The Brazilian Notebook
Gleidson Venga Feb 14, 2007
Just like with Brazilian soccer, the beginning of every year is
when mixed martial artists are going through changes, negotiations,
and virtually everything else.
Vitor Belfort (Pictures) is back in Rio de Janeiro to train alongside the newborn team known as “Black House.” Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Pictures) talks about his next PRIDE appearance. Jose Land-Jons is packing his things to fight in Costa Rica. And new UFC acquisitions are preparing for their Octagon debut.
Vitor
Belfort (Pictures) promises his best in
2007
After spending some years living in Belo Horizonte, a quiet city in Brazil, Vitor Belfort (Pictures) has returned to Rio de Janeiro, where he will train full time with the Black House.
“People are still calling me up, but that old Vitor will not come back,” said Belfort. “I’m ready to show a better Vitor, more mature, more conscious, more technical and with a good mind.”
Belfort said he was seeing a psychologist. He also revealed that he was on speaking terms with his former coach Carlson Gracie before the jiu-jitsu legend’s death in Feb. 2006. If Carlson hadn’t passed away, Belfort said, they would definitely be together again.
"If I did something wrong against Carlson,” Belford said, “God was giving me the chance to fix things up.”
“Minotoro” talks about his PRIDE 33 bout
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Pictures) is scheduled to fight Feb. 24 in Las Vegas against Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (Pictures).
"I think he is a good opponent,” said the Brazilian Top Team 205-pounder. “I’ve been away from the ring for a very long time, and this is giving me motivation. I’ll be very aggressive and determined. This will be my first fight in Las Vegas and I hope to fight well and please the crowd.”
“Minotoro” is enjoying his comeback, but admitted he would like to face another opponent.
"I would like to fight against Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) for the title,” stated Nogueira. “Unfortunately he doesn’t accept my challenge. Now I’ll be waiting for another chance to face him.”
“Pele” fights in bodogFIGHT
Jose “Pele” Landi-Jons is scheduled to fight in the next bodogFIGHT edition in Costa Rica. His opponent will be Phil Norman (Pictures).
"All I know about him is he has a few fights, and he is undefeated,” “Pele” told Sherdog about the Brit. Holding a three-fight contract with the organization, the Brazilian will fight at 170 pounds because he feels more agile and won’t need to cut a lot of weight.
The training sessions are difficult, he said.
“I’m well prepared and I’m just fixing what is going wrong.”
Living in Canada, the veteran fighter has trained for some weeks in Europe, where he was elevated to the rank of BJJ black belt. To the fans, he promises he will be determined in the ring.
"Guys, a big hug for you all,” he said. “To my fans who are always cheering for me, you can be sure that in my chest is beating a brave samurai heart. I’m a man who doesn’t walk away from the fight, because fighting is my life.”
The Brazilian media name the best moments in 2006
The Web site “Portal do Vale Tudo” brought together the Brazilian mixed martial arts media to crown the best moments of 2006. Participants included Tatame, Nocaute and Gracie Magazine; the newspaper Jornal do Vale Tudo; TV channel Premiere Combate; and Web site Portal do Vale Tudo.
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (Pictures), Diego Sanchez (Pictures) and Fabio Negao were some of the names recognized.
Fighter of the Year
1) Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic
2) Paulo Filho (Pictures)
3) Chuck Liddell (Pictures)
Fight of the Year
1) Diego Sanchez (Pictures) vs. Karo Parisyan (Pictures)
2) Anderson Silva vs. Rich Franklin (Pictures)
3) Josh Barnett (Pictures) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures)
4) Chuck Liddell (Pictures) vs. Tito Ortiz (Pictures)
KO of the Year
1) Mirko Filipovic (Pictures) vs. Wanderlei Silva (Pictures)
2) Anderson Silva vs. Tony Fryklund (Pictures)
3) Gesias Calvancanti (Pictures) vs. Hiroyuki Takaya (Pictures)
Submission of the Year
1) Shinya Aoki (Pictures) vs. Joachim Hansen (Pictures)
2) Paulo Filho (Pictures) vs. Ryo Chonan (Pictures)
3) Marcus Aurelio vs. Takanori Gomi (Pictures)
Event of the Year
1) PRIDE Open-Weight GP Finals
2) UFC 66
3) HERO’S GP Finals
4) Super Challenge
Newcomer of the Year
1) Fabio Negão
2) Thiago Silva
3) Shinya Aoki (Pictures)
News and Notes
Roan Carneiro (Pictures) is one of the UFC’s new acquisitions. The Brazilian Top Team fighter will make his debut at UFC Fight Night in April against Anthony Torres in the middleweight division. “UFC is a dream coming true,” said Carneiro.
Another UFC acquisition is Ediberto Crocota, a member from Minotauro’s Team. He will also fight in the middleweight division and is the top prospect from his team. “Crocota is an excellent fighter,” said Rogerio Nogueira. “He is growing up very fast in MMA. I’m sure he will fight well in UFC.”
Wallid Ismail (Pictures) just signed a contract for the broadcast of his two events — Jungle Fight and Mixed Martial Arts World League (MMAWL) — on the Internet. This last event is his new project. The transmission copyrights now belong to Infotec Business Systems Inc. at www.wavelit.com. Infotec plans to become the biggest Internet-TV network on the planet. Making good use of the success of MMA in the U.S., and signing a contract with Wallid, the company intends to be the top network in MMA.
At 61 years of age, Rei Zulu doesn’t want to retire. Famous in Brazil since facing Rickson Gracie twice in the 1980s, Zulu just won another fight recently. On Jan. 20 he faced a 35-year-old opponent, needing just 48 seconds to score win. His son, “Zuluzinho,” said he planned to show the tape of the fight to PRIDE managers because he wanted his father’s last fight to happen with the Japanese organization.
