued. Omigawa lands, Yuri whiffs a big hook. Omigawa tries another spinning backfist, it grazes Yuri. Yuri lands a couple big lefts. Yuri punches Omigawa right in his bloody ear. Yuck. Yuri throws a head kick, Omigawa blocks. Both guys are winging punches. Omigawa lands an elbow to the temple, then takes Yuri down. He’s stuck in guard. Omigawa with some ground and pound, but he’s got to know he’s down 2 rounds to 1. He needs to do something dramatic. The ref stand sthem up with 15 seconds to go. Yuri with a throw, lands in full mount, and the bell sounds.

Charles Barkley pimps Weight Watchers. WTF?

Yuri Alcantara scores a unanimous decision victory. He also has one of the nastiest cauliflower ears I’ve ever seen. Even still, he has the gratitude to thank the Almighty.

Rogan and Goldy are selling the main event. Hopefully now that we’re on FX we won’t have to watch Rogan and Dana White close out the broadcast by screaming at the top of their lungs over “Teenage Wasteland” while Rogan’s neck veins explode.

Next we have Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Ednaldo Oliveira. Gonzaga, best known for knocking out Crop Cop with one of the greatest head kicks ever, and for grossly spitting a bloody loogey onto Randy Couture’s back, was retired, but came back to fight Parker Porter a couple of months ago. Now he makes his Octagon return. And thankfully, it appears that finally he has someone in his camp who realizes the importance of Nairing the shoulders.

Round 1: They touch, and it’s a go. They’re feeling each other out. Ednaldo is utilizing the jab, trying to gauge the distance. Gabe misses with a right, but lands a body punch. Ednaldo lands to the head. Gabe with a big takedown. Ednaldo gets to his feet, and Gabe plants him again. He’s in half guard, and looking to land. Gabe takes the back and secures a rear naked choke.

Gabriel Gonzaga wins by rear naked choke at 3:22 of Round 1. Gabe acts as his own interpreter, much respect for that.

Felipe Arantes vs. Antonio Carvalho

Round 1: Antonio with a takedown. In half guard. He’s dropping hammerfists to the body. Moves to side control. They roll and Antonio ends up on top. Now they’re up. Antonio has a headlock on and is throwing knees. Antonio moves to full mount. He’s winging shots, but Felipe escapes and lands a knee. Felipe sticks a nice jab. And another. Spinning back kick missed by Felipe. Antonio tosses a high kick and it’s blocked. And again, but it completely misses. Felipe with a high kick of his won, blocked. They’re trading bones, and Felipe looks to be the more fluid striker. Jumping knee by Felipe, but Antonio absorbs it and grabs a leg, cannot get the takedown. Close round.

Round 2: Felipe misses a kick. Then lands one to the ribs. Oh he’s chucking now. Antonio doing a good job of covering up  though, he avoids most of the onslaught. Head kick by Antonio blocked. Nice leg kick by Antonio. High kick returned by Felipe, blocked. Felipe lands a body kick, and they clinch. Antonio has Felipe against the cage, trying for a takedown. Felipe defends well, and is free. Felipe lands a front kick. Takedown attempt by Antonio, defended. Felipe lands a nice straight right. Antonio misses on his combination. Felipe grabs a clinch, knee to the body. Nice leg kick by Felipe too. And another. The round ends with mutual shots.

Round 3: They touch to start the final frame. Antonio lands a leg kick after missing a hook. Felipe responds in kind. They trade leg kicks. Jumping knee by Felipe, grazes. Snapping high kick misses by Antonio. Antonio wanted this fight on the ground and pulled guard to get it there. He’s using the rubber guard, but lets it go. Felipe lands a couple of elbows, and Antonio is cut. Felipe landing some good shots on the ground, including another elbow right to the cut. Antonio working a high guard, but cannot keep it. Felipe goes body, head with punches. Antonio is up but eats a knee. He’s tossing hard, looking for some payback. Spinning kick misses, badly. Knee by Felipe. Felipe lands a huge right. Antonio charges forward but is missing everything he tosses. The clock sounds, and it looks like Felipe has this one locked down. We’ll see.

Felipe Arantes scores himself a unanimous decision victory.

Sam Stout vs. Thiago Tavares up next.

