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New Faces Looking to Take Old Places By Eduardo Alonso Probably the most important role MECA World Vale Tudo has been playing since its first edition back in May of 2000 is to develop and expose new fighters to the NHB world. Current stars of the sport like Chute Boxe fighters Murilo Ninja Rua and Anderson Silva all made their debuts and made the first, and so important, steps of their careers at the Brazilian event. Other international level fighters like Chute Boxe heavyweight Assuerio Silva, Ruas Vale Tudo fighter Gustavo Ximu, Brazilian Top Team future star Fabio Mello, Macaco's training partner Luis Azeredo, among others, had in MECA a crucial step in their careers. This is, without a doubt, the biggest service this more than two years old event did to the sport of NHB and its fans. However, this is not all and MECA also brought some famous names to square off in the ring every now and then, like PRIDE superstar Vanderlei Silva, NHB legend Pele Landi, UFC veteran Jorge Macaco Patino, Seasoned veteran Carlos Barreto and K-1 winner Nilson de Castro to name a few. With this mix of newcomers and experienced veterans, MECA World Vale Tudo found the right recipe to attract an ever growing attention from the Brazilian fans, and easily established itself as the countries most important event, in days where fighting events have become so rare. In its seventh edition promoters Rudimar Fedrigo and Jorge Guimaraes had to struggle with all sorts of backstage problems, from Sportv's constant change of available dates and plans, to a limited budget to work with passing through the back down of major sponsors. However, none of those facts prevented them to bring a night of pure NHB action to the always hunger Brazilian fans in a nine fights fighting card. The result of the event promoter's work is obvious: Success. If you have ever been to more than a MECA event you'll visibly notice the improvement they manage to make from one event to the next one, and this is the showing of the continuous work put through this 2 and half years and the credibility they acquired by always treating fighters, press and fans well. MECA 7 will play a crucial factor in the event's history, since due to the mentioned problems above, the card doesn't bring the same number of stars as in the last edition, however it has the potential to be even more exciting as the bet was made on the young guns. With that said, write down some of the names on this fighting card, because just like the likes of Ninja and Anderson Silva in the past, you may see some of those new faces taking old places sooner than you expect... Carlinhos (Brazilian Impacto) vs. Alex Gazé (Muay Thai/RJ): As promoters usually say, the best way to start an NHB event is with a barnburner! This is pretty much the case intended with this fight. Both guys are strikers and Carlinhos comes from a tough (not traditional) Karate background so he is well used to taking punishment and has a lot of heart. Back in MECA 1 Carlinhos won a pure battle against Alex Vedan, showcasing more guts then technique, but two years later he is expected to be even better by now. Alex Gazé is clearly the star in this fight and the guy who seems to have more ambition in terms of an international career. Coming from the Luis Alves camp, and considered by many a sort of Muay Thai prodigy from Rio de Janeiro, Alex isn't even a stranger to fighting in Curitiba, since he has a Storm Muay Thai win in his record. Former Brazilian Muay Thai champion, and being reported of having great skills, Gazé even did ground training now and then with some Brazilian Top Team members. His original opponent would be Cristiano Marcello, but instead his NHB debut will be against another striker and this won't probably be the last time we'll heard of him. Claudionor Fontinelli vs. Haroldo "Cabelinho" (BTT): Claudionor Fontinelli is a true seasoned veteran of the sport, with participations in events such as the IVC, Heroes, UCC and even MECA. Claudionor is more known for being extremely tough than for his technique, however he is reported to be training hard and improving a lot in terms of striking technique. At this point in his career a win over a Brazilian Top Team member could only help him, and a loss would probably condemn him to a third scale role in the years to come. In his record Fontinelli shows losses to some extremely talented fighters, such as Anderson Silva and Shean Sherk and despite the fact that he lost those fights this means experience. One thing is certain; to beat him you'll have to work hard. Haroldo "Cabelinho" Bunn is also an experienced fighter who can endure a lot of punishment and has tons of heart. A veteran of IVC and JVT, Bunn also fought some very talented individuals, such as Hayato Sakurai and Milton Bahia. The fact alone that he joined the