The Brazilian Beat
Minotauro set to face Herring, Brazilian Top Team looking to triumph in Korea, Wanderlei Silva continues to hit Brazilian mainstream and a solid card for MECA 11!

The Brazilian Beat:
      In the last Brazilian Beat of May of 2004 the focus is already set for June, as next month promises a lot of interesting things for an MMA fan, being him from anywhere in the world. June will bring the second round of the PRIDE GP, that because of the card's single matches, such as Quinton Jackson against Ricardo Arona, promises to be more interesting than the first round of the same Heavyweight GP. Also, June will treat Brazilian fans to MECA 11, in one of the best cards every put together at this Brazilian promotion, with some intriguing match-ups. Besides those two marquee happenings for any Brazilian fan, June will witness to first big MMA show ever in Korea, with plenty of PRIDE and UFC veterans taking part on the card, and a handful of Brazilian fighters competing in it. So, with the eyes set on June we enjoy the last hours of May with news from both present and near future of the Brazilian MMA scene, FCF brings yet once again another Beat straight from the often hot, and now cold weather of Brazil [believe it or not it's damn cold here now], enjoy the news!

  • As the second round of the PRIDE Heavyweight GP approaches and the date of departure for Japan grows near, the Brazilian Top Team headquarters is extremely busy. Rodrigo Minotauro Nogueira is, although not officially confirmed, going to face Heath Herring in a rematch of the bout that gave Nogueira the PRIDE Heavyweight belt for the firs time back at PRIDE 17. Training has been tough as not only Mino is preparing for Herring, but Arona for his PRIDE comeback against Quinton Jackson, in two fights that are bound to be worth the ticket alone!

  • The PRIDE GP is not the only thing causing noise and keeping everybody busy at the BTT training camp, as four fighters from the team are preparing for the major Korean show that will take place in June as well. Although rumored to be facing Alistair Overeem in the show, Minotauro's brother Rogerio Minotoro Nogueira will be fighting the "Brazilian Killa" Alex Stiebling, in a crucial match for both guys career. The other BTT members will have Japanese opponents at the Korean promotion, as Paulo Filho will fight Daijiro Matsui, Fabiano Capoane will be fighting Namekawa, and Claudio Godoy will be facing Hamada. Former Chute Boxe fighter Anderson Silva, who's facing Jeremy Horn at the same show, has been training with Minotauro every now and then to help in Nogueira's preparation for Herring, as well as his preparation for Jeremy Horn, of course.

  • Speaking of the PRIDE GP Second round, among the special fights featured for the show besides the ones from the tournament, one will more than likely feature Nino "Elvis" Schembri is his debut as a Chute Boxe fighter in a rematch against Japanese superstar Kazushi Sakuraba. Rumors have been high for a long time in Brazil about this match up, and it is indeed going to happen as Nino has been preparing for the fight and hoping to repeat the outcome of their first outing.

  • Speaking of Chute Boxe, PRIDE Middleweight Champion Wanderlei Silva continues to be making some noise in the Brazilian mainstream media. This week Silva came to Sao Paulo once again to hit some TV shows, as well as Radio ones. Silva's knee has been fine lately as he is already training regularly at Chute Boxe and is likely to face Yuki Kondo in PRIDE's August show. Another interesting PRIDE related piece lately in Brazil is that DSE public figure Nobuhiko Takada is expected to be coming to Brazil soon, for a two-week stay following training in academies such as Chute Boxe and BTT, as well as following the next MECA Vale-Tudo.