Round 1: Thiago charges forward, they clinch. He scores an easy takedown, not good for Stout. He’s gotten very good on the ground, but the key for him lies in takedown defense in this one. He’s posted, and looking to stand up. Thiago is working the back, but Stout gets free. Stout catches a kick, tosses Thiago off. Thiago clinches up and scores another takedown. Stout is trying to wall walk and eats one to the chops forit. Now he’s up, but Thiago scoops him up and slams him. Stout back against the cage, trying to get up. Thiago relentless with the takedown. Sam is up, but Thiago grabs his neck and pulls guard for a guillotine. Stout escapes and is up. They roll, and Thiago goes for a leg, nothing happening with that. Stout lands right hand. They both chuck, and miss. Thiago lands a hook to the head, and another. Good round for Thaigo.

Round 2: Stout changes, Thiago lands. Stout with a short right. Thiago with a jab. Stout misses an uppercut. Thiago closes the distance and wants a takedown, not happening. Thiago lands a nice right, then a body kick. He shoots but gets shrugged off. Thiago throws a bomb and misses badly. Nice combination by Thiago. And he’s going for a takedown, Stout defends. Stout plods forward but cannot seem to get anything going. Then he lands a body shot. Thaigo grazes a head kick. Stout to the body, and he’s bleeding from behind his ear. Thiago misses a kick, and Stout goes to the body. Stout lands a job while Thiago misses an overhand. Stout lands a nice body kick, then a body punch. Nice leg kick by Thiago, and that’s the round. Close round.

Round 3: Thiago wings one, misses. Then he lands a good one to the chops. Stout with a low kick. Whoops, there’s a boot to the pills. Thiago is down and in pain. He’s up, and trying to walk it off. He lays back down. Now he’s up, and looks ready to go. Stout apologizes,and we’re back on. Thiago throws two kicks, both blocked, misses another overhand. Thiago shoots, Stout defends. Thaigo then lands a hard leg kick. Stout pushing forward, Thiago goes for a takedown, Stout defends again. Stout lands. Another leg kick by Thiago, as Stout lands a hook. Thiago lands a jab. Stout lands two jabs in a row, pretty sweet. Thiago lands a big right. Body kick by Thiago, caught by Stout. Stout with an inside leg kick of his own. Stout with a jab. Leg kick by Stout. Stout drops thiago with a right, and again. And yet again. Stout finished strong, but it may too little too late.

Thiago Tavares wins the unanimous decision.

Well that’s it for me, people. Thanks for getting your live blog on with me. I’m outty. Enjoy the main card.

 

UFC 142 Results: Gabriel Gonzaga Submits Ednaldo Oliveira

Filed under: UFC, ResultsIn his first UFC fight since 2010, former heavyweight title contender Gabriel Gonzaga made quick work of the previously unbeaten UFC newcomer Ednaldo Oliveira.

In the early going Oliveira appeared set to out-box Gonzaga. But a…

Filed under: ,

Gabriel Gonzaga won his UFC 142 fight.In his first UFC fight since 2010, former heavyweight title contender Gabriel Gonzaga made quick work of the previously unbeaten UFC newcomer Ednaldo Oliveira.

In the early going Oliveira appeared set to out-box Gonzaga. But a couple minutes into the first round Gonzaga picked Oliveira up and slammed him down, and once the fight was on the ground Gonzaga put his Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt to work: Gonzaga methodically went about taking Oliveira’s back and wrapping his arms around Oliveira’s neck for a rear-naked choke.

Once Gonzaga had the choke in, there was nothing left for Oliveira to do but tap the mat to end the fight. Gonzaga had won.




“It felt great to be back in the Octagon. I showed that I still have my BJJ skills in there tonight,” Gonzaga said afterward. “My time away from the UFC was good for me. I dealt with some personal business in my life and came back refocused. Before, I was training well, but my mind just wasn’t in it. Now, I’m back, I feel great. I’m focused and I showed that by beating a 13-0 fighter.”

It was a solid performance by Gonzaga, who improves his overall MMA record to 13-6. After losing to Brendan Schaub in 2010, Gonzaga initially said he would retire from MMA. But it’s good to see him back in the Octagon: He’s still capable of fighting at a high level, even if Oliveira didn’t give him much of a test.

As for Oliveira, who drops to 13-1-1, he’s a fine young fighter, but not good enough on the ground to deal with someone of Gonzaga’s skill level. He found that out the hard way.