Brazilian Top Team shows how serious Haroldo is taking his career, and he surely must've benefited from all the training in a great camp like BTT. There's no losing in his dictionary for his fight as this could represent a major step backwards in a career he is eager to see taking off. It's easy to see the point of this match from the promoters point of view, and unfortunately won of the fighters will have to walk home with an even bigger ladder to climb. Cristiano Marcello(Royler Gracie/CB) vs. Jadson(JJ): Cristiano Marcello is a Royler Gracie Black Belt. Do you think this is enough? He also has been training with the Chute Boxe team for a year now, and is their Jiu Jitsu teacher. Well, those credentials alone would give him an opportunity to fight at several NHB events, however he is taking his career very seriously and has set some high goals for the future. Anyone that can endure more than a year of NHB training at the Chute Boxe camp has lots of guts and Cristiano is no exception. His NHB debut at MECA 6 saw a loss to a skilled and more experienced fighter in Luis Azeredo, however his Muay Thai is reported to be way better now and this can probably be the first and crucial step in a interesting career coming up. Little is known about Jadson, and this is likely his NHB debut, at least on major events. A purple belt in Jiu Jitsu, from the state of Parana, with some Muay Thai training as well, he isn't likely to present the Gracie black belt a lot of problems, however a fight is always a fight and he has been reported by his teammates to be hitting very hard and training a lot for this fight. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (Chute Boxe) vs. Rafael "Capoeira" (Barra Gracie): This fight has the potential of being the best and most exciting fight of the night. Both guys are extremely talented, young and making their NHB debuts. Rafael "Capoeira" is a Barra Gracie black belt, with Muay Thai experience, and as his nickname says Capoeira experience as well. Reports have that he was already a good Muay Thai fighter even before he started doing Jiu Jitsu. In his NHB debut Rafael comes with the reputation of being very aggressive, and very talented and will count the support of a major school, as is Barra Gracie. You have to respect that. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua is nothing but PRIDE sensation Murilo "Ninja" Rua's brother! The Chute Boxe fighter just did his Storm debut recently, and did it in great fashion scoring a knockout. For his NHB debut Mauricio will count with his hometown crowd and the Chute Boxe team's support. You can't ask for much more for your debut. Like his brother "Shogun" is reported to have great cardio, with an incredibly sharp Muay Thai skills and some real fast striking combinations, with Jiu Jitsu experience to go along with it. Mark those names, cause those are two new faces who are bound to take old places. Silvio "Urutum"(Chute Boxe) vs.Evangelista "Cyborg": Although it may not seem at first, this fight has a lot in stake for both fighters, especially "Urutum". Evangelista "Cyborg" is a true NHB hard worker, with lots of experience and by that alone shouldn't be taken lightly. With an interesting record, "Cyborg" is an IVC veteran and fought against Jose Pele Landi back in 1997, just to show how experienced he is. Tough as nails and training a lot of Muay Thai with Luis Alves, this is the time where he must raise his performance level to define the future of his career. Coming from the Chute Boxe team Silvio "Urutum" is what can be called "a tough dude". Incredibly strong and with a lot of hear, Silvio is also an experienced fighter who fought in events like the IVC and MECA. However, Urutum's experience doesn't only come from his NHB fights, but also from his extensive fighting background that draws back to his Capoeira days, until he joined the Chute Boxe team. He is truly a guy that went through a lot, and suffered a lot as well in life, and now has the chance of achieving something bigger. Urutum has all it takes to make it, the power, the training, the heart and a great team to support him! This is his crossroads and he knows it, winning here can mean another chance on the spotlights, losing can mean disaster, but the lights use to shine in the most critical moments... Dave Phillips (Jiu Jitsu/Muay Thai) vs. Luiz Orlando (Brazilian Top Team/Mario Sperry): This will be the second time MECA sees an American fighter stepping in to its rings. The first was Todd Meddina, who had the unfair task of taming the "Axe Murderer" Vanderlei Silva in front of his hometown crowd, and now Phillips will have an easier but not less important task. Dave Phillips is an American fighter with a good Jiu Jitsu background, who has also been training a lot of Muay Thai with the Chute Boxe team in the last months. A veteran of Extreme Challenge and