  • This last May 22nd, the 10th edition of Champions Night brought the already traditional minor show from the Brazilian Northeast region to the south of the country for the first time ever. Taking place at the city of Marilia, in the state of Sao Paulo [financially the most important in the country], the show counted with seven MMA matches as well as four Muay Thai bouts. The standouts of the show were Deep veteran Gleison Tibau, and former Chute Boxe fighter Emerson Naja, both scoring quick and impressive wins. Here are the results of the MMA matches:
    • Ricardo Alves def. Adriano Maciel by triangle choke in R1
    • Pedro Akira def. Luis Popo by KO in R1
    • Regiclaudio Kexada def. Alex dos Santos by referee stoppage in R1
    • Junior Killer def. Fabio D'amore by TKO in R2
    • Fabricio Robo def. Robson da Silva by armbar in R1
    • Gleison Tibau def. Daniel Muralha by armbar in R1
    • Emerson Naja def. Marcelo Barbosa by KO in R1
  • This Saturday, May 29th Vitoria Extreme Fight will take MMA to yet another Brazilian capital, continuing to spread our sport around the country. The capital of the state of Espirito Santo, near Rio de Janeiro, the city of Vitoria will see some experienced fighters battling inside the ring, as HEAT veteran Marcelo Uirapuru was confirmed as the replacemente of Rafael Capoeira, facing Jiu-Jitsu standout and local hero Eduardo Jamelao. UFC veteran Flavio Moura is another experienced fighter taking part on the card, facing Thalles Leite from Nova Uniao in the first round of a middleweight tournament. The show will also count with K-1 veteran Eduardo Maiorino battling Chico Mello, this time in the 1st round of the heavyweight tournament. Check out the card:

    Middleweight Tournament:
    Flavio Moura vs. Thales Leite
    Lucio Linhares vs. Julio Cesar

    Heavyweight Tournament:
    Eduardo Maiorino vs. Chico Mello
    Danilo "Motoserra" vs. Ailton Jacare

    Single Fights:
    Marcelo Salazar vs. Gilmar Andrade
    Bruno de Paula vs. Danilo Sherman
    Eduardo Jamelao vs. Marcelo Uirapuru

  • Still on the subject of MMA shows in Brazil, the 11th edition of MECA Vale-Tudo is coming up on June 5th, at the city of Teresopolis, near Rio de Janeiro, with a very interesting card! Names such as Gustavo Ximu, Nilson de Castro, Tony de Souza, Luis Azeredo, Jorge Macaco Patino, Daniel Acacio and others are guarantee of a good spectacle, as this is clearly the strongest MECA card in recent time. FCF will bring you all the action from MECA 11, and here is the card for Saturday, June 5th:
    • Fabricio Monteiro vs. Fernando Boi
    • Alex Gaze (Boxe Thai) vs. Andre Bispo (RFT)
    • Suyan Queiroz vs. Luciano Azevedo (RFT)
    • Junior Besouro (RFT) vs. Luis Brito
    • Luciano Cardoso vs. Parazinho
    • Ivan "Batman" vs. Alexandre "Baixinho" Barros (Gracie Barra Combat Team)
    • Jadyson Costa (Chute Boxe) vs. Milton Vieira (Brazilian Top Team)
    • Daniel Acacio (Chute Boxe) vs. Eric Tavares (Ruas Vale Tudo)
    • Delson "Pe de Chumbo" (Gracie Barra) vs. Jorge "Macaco" Patino (Chute Boxe)
    • Tony de Souza (Nova Uniao) vs. Luis Azeredo (Chute Boxe)
    • Gustavo Ximu (Gracie Barra Combat Team) vs. Nilson de Castro (Chute Boxe)
  • Vitor Belfort's quest to find any information about his missing sister Priscila Belfort continues. "The Phenom", who was planning a trip to the USA at the next June 7th to prepare for a rematch against Randy Couture granting a chance to focus more into fighting, has been appearing in TV shows every week pleading for information on his sister, who's missing for more than four months already. The reward for any information that can lead to Priscila is up to 10,000 Reais, which is around US$3,300. With the announcement of the reward the Brazilian police has been receiving new information lately, and hope is now getting bigger again to at least finally find out what exactly happen with Vitor's sister. FCF continues to hope for the best and if somehow you have any information regarding Priscila, please contact the Brazilian Police.