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By Eduardo Alonso
Heating Up for UFO(?)
Minotauro Just Wants to Fight for the Fans!

PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira has been building one of the most impressive careers in NHB ever, with dominant wins over names like Mark Coleman, Heath Herring and Enson Inoue. However, since his win over Enson Inoue at PRIDE 19 Nogueira hasn't been able to fight again due to some injuries. Anxious fans have been itching ever sicnce for his return to the ring. After taking care of his injuries and a special preparation in Holland, the PRIDE Champion is finally about the return to the ring at a brand new NHB event, Antonio Inoki's own promotion, the UFO. Just as things seemed set and ready for Minotauro to face Pancrase favorite Sanae Kikuta on August 8th, it seems that the Brazilian fighter has to deal with a new type of fighting for the first time in his life: The fight of politics and personal/business interests. Being a fighter, "Mino" just wants to fight and is willing to fight as many times as PRIDE wants till the end of this year, and face whatever challenge it presents in his way to show the fans, PRIDE and pretty much everybody else how much he values his belt, and how much he loves competing. In this conversation Rodrigo Minotauro Nogueira spoke with FCF about this delicate issue regarding his PRIDE contract and his upcoming fight in UFO, his recent injuries, training methods, his future in K-1, his twin brother's potential and more as Full Contact Fighter is heating up for UFO (if politics allow)...

Minotauro FCF:   Your last fight was against Enson Inoue back at PRIDE 19. How it has been for you to wait all that time to finally fight again? Are you getting anxious?
RMN:   I'm getting anxious. What happened is that I had a problem with my back so I couldn't train and since I couldn't train this was making me anxious. But I met a doctor who was introduced to me by Pedro Rizzo, a Dutch doctor, and I had problems with my back muscles and this was causing me a spine problem. My back muscles on the right side were way stronger than my back muscles on the left side and this was causing the problems in my spine. So I got there to start the treatment and the muscles from my right leg weren't that well too, it was hurting a bit, and the guy [the doctor] made me lift weights, do squats and stuff like that. I was even a bit worried at first, like "isn't this going to hurt me?" On the first day I got there he made me do squats with 140kg, and from there on it was a lot of hard work in a small town in Holland, a farm city, waking up every day at 7 am and working out 6 hours per day till we corrected the problem.

FCF:   How is the injury now, and are you 100% recovered now?
RMN:   Nowadays I believe I'm 100% recovered. Let me tell you, my physical capacity is coming back now. I have been training as hard as I ever did, both in the physical part as in the technical part, because last year I was emphasizing a lot on the technical part and was neglecting the physical part a bit, like weightlifting, the physical preparation, squats and stuff, so I was having some muscular problems. I had an injury on my knee, another on my heel, and I was lacking a bit of muscle. Now I'm even a bit stronger, I even gained around 2 kg in bodyweight and I'm not feeling any pain in my back now.

FCF:   You and your twin brother Rogerio spent some time training Muay Thai in Holland with Peter Aerts recently. How did this opportunity come about?
RMN:   In fact we didn't have much time to train with Peter, I only trained with him three times there. This doctor who took care of my injury is also his doctor, and is also his physical trainer, and he took care of my physical preparation as well since he has a degree in sporting sciences. He is a doctor, a physiologist and a physical trainer, so he took care of my preparation and he also does it for Peter, so we usually worked out together while I was there. But around ten days after I got there he had to fight in K-1 against Ignatov, so I had the chance to train with him for only a short while. But he introduced me to some people and I trained with them for around two weeks while I was there.

FCF:   How was the experience of training Muay Thai with some of the best in the world?
RMN:   This adds a lot to you. I won't say that I learned Muay Thai there, but I learned a lot of details. I learned several clinch situations, stuff that can help me in NHB, I also learned how to position myself in a knee situation, all those small details that make a lot of difference in a fight.

FCF:   With this experience, how would you compare the level of Muay Thai being practiced here in Brazil in relation with the level in Holland?
RMN:   The Muay Thai people here are very good, but in Holland they have a bigger quantity of athletes, and from the quantity they'll get the quality. They have a bit more refined technique. But here at Luis Alves' academy, we have very good Muay Thai, but there I had five World champions training in the academy where I was training. There was a guy there who was a K-3 champion, in the 75kg division. And sometimes the smaller guys are even more technical, and I like to train with smaller guys. They are quicker, and usually more technical. So I was training with a European champion in the 70kg division, this K-3 champion, not to mention Peter Aerts! So these guys taught me a lot in this short period of time.