Hook N' Shoot, Dave was brought to Brazil to train with the Chute Boxe team by his friend Cristiano Marcello, and he has devoted the past months of his life to training in a foreign country for this fight. This tells you how serious he is taken his career, and how he believes in his potential. On the other hand, Luiz Orlando comes with some good credentials himself. A Mario Sperry Jiu Jitsu black belt, Orlando surely knows his ground game and may be a serious threat if the fight hits the ground. Besides that, he has the support of the Brazilian Top Team and is reported to have a good Wrestling base and some decent Boxing skills. Both guys know the importance of this fight in their future, so this will likely be a crowd pleaser. Riscado (Jiu Jitsu) vs. Cristiano Lazarini (Jiu Jitsu): This fight is one of the biggest question marks on the card. Usually when you put two Jiu Jitsu fighters against each other the fight can be decided by the one who is better at Wrestling and striking, and this may be the case on this one. Both Riscardo and Cristiano Lazarini are newcomers making their MECA debuts, so both will probably enter the ring with lots of will, and some sparks may end up flying. It may be a surprise. Juan Carneiro (BTT) vs. Carlos Gomes (Jiu Jitsu): Once again the seventh edition of MECA brings up a crucial fight for the fighters lives. At this very moment you can be sure there's only one concern on Juan Carneiro's mind; Winning. A Brazilian Top Team member who comes from the old Carlson Gracie days, Jucăo (as he is known by his teammates) had the unfair task of making his MECA debut against none other than Anderson Silva at MECA 6. As great fighters like Alex Steibling can attest, facing Anderson isn't a fair measurement of a fighter's skills, especially on their debuts. For Juan Carneiro this is his second chance, and you don't get a second chance too often in life, so he is determined to take advantage of this opportunity and proves he has international aspirations. Owner of very good ground skills, and with an great effort in his Muay Thai training, Juan is reported to be ready to prove he is still no Anderson Silva, but he is a very good fighter. His opponent, Carlos Gomes, is another Jiu Jitsu fighter who is making an effort to find his space in the Brazilian NHB scene. By being a Jiu Jitsu fighter he is likely to make Carneiro feel more comfortable in this fight than at his debut at MECA 6. Gomes comes in as the underdog, but he is reported to be seriously talented, will likely have the Curitibian crowd in his favor and we all know what underdogs can do. Nilson de Castro (Chute Boxe) vs. Lucas Lopes (Nova Uniao): The events headliner changed several times in the last month or so, due to numerous factors. From one injury to another, the main event started with Pele Landi against Alexandre Cacareco, went through Cacareco against Nilson de Castro and ended up putting Lucas Lopes and Nilson face to face. For the fans it may seem hard to have the same excitement for this fight as they would had for Pele against Cacareco, however you can be sure that whenever Nilson de Castro steps into the ring the excitement is guaranteed. His opponent, Lucas Lopes is another seriously tough fighter out of Brazil's northeast region, who has some nice Jiu Jitsu skills, courtesy of Nova Uniao. Besides his ground skills and heart, he is reported to have decent Boxing skills as well and he will come into this fight with a terrible task in defeating Nilson de Castro in front of the very loud Curitibian crowd. Lopes will need to use all his toughness as he is also scheduled to face Jorge Navalhada three weeks later at Bitetti Combat. Nilson de Castro is a Chute Boxe veteran who got his black belt in the same day his friend Vanderlei Silva got his. Those guys grew together and trained together for more than 13 years now, this goes to show how tough this guy is. A veteran of IVC and MECA Nilson went through a point in his career where he thought about quitting and even stopped training, however the efforts and convincingly power of his teammates brought him back to the family and he went through his own crossroads at MECA 6. In a situation where he needed the win in order to get his career back in track, de Castro took off and demolished his opponent scoring an impressive knockout. Proving his was back for real, Nilson took his career a step farer and produced Chute Boxe's first K-1 win ever! This MECA 7 fight is another much needed step in his path for the major international events, and Nilson knows it perfectly. Whenever he steps into the ring you can be sure he is very well prepared, and make not mistake, this guy has tons of potential, and although he isn't a new face, he will surely take some old places. Check back for more on MECA as fight time approaches |
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