 

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UFC 142 Predictions: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Ednaldo Oliveira

Welcome to the UFC Ednaldo Oliveira.Welcome back Gabriel Gonzaga.  This fight is hard to predict because we don’t know what were getting out of Gabriel Gonzaga.  The man that launched the head kick heard around the world in his defeat of the …

Welcome to the UFC Ednaldo Oliveira.

Welcome back Gabriel Gonzaga.  

This fight is hard to predict because we don’t know what were getting out of Gabriel Gonzaga.  The man that launched the head kick heard around the world in his defeat of the legendary Mirko “Cro-Cop” Filipovic, has made his way back into the UFC after over a year away.

At one time, Gonzaga was on the short list of contenders for the title, but since his decision loss to Brendan Schaub at UFC 121, Gonzaga got cut and faded away from the public eye.  Now he appears to have one more title run in him and his first step is to welcome Ednaldo Oliveira to the UFC.

Ednaldo Oliveira brings an undefeated record into the octagon—and one special edge: he trains with someone who beat Gonzaga already.  As a training partner of the UFC Heavyweight champion, Junior Dos Santos, Oliveira can use the win Santos had over Gonzaga at UFC Live: Jones vs. Vera as a blueprint.  

Along with this tidbit of information, Oliveira has a pretty solid boxing pedigree from working with the champ.

I think this will be a short explosive fight with the youngster capitalizing on his knowledge from his training partner and exposing Gonzaga with a knockout victory.

Gonzaga won’t be cut after losing this one, but his level of competition will greatly decrease.

(Ednaldo Oliveira by Second Round KO)

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Rio Fight Card: Why Gabriel Gonzaga Won’t Revitalize His Career at UFC 142

Gabriel “Napao” Gonzaga is back.This Saturday, Jan. 14, Gonzaga will return to the UFC Octagon for the first time in nearly 15 months. Replacing the injured Rob Broughton, Gonzaga will face Edinaldo Oliveira at UFC 142 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Gonzaga…

Gabriel “Napao” Gonzaga is back.

This Saturday, Jan. 14, Gonzaga will return to the UFC Octagon for the first time in nearly 15 months. Replacing the injured Rob Broughton, Gonzaga will face Edinaldo Oliveira at UFC 142 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Gonzaga was cut by the UFC following his Oct. 23, 2010 loss to Brendan Schaub at UFC 121, his third loss in four outings. After defeating Parker Porter for the Reality Fighting Heavyweight Championship a year after his loss to Schaub, Gonzaga was able to ink a four-fight contract with the UFC.

He now begins his campaign to regain his old form that saw him challenge Randy Couture for the UFC Heavyweight Championship in 2007. 

However, Gonzaga’s road back to glory is a long and arduous one, filled with menacing opponents from the very start.

Oliveira, a 6’7″ Brazilian perhaps known best as a good friend and training partner of Junior dos Santos, presents a formidable challenge with his reach and striking ability. In dos Santos’ words, “[Oliveira is] a very distinct fighter and his reach is a great tool he has. He and I spar a lot and his reach definitely makes things a lot harder for me. I think that will be the same for any opponent they put before him.”

Gonzaga’s recent track record against strike-first fighters—losses to Schaub, dos Santos and Shane Carwin—isn’t a promising one, especially in light of Oliveira’s relative youth and flawless record. 

While this is admittedly an imprecise pseudo-science (at best), if Gonzaga was unable to handle dos Santos, his chances against dos Santos’ highly regarded training partner don’t look fantastic. If he should lose this weekend, Gonzaga may very well find himself out of a job again.

But assume for a moment that Gonzaga makes it past Oliveira (which, for the record, I don’t think he will), let’s even assume that he styles on Oliveira like he did Mirko Cro-Cop in 2007…where does he go next?

Will he do what he couldn’t last time against Fabricio Werdum? Carwin? Schaub? Could he then get past Matt Mitrione, Roy Nelson, Cheick Kongo, Cain Velasquez, Alistair Overeem, dos Santos??

The talent at heavyweight has only gotten bigger and better since Gonzaga last entered the Octagon. While he may be able to add another win or two to his record, I can’t imagine a possible scenario that sees Gonzaga bringing his dreams of attaining UFC gold to life.

