Cesar Gracie and the Nor-Cal Fighting Alliance
When David Terrell knocked
out "The Law" Matt
Lindland in just 20 three seconds at UFC 49, people were
completely flabbergasted. Terrell, who was seemingly unknown
outside of hardcore and old school mixed martial arts circles, had
knocked out a former UFC No.1 contender. Not just any contender
however, but a gifted athlete who had won a silver medal in the
Olympics.
Most people were also taken by surprise when Nick Diaz, another jiu-jitsu fighter, knocked "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler out cold. Both of these Cesar Gracie jiu-jitsu fighters are well known for their superb ground game, yet both of these fighters have recent wins over accomplished fighters by way of knockout. For that you can probably thank their boxing coach, professional boxer Rosindo Sanchez.
The man who influenced them the most however, is Cesar Gracie.
It has been said before that this man changes lives. He has put many people on a better path in life, whether that is for health or for safety. "That's really why I got into martial arts," admitted Cesar. "If you can change people's lives in a positive way, that's what it's all about."
The change is pretty obvious in Diaz and Terrell's case -- they are both extremely respected fighters after training hard with Cesar. Diaz has been called a firecracker, but the intense training with Cesar must have helped that a lot. "Nick is a pretty mellow guy," said the trainer. "There was a lot of talking and pressure over the Lawler fight. It inspired Nick to come out and train harder, and he became more explosive. At the gym and in social situations he's usually pretty mellow though."
The training at Cesar Gracie's camp is also a little different than your typical jiu-jitsu gym. As one would notice from watching recent UFC's, both Terrell and Diaz have vastly improved standup. The versatile training at Cesar's produces a balanced mix of jiu-jitsu and boxing, which is obviously a pretty good combination for mixed martial arts.
Lawler probably didn't expect Diaz to stand up the whole time, and this worked to his advantage. "That was the plan," said Cesar. "From the beginning, everyone thought Nick would try for the takedown, so we focused on 'sprawl-and-brawl.' Lawler is a very good fighter, but the plan worked."
For Terrell's fight against Lindland at UFC 49, the training was a little different. Lindland is a very accomplished wrestler, and on top of this, he has decent standup and some submissions. To counter this, the training had to focus on a broader range of skills.
Nick Diaz's latest fight against Karo "The Heat" Parisyan didn't go quite as planned. After going to war for three hard rounds, Parisyan won a split decision. Diaz looked a little flat the first round, and there were rumors of something happening in his personal life. Towards the end of the first round, however, he turned it on. And in the second he tagged Parisyan with some hard punches. Once Parisyan grounded the fight with his excellent judo throws, Diaz would also have to worry about some submissions. It seems that this was what the training was focused on. "When we were training Nick for Karo, we focused a lot on avoiding the kimura," noted Cesar. "We were also doing a lot of submission defense with Val Ignatov."
The fight wasn't supposed to air on pay-per-view, a move that wasn't very smart on the part of the UFC. Thankfully for both fighters, they fought hard and made the bout entertaining. The UFC then used its last few minutes of airtime to show the first two rounds of their bout.
So what's next for Cesar and his stable of fighters? It might be interesting to see how a Gracie JJ fighter fairs against a guy like "Charuto" Renato Verissimo. Jake Shields, another one of Cesar's fighters, would match up very well with a guy like Verissimo. There is also a possibility that some of Cesar's fighters might be going to Japan for PRIDE: Bushido, if DSE decides to keep that promotion running. Whatever Cesar and his fighters decide to do, you can always be sure that they will be lighting up the ring with their excellent boxing and dazzling mastery of jiu-jitsu.
Most people were also taken by surprise when Nick Diaz, another jiu-jitsu fighter, knocked "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler out cold. Both of these Cesar Gracie jiu-jitsu fighters are well known for their superb ground game, yet both of these fighters have recent wins over accomplished fighters by way of knockout. For that you can probably thank their boxing coach, professional boxer Rosindo Sanchez.
The man who influenced them the most however, is Cesar Gracie.
It has been said before that this man changes lives. He has put many people on a better path in life, whether that is for health or for safety. "That's really why I got into martial arts," admitted Cesar. "If you can change people's lives in a positive way, that's what it's all about."
The change is pretty obvious in Diaz and Terrell's case -- they are both extremely respected fighters after training hard with Cesar. Diaz has been called a firecracker, but the intense training with Cesar must have helped that a lot. "Nick is a pretty mellow guy," said the trainer. "There was a lot of talking and pressure over the Lawler fight. It inspired Nick to come out and train harder, and he became more explosive. At the gym and in social situations he's usually pretty mellow though."
The training at Cesar Gracie's camp is also a little different than your typical jiu-jitsu gym. As one would notice from watching recent UFC's, both Terrell and Diaz have vastly improved standup. The versatile training at Cesar's produces a balanced mix of jiu-jitsu and boxing, which is obviously a pretty good combination for mixed martial arts.
Lawler probably didn't expect Diaz to stand up the whole time, and this worked to his advantage. "That was the plan," said Cesar. "From the beginning, everyone thought Nick would try for the takedown, so we focused on 'sprawl-and-brawl.' Lawler is a very good fighter, but the plan worked."
For Terrell's fight against Lindland at UFC 49, the training was a little different. Lindland is a very accomplished wrestler, and on top of this, he has decent standup and some submissions. To counter this, the training had to focus on a broader range of skills.
Nick Diaz's latest fight against Karo "The Heat" Parisyan didn't go quite as planned. After going to war for three hard rounds, Parisyan won a split decision. Diaz looked a little flat the first round, and there were rumors of something happening in his personal life. Towards the end of the first round, however, he turned it on. And in the second he tagged Parisyan with some hard punches. Once Parisyan grounded the fight with his excellent judo throws, Diaz would also have to worry about some submissions. It seems that this was what the training was focused on. "When we were training Nick for Karo, we focused a lot on avoiding the kimura," noted Cesar. "We were also doing a lot of submission defense with Val Ignatov."
The fight wasn't supposed to air on pay-per-view, a move that wasn't very smart on the part of the UFC. Thankfully for both fighters, they fought hard and made the bout entertaining. The UFC then used its last few minutes of airtime to show the first two rounds of their bout.
So what's next for Cesar and his stable of fighters? It might be interesting to see how a Gracie JJ fighter fairs against a guy like "Charuto" Renato Verissimo. Jake Shields, another one of Cesar's fighters, would match up very well with a guy like Verissimo. There is also a possibility that some of Cesar's fighters might be going to Japan for PRIDE: Bushido, if DSE decides to keep that promotion running. Whatever Cesar and his fighters decide to do, you can always be sure that they will be lighting up the ring with their excellent boxing and dazzling mastery of jiu-jitsu.
