Who would have thought that Wanderlei Silva (Pictures), Murilo Bustamante (Pictures), Pedro Rizzo (Pictures) and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Pictures) might compete against one another this year? This is exactly what ReUnion, a management company heavily involved in Brazilian Stock Car racing, is making possible.
Inspired by the U.S.-based International Fight League, ReUnion chairman Nizan Guanaes recently formed the MO Team League, which features four squads of five fighters ranging from lightweight to heavyweight.
The league will promote three events this year: August 11, September 29, and November 10.
Silva, Bustamante, Rizzo and "Minotoro" lead the Hurricane, WildFire, Tsunami and Avalanche, respectively. The famous Club Athletico Paulistano in Sao Paulo, Brazil will host the WildFire and Hurricane in Aug., followed by the Tsunami and Avalanche in late Sept.
Winners will fight in the Nov. finals, also in Sao Paulo, with more than $40,000 on the line.
On July 7, the coaches came together at Churrascaria Barra Brasa, a Rio eatery, to draft their teams.
Each captain chose two athletes before the draw. Alexandre Cacareco and Gerson Conceição were on the list from Bustamante; Rizzo locked up Leonardo Santos and Walter Broca; Julio Cesar Campos and Fabio Maldonado went to Nogueira; and Jean Silva (Pictures) and Rafael Monteiro were chosen by Silva.
Rizzo earned the right to pick first from the free agent pool and chose André Santos "Chatuba." After this, one by one, the other coaches drafted athletes who will defend their teams.
Named the technical coordinator for the league, four-time world BJJ champion Fabio Gurgel (Pictures) believes the concept will work.
"The team competition is all new in Brazilian MMA," Gurgel said. "This concept gives us the opportunity to invite international stars to this event."
Fernando Julianelli, Guanaes' partner in ReUnion, agreed: "We are looking at raising the mixed martial arts business."
"There are several opportunities to be explored in the fighting scenario," Guanaes said. "I want to use the same methodology we are using in Stock Car, where we brought double the sponsors we had before and we joined together four car manufacturers in the same class. It's definitely a successful history."
Bustamante said he was happy with his team and highlighted the Luciano Azevedo (Pictures)-Jean Silva (Pictures) bout as one of his most anticipated matches on Aug. 11.
Pedro Rizzo (Pictures) called the organization's format excellent and stated that the teams are well balanced.
Perhaps it was because of his fighting style, but Silva expressed pleasure in gaining the Hurricane name and said he will lead his team hard.
Minotoro, who is getting ready for a stint in the Pan-American games as he eyes a potential spot on the Brazilian Olympic boxing team, made the crowd laugh by saying he will have to command his team by telephone.
August 11
WildFire vs. Hurricane
155: Luciano Azevedo (Pictures) vs. Jean Silva (Pictures)
170: Gerson Conceição vs. Flavio Alvaro
185: Silmar Rodrigo vs. Rafael Sapo
205: Alexandre Ferreira "Cacareco" vs. Rafael Monteiro
265: Joaquim Mamute vs. Andre Mussi (Pictures)
September 29
Tsunami vs. Avalanche
155: Leonardo Santos vs. Rafael Manteiga
170: Andre Santos "Chatuba" vs. Sérgio Moraes
185: Mauricio Alonso vs. Julio Cesar Field
205: Jair Sorriso vs. Erick Wanderlei
265: Walter Broca vs. Fabio Maldonado