Will we see Gonzaga end his career “on his shield”? Probably not. But don’t expect to see him breaking into the Top 10 rankings anytime soon.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Gambling Addiction Enabler: UFC 142 Edition

UFC 142 goes down this Saturday from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and though it doesn’t feature quite as epic a lineup as the UFC’s return to Brazil at UFC 134, the fact that the card has still maintained its two marquee match-ups is something to brag about, if only due to how cursed a card this has been. So if you, like Siyar Bahadurzada, Paulo Thiago, Stanislav Nedkov, and Fabio Maldanado, find yourself watching the action from the sidelines on Saturday night and suddenly in need of some extra dough, then we are here to help. Check out the betting lines below, courtesy of BestFightOdds, and join us after the jump for some sound betting advice.

Main Card
Erick Silva (-525) vs. Carlo Prater (+415)
Edson Barboza (-270) vs. Terry Etim (+230)
Rousimar Palhares (-525) vs. Mike Massenzio (+415)
Anthony Johnson (-110) vs. Vitor Belfort (-110)
Jose Aldo (-240) vs. Chad Mendes (+200)

Preliminary Card
Antonio Carvalho (-225) vs. Felipe Arantes (+175)
Mike Pyle (-460) vs. Ricardo Funch (+340)
Yuri Alcantara (-195) vs. Michihiro Omigawa (+160)
Sam Stout (EV) vs. Thiago Tavares (-140)
Gabriel Gonzaga (-120) vs. Edinaldo Oliveira (-110)

UFC 142 goes down this Saturday from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and though it doesn’t feature quite as epic a lineup as the UFC’s return to Brazil at UFC 134, the fact that the card has still maintained its two marquee match-ups is something to brag about, if only due to how cursed a card this has been. So if you, like Siyar Bahadurzada, Paulo Thiago, Stanislav Nedkov, and Fabio Maldanado, find yourself watching the action from the sidelines on Saturday night and suddenly in need of some extra dough, then we are here to help. Check out the betting lines below, courtesy of BestFightOdds, and join us after the jump for some sound betting advice.

Main Card
Erick Silva (-525) vs. Carlo Prater (+415)
Edson Barboza (-270) vs. Terry Etim (+230)
Rousimar Palhares (-525) vs. Mike Massenzio (+415)
Anthony Johnson (-110) vs. Vitor Belfort (-110)
Jose Aldo (-240) vs. Chad Mendes (+200)

Preliminary Card
Antonio Carvalho (-225) vs. Felipe Arantes (+175)
Mike Pyle (-460) vs. Ricardo Funch (+340)
Yuri Alcantara (-195) vs. Michihiro Omigawa (+160)
Sam Stout (EV) vs. Thiago Tavares (-140)
Gabriel Gonzaga (-120) vs. Edinaldo Oliveira (-110)

The Main Event: While there is little denying Jose Aldo’s dominance up to this point, a glaring factor leading into his fight with Chad Mendes is that he has NEVER EVER faced a wrestler as strong as “Money.” And though he’s brought in Gray Maynard to help him prepare for the Team Alpha Male standout, you can only catch up so quickly to a PAC-10 wrestler of the year who has achieved the rank of All-American as well. If Mendes wants to win this, it’s obvious that he’s going to have to take it to the ground, which is easier said than done against a guy like Aldo. Kenny Florian tried it for the majority of five rounds to little avail, but Mendes might just have a speed advantage over the champ which could allow him to put “Scarface” on his back early and often.

And of course, there is always that cardio factor to contemplate. We’ve seen Aldo go five rounds on multiple occasions, but he has shown a tendency to coast, if you will, in the championship rounds. Mendes, on the other hand, has yet to go five rounds, but has never looked even remotely tired in any of the eight decision victories he has collected in eleven fights. But Aldo will be fighting in front of his hometown crowd, so you can damn well rest assured that he’ll be trying to end things early and get back to the sex filled game of beach volleyball that is Brazilian life.

The Good Dogs: At first glance, it seems a little odd that Sam Stout would be billed as a slight underdog against Thiago Tavares, who has never been a man of consistency in his octagon career. But perhaps the bookies are basing Stout’s mindset heading into this one on that of his teammate, Mark Hominick, who didn’t exactly look like himself in his seven second knockout loss at the hands of Chan Sung-Jung. Personally, we’re not buying that, and think Stout should easily hand Tavares an ass whooping, though it won’t really net you much if he does.