Vitor Belfort (Pictures) is back in Rio de Janeiro to train alongside the newborn team known as “Black House.” Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Pictures) talks about his next PRIDE appearance. Jose Land-Jons is packing his things to fight in Costa Rica. And new UFC acquisitions are preparing for their Octagon debut.
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After spending some years living in Belo Horizonte, a quiet city in Brazil, Vitor Belfort (Pictures) has returned to Rio de Janeiro, where he will train full time with the Black House.
He believes that this change will give his career new life, and
soon he will be better than when he was in his prime — when he was
nicknamed “The Phenom.”
“People are still calling me up, but that old Vitor will not come back,” said Belfort. “I’m ready to show a better Vitor, more mature, more conscious, more technical and with a good mind.”
Belfort said he was seeing a psychologist. He also revealed that he was on speaking terms with his former coach Carlson Gracie before the jiu-jitsu legend’s death in Feb. 2006. If Carlson hadn’t passed away, Belfort said, they would definitely be together again.
"If I did something wrong against Carlson,” Belford said, “God was giving me the chance to fix things up.”
“Minotoro” talks about his PRIDE 33 bout
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Pictures) is scheduled to fight Feb. 24 in Las Vegas against Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (Pictures).
"I think he is a good opponent,” said the Brazilian Top Team 205-pounder. “I’ve been away from the ring for a very long time, and this is giving me motivation. I’ll be very aggressive and determined. This will be my first fight in Las Vegas and I hope to fight well and please the crowd.”
“Minotoro” is enjoying his comeback, but admitted he would like to face another opponent.
"I would like to fight against Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) for the title,” stated Nogueira. “Unfortunately he doesn’t accept my challenge. Now I’ll be waiting for another chance to face him.”
“Pele” fights in bodogFIGHT
Jose “Pele” Landi-Jons is scheduled to fight in the next bodogFIGHT edition in Costa Rica. His opponent will be Phil Norman (Pictures).
"All I know about him is he has a few fights, and he is undefeated,” “Pele” told Sherdog about the Brit. Holding a three-fight contract with the organization, the Brazilian will fight at 170 pounds because he feels more agile and won’t need to cut a lot of weight.
The training sessions are difficult, he said.
“I’m well prepared and I’m just fixing what is going wrong.”
Living in Canada, the veteran fighter has trained for some weeks in Europe, where he was elevated to the rank of BJJ black belt. To the fans, he promises he will be determined in the ring.
"Guys, a big hug for you all,” he said. “To my fans who are always cheering for me, you can be sure that in my chest is beating a brave samurai heart. I’m a man who doesn’t walk away from the fight, because fighting is my life.”
The Brazilian media name the best moments in 2006
The Web site “Portal do Vale Tudo” brought together the Brazilian mixed martial arts media to crown the best moments of 2006. Participants included Tatame, Nocaute and Gracie Magazine; the newspaper Jornal do Vale Tudo; TV channel Premiere Combate; and Web site Portal do Vale Tudo.
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (Pictures), Diego Sanchez (Pictures) and Fabio Negao were some of the names recognized.
Fighter of the Year
1) Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic
2) Paulo Filho (Pictures)
3) Chuck Liddell (Pictures)
Fight of the Year
1) Diego Sanchez (Pictures) vs. Karo Parisyan (Pictures)
2) Anderson Silva vs. Rich Franklin (Pictures)
3) Josh Barnett (Pictures) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures)
4) Chuck Liddell (Pictures) vs. Tito Ortiz (Pictures)
KO of the Year
1) Mirko Filipovic (Pictures) vs. Wanderlei Silva (Pictures)
2) Anderson Silva vs. Tony Fryklund (Pictures)
3) Gesias Calvancanti (Pictures) vs. Hiroyuki Takaya (Pictures)
Submission of the Year
1) Shinya Aoki (Pictures) vs. Joachim Hansen (Pictures)
2) Paulo Filho (Pictures) vs. Ryo Chonan (Pictures)
3) Marcus Aurelio vs. Takanori Gomi (Pictures)
Event of the Year
1) PRIDE Open-Weight GP Finals
2) UFC 66
3) HERO’S GP Finals
4) Super Challenge
Newcomer of the Year
1) Fabio Negão
2) Thiago Silva
3) Shinya Aoki (Pictures)
News and Notes
Roan Carneiro (Pictures) is one of the UFC’s new acquisitions. The Brazilian Top Team fighter will make his debut at UFC Fight Night in April against Anthony Torres in the middleweight division. “UFC is a dream coming true,” said Carneiro.
Another UFC acquisition is Ediberto Crocota, a member from Minotauro’s Team. He will also fight in the middleweight division and is the top prospect from his team. “Crocota is an excellent fighter,” said Rogerio Nogueira. “He is growing up very fast in MMA. I’m sure he will fight well in UFC.”
Wallid Ismail (Pictures) just signed a contract for the broadcast of his two events — Jungle Fight and Mixed Martial Arts World League (MMAWL) — on the Internet. This last event is his new project. The transmission copyrights now belong to Infotec Business Systems Inc. at www.wavelit.com. Infotec plans to become the biggest Internet-TV network on the planet. Making good use of the success of MMA in the U.S., and signing a contract with Wallid, the company intends to be the top network in MMA.
At 61 years of age, Rei Zulu doesn’t want to retire. Famous in Brazil since facing Rickson Gracie twice in the 1980s, Zulu just won another fight recently. On Jan. 20 he faced a 35-year-old opponent, needing just 48 seconds to score win. His son, “Zuluzinho,” said he planned to show the tape of the fight to PRIDE managers because he wanted his father’s last fight to happen with the Japanese organization.
