‘Feijao’ Not Expecting Lawal to Just Wrestle

HOUSTON -- It’s taken Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante over a year to work his way back into title contention since his surprising loss to Mike Kyle at Strikeforce “Lawler vs. Shields” in St. Louis, Mo.

But to the 30-year-old Brazilian’s credit, he’s used the lessons he learned from his second career defeat to tune up his game as he heads into a championship bout against Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal this Saturday at the Toyota Center.

“I stayed in the U.S. (for that fight) and I didn’t bring my whole team to stay here with me,” Cavalcante said during a press conference for the event on Thursday. “I made some mistakes with my diet and my weight-cut. I went back home, put all those things together and came back stronger.”

Cavalcante, a blue chip acquisition for Strikeforce following the demise of EliteXC in 2008, had stacked up three straight first-round victories under the Pro Elite banner when he entered the cage against Kyle in a 215-pound catch-weight bout. However, Kyle, who’s fought at heavyweight as well, floored Cavalcante, then finished his stunned opponent with ground strikes.

The memory of that bout hasn’t left any lasting mental effects, said Cavalcante. It’s only taught him to treat his body the way any other professional athlete would with the proper balance of training, diet and rest.

Last November, Cavalcante returned to the win column with a cautious-at-first, but eventually effective second-round TKO victory over Aaron Rosa. In May, the aggressive striker re-emerged with a first-round knockout against up-and-comer Antwain Britt back in St. Louis.

On Saturday, Cavalcante meets an Olympic-caliber wrestler in Lawal, though Feijao isn’t exactly sure his opponent will reach for his bread-and-butter discipline as readily as some may believe.

“I think they’re can be a lot of surprises in this fight, “ said Cavalcante, who trains alongside UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, the Nogueira brothers and other notables at the Black House gym in Los Angeles. “I think (Lawal) is training everything. I think he has new things to show and he’s going to try and show it in this fight.”

If he does get grounded though, Cavalcante has another answer.

“I’m from jiu-jitsu. A lot of people think I’m a stand-up guy, but I have a black belt,” said Cavalcante, who’s only other career loss came by disqualification against UFC veteran Marcio Cruz in 2007. “I started training jiu-jitsu when I was 10 years old. I just haven’t had the chance to show it yet.

Cavalcante said he’s relied on his striking in past bouts because it allows him to discern his opponent’s weaknesses faster.

“In the last fights, the better strategy was to stand up with my opponents,” he said. “I do what is best for me inside the cage to win the fight without hurting myself and him. I want to win the fight. That’s it.”