Michihiro Omigawa also looks pretty tempting at +160; he showed some crisp, varied striking attacks in his most recent win over Jason Young, and should really be on a two fight win streak considering the fact that everyone but the judges knew he beat Darren Elkins at UFC 131. You could place a bet on Terry Etim if you feel so inclined, but there was little to take away from his 17 second guillotine of Edward Faaloloto (which was Etims first fight in nearly two years, BTW). We recommend you take any leftover cash you might have and make a side bet with your friends as to which limb of Mike Massenzio’s Rousimar Palhares is going to tear off, or how long he will hold the submission after the ref intervenes, or how early he will begin to celebrate, or…

Stay the Hell Away From: The Johnson/Belfort match, for obvious reasons. This is Johnson’s first fight in a weight class remotely close to the one he should be fighting in, and if he feared Dan Hardy’s hands enough to warrant a three round grapple fest, God knows what he’s going to do against a guy like Belfort. Just sit back and enjoy this one, because it ain’t going the distance. We were going to add the recently un-retired Gabe Gonzaga to this list, but if the man is good at one thing, it’s crushing relative unknowns (and we’re secretly praying that Oliveira comes down with a case of the octagon jitters). Also, Rousimar Palhares. Just stay away from him in general.

Official CagePotato Parlay: This one is tough, because a lot of the favorites are listed miles ahead of their competitors, so we’re going to have to stretch out our parlay if we want some real return.

Aldo + Barboza + Pyle + Palhares+ Gonzaga

50 bucks gets you $207.91 back. Not bad for a parlay composed entirely of favorites.

-Danga 

UFC 142: Gabriel Gonzaga: ‘I Want to Be a World Champion’

More than seven years ago, Gabriel Gonzaga first agreed to showcase his talents in the UFC. The winner of his first four matches in the Octagon—including a stunning high-kick knockout victory over Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic—Gonza…

More than seven years ago, Gabriel Gonzaga first agreed to showcase his talents in the UFC.

The winner of his first four matches in the Octagon—including a stunning high-kick knockout victory over Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic—Gonzaga fought UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture for the organization’s heavyweight crown in the summer of 2007.

Following losses to Junior Dos Santos and Brendan Schaub in 2010, Gonzaga—who has thus far made more than 10 appearances in the Octagon—parted ways with the UFC.

Gonzaga—to the surprise of many—then walked away from the world of professional mixed martial arts.

“I believe in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, I accomplished everything I wanted,” Gonzaga, 32, explained to Bleacher Report. “I won state, national, and world-championship titles. In MMA, I had the opportunity to fight 12 times so far for the UFC. I fought for the UFC heavyweight title, and against some of the best fighters in the sport.”

Gonzaga’s retirement from mixed martial arts would ultimately prove to be short-lived.

“I believe I was looking for some time to reset my goals,” offered Gonzaga. “I enjoyed the chance to stay close to my students, and also the extra time I was able to spend with my family…My students and my friends were asking to see me fight again.”

To the approval of his students and friends—not to mention fans of the heavyweight contender— Gonzaga returned to the sport with a third-round submission victory over Parker Porter in October.

Shortly after Gonzaga’s return—in which he claimed the Reality Fighting promotion’s heavyweight championship for his efforts—his manager was contacted by the UFC.

Gonzaga, he emphasised, wasn’t surprised by the offer and further maintained that he had no intention of turning the UFC down either.

“The UFC always treated me very well—I knew if I had some wins outside of the UFC, they would have me back,” Gonzaga explained. “I was ready to take this opportunity to fight again in the UFC, and I jumped on it when my manager called me.”

Now Gonzaga is to return to the Octagon against Ednaldo Oliveira, a fellow Brazilian heavyweight mixed martial arts, on Saturday at UFC 142 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

After a long training camp at Team Link in Ludlow, Massachusetts, Gonzaga—despite his long layoff from high-level competition—insisted that he is feeling confident going into his upcoming match.

With a victory in his native South America, Gonzaga is hoping to once again prove that he belongs in the thick of the UFC’s heavyweight division—“it will prove to me that I belong there, and I can still compete with some of the best in the sport,” he noted.

Although Gonzaga insisted that he is taking a pragmatic approach to his return, the former heavyweight title contender is nevertheless hoping to make the most of his return to the canvas.

“I take one fight at a time,” offered Gonzaga, who will be contesting the first match of his new four-fight contract with the UFC on Saturday. “I just want to focus on this fight right now.

“I want to be a world champion…I want to be recognized as a guy that comes to fight win or lose, and puts on a good show for the fans.”

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com