FCF:   Speaking of Muay Thai, rumor has it that you want to do a fight with the original K-1 rules! Is it true? Do you already trust your Muay Thai that much to do striking-only matches?
RMN:   They offered this to me a short while ago, but since I was injured, it isn't the right time to do it, because it's a type of fight that requires a lot from you physically. But I got this offer and I believe that next year there will be no way to postpone it and I'll do it. I want to do it to grow, to learn and to be around this "world" as well. I want to start in this field as well and maybe do some K-1 fights.

FCF:   Getting back to NHB, your opponent now at UFO will be Sanae Kikuta, a fighter who achieved a lot of success in Pancrase and recently went back to PRIDE. What do you know of him as a fighter?
RMN:   He knows how to position himself on the ground, he is technical, was a champion at Abu Dhabi and is a good competitor. But his game is a bit more cautious and "locked" than ours. He doesn't try for many positions and is usually very cautious in his game, and he isn't a great striker standing up. I think he is a great athlete, but in terms of NHB I think he still lacks a bit of technique standing up, to trade better strikes.

FCF:   Despite the fact that a fight is always unpredictable, how do you see this fight unfolding?
RMN:   I think it's unpredictable, but I'm sure we will have some good moments on the ground. If he lets me trade a lot of positions and make my game flow, without trying to stall like he did in Abu Dhabi where he did it a lot -- if he let his game flow as well and try to pass my guard, try some finishing holds and stuff like that, I believe it's going to be a great show! Not to mention the standing up part, because we're going to brawl a bit as well! [Laughs]

FCF:   You are the PRIDE Heavyweight champion, and will likely be fighting at UFO, which is a new event. Was it tough to accept this invitation? Did or do you fear any retaliation from PRIDE?
RMN:   For sure! I'm even going to Japan some days before I would normally go to sit down and talk with the PRIDE representatives to reach a deal about it. We have to see how the situation will be, because by contract I'm allowed to fight. I hope my manager will be able to resolve this issue, or even I can go there and try to talk to them because I think I worked real hard to get the PRIDE belt, so it couldn't be taken away from me like this. I think I've already proven the fighter that I am, and if they want to take my belt away I know I won't be unemployed. [Laughs] But I'm trying to go to Japan earlier and talk to them to resolve this situation, because in the end I also work for PRIDE and have a contract with them, so I have to respect them as well.

FCF:   So you don't want to do impose anything, you want to resolve it all peacefully?
RMN:   Sure, I want to resolve everything peacefully! I don't know for sure what's going on because I'm here in Brazil and when I get to Japan I'll see what can and what can't happen. So we'll sit with the lawyers and talk about the contract, what's right and what's wrong, what Mr. Morishita wants and intends and resolve the whole issue.

FCF:   Is there any chance, even if it's a remote one, you may end up out of UFO?
RMN:   I don't know... I don't know. I'm going to Japan and I want to fight! I'm a fighter and I'm paid to fight. If they give me the money and say: "You're going to fight in that event, it's going to be like this, etc." I would like to fight.

FCF:   When are you flying to Japan to begin those talks?
RMN:   I believe I'll be in Japan around the second of August.

FCF:   After this fight in UFO, do you plan to go back to PRIDE to defend your title?
RMN:   For sure! This is what I have. I created a great steam for this belt thing. It was another step I conquered in my life and I don't want to lose it. I believe the PRIDE people like me as well. In the same way I'm satisfied to be a PRIDE representative, I'm sure they are satisfied with my work as well because I have been giving them good fights. I was able to show the return of technique, because the NHB game was being dominated by more of a "power game", with Mark Coleman and other great fighters. The Japanese public likes it, but I believe they don't relate that much to that type of game. So I'm a Jiu-Jitsu representative -- and it's in fact a Japanese fight --coming back to Japan and bringing with him all that technique that is, indeed, Japanese. They understand the ground game! They understand it even more than the American public. I got a triangle on a guy once and a 50-year-old lady came up to talk to me on the streets of Japan to comment about the triangle! This would never happen in Brazil or the USA. But in Japan people know the technique and I believe the public liked my style. So I want to continue to represent PRIDE, and I believe they are satisfied with my work.

FCF:   There's also some talk that you may want to fight even at the next "Shockwave" event, which is a collaboration between PRIDE and K-1 at the end of August. Is it true? Would you be available to fight then?
RMN:   Yes! I'm available! I'm even thinking about staying in Japan after UFO, because I don't want to create any bad situations with anyone there. I want to resolve my entire situation as soon as possible. I don't want to be in any bad situations like "Minotauro isn't fighting at PRIDE because he fought at UFO." No! I have a contract with PRIDE, I'm a PRIDE representative and in fact I'm doing an exceptional fight at UFO. As long as I am [physically capable] I'll fight. I just couldn't fight before at the last two PRIDE events because I was injured and I would have a risk of making my injury even more serious and having to retire from fighting! I wasn't able to walk properly! But now that I'm in good condition I'm available to stay in Japan and fight in August, in September and November.

FCF:   This will be the first time, I believe, that you and your twin brother Rogerio will be fighting on the same card. How do you believe this experience is going to be for both of you?
RMN:   This will be tough! It will be a nervous day in my life, because I get way more nervous when he is fighting than when I'm fighting. But man, he has been improving a lot technically lately! His evolution in the academy was way quicker than mine. What he evolved from the last year till now, I took three years to evolve! He is very good! He has my level on the ground and he gives me all sorts of problems standing up as well! If I'm tired or anything like that during a training session, he beats me up in striking! He is a talent! If he shows in the ring what he does in the academy... Here at the Top Team everybody comments that he is the biggest talent that ever appeared here.

FCF:   So you get more nervous when he is fighting?
RMN:   Yeah! That's true! [Laughs] But at his last fight he gave me so much tranquility that I'm getting more secure and tranquil when he is fighting now.

FCF:   Mario Sperry once told me that you are also a great fighter with the gi on. Do you have any plans to fight again with the gi on in the future?
RMN:   I would like to do so, but I got a little disappointed with the way Jiu-Jitsu fights are refereed in Brazil. I think it hasn't gotten to a professional level yet. The last time I fought with a gi on I fought against Roleta, who is a world champion, and it was four points each and two advantages each. I was on top during most of the fight, and everybody that saw the tape thought I won the fight. So I got a little disappointed. In fact when you fight in tournaments from the Carlos Gracie federation you have to lose some money, because you stop teaching classes, and in my case I was already an MMA fighter since I had a contract signed with RINGS back then. So I canceled a fight at RINGS to be able to wear a gi and fight in a Jiu-Jitsu tournament, just because of my love for Jiu-Jitsu, and ended up being prejudiced by the referee. So I think the referees should be more professional, and I think some athletes from Barra Gracie take advantage of the fact they are organizing the event. Let's see with this new organization how it'll be. At least they are paying and it's a professional Jiu-Jitsu league. I think the athletes have to be paid to fight! Because they stop teaching classes, stop working to compete! Nowadays a fighter can't work and train at the same time, so I see training as work. So maybe I can fight someday in the professional league.

FCF:   Did you do anything different with your training for this fight?
RMN:   My preparation was the same as always but included more physical training, and as a result I'm stronger now. Even today when the training session ended the guys commented that I'm way stronger now. My legs are bigger now, and I'm feeling more strength. I'm weighing around 107kg now, and now I'm starting to be able to adapt my weight to my cardio condition.

FCF:   What are Minotauro's plans for the rest of 2002?
RMN:   Basically my first plan is to resolve this situation that is coming up with PRIDE and be able to defend my belt, because it's something that I haven't done since I won it. I believe this issue came up like: "Man, he didn't even defend his belt yet," so this is one of my biggest objectives, and fight in Japan soon.

FCF:   Any final message for your fans?
RMN:   In fact I would like to leave a message, not only for my fans but for everybody, because I'm going through a delicate situation now because of all those politics, if I'll fight or not and stuff like that, so I want everybody to know that I just want to fight! I want to show my technique and resolve this situation as soon as possible to not let down even the Japanese public.
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