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It's party time for Renzo Respected by everyone in the fight game, Renzo Gracie is truly one of the nicest people you will ever meet in your life, both as a person and as a fighter. Known for not picking opponents, Renzo truly loves what he does and his passion for fighting translates into his behavior, his fighting-style and even his students. After testing himself against some of the best fighters in the world, and suffering some bumps in the road -- like against Sakuraba and Dan Henderson -- Gracie has not looked back, he continues to improve and train harder and harder to compete again, just for the sake of competing and fighting! 
How many fighters in Renzo's position would be testing themselves so often against some of the best, even though he is out-weighed by most, if not all, of his opponents? Probably not many, but he simply doesn't care about reputations or living off of past accomplishments. Renzo Gracie just wants to be himself and do what he loves the most, and finally after several months waiting he will be back in the ring in Japan! On June 23rd, it will be party time for Renzo, as he will face Japanese fighter, KOTC and PRIDE veteran Shungo Oyama. In a conversation just two days before he left for Japan, Renzo stopped his class in New York to speak with us about his next fight, his training and his views on the fight game as FCF is feeling the heat for PRIDE 21!FCF: You were always one of the most active fighters, not only from the Gracie family, but from Jiu-Jitsu in NHB as well. You're finally returning to fight in PRIDE for the first time since PRIDE 17. How was it for you to wait all this time to fight again? Renzo: It sucked! I have been preparing to fight in the last three PRIDE events, since PRIDE 17. But it goes this way; maybe it was even good for me to wait a little more because I had the chance to train even more. I'm in one of the best shapes of my life, I managed to put on some weight in a lean way, with little fat, and so in the end this entire wait was satisfactory. FCF: In the past you had some problems gaining weight because of your tough schedule! You train, teach classes, take care of your family and your students. How do you manage to reconcile the life of a professional fighter with all those other responsibilities? Renzo: I have to do it all! I'm a father of three kids! So it's the wife, the kids, the dogs, everything. [Laughs] And I also have to train and teach classes, because I'm the main professor here. I think the major factor that drives me to do all of this is the passion I have for what I do. This makes me never feel tired, so as tired as I may get, I'm always standing up and doing what I have to do! There's no other way brother, it has to be done so we'll do it. FCF: You are known for not picking opponents and always wanting to face top-level competition, like Maurice Smith, Dan Henderson, Sakuraba and Kikuta, among others. Do you get somehow frustrated when the event opts to put you against a supposedly less competitive athlete? Renzo: Without a doubt I don't like it very much. Because I think that this type of fighting [NHB]... it's a chance you have to measure your skills against another competitive fighter. So, when they start to bring less expressive fighters... even though Oyama, this guy I'm going to face now, is a very tough guy! People have a bit of a wrong notion about him because they only watched the two PRIDEs he fought in. He was still very nervous there, and didn't know how to control things. But I had the chance to watch him fighting some submission wrestling against some good Japanese fighters and he gave quite a show in terms of grappling skills, some good takedowns and beautiful submissions. But unfortunately, he not only had bad luck in PRIDE but he also wasn't prepared to face an event of that size, with fighters of that importance, back then. But he is a tough guy, I have to be very careful, he strikes very hard! But without a doubt I would prefer to fight against other fighters. If I could chose, I would chose other opponents, but if the event thinks it needs to be one of those guys, I can't do anything about it. FCF: Do you think that because of the name you established in NHB, and because you're a Gracie, you now will have to face almost only Japanese fighters in PRIDE? Renzo: I think they try to do a show for the Japanese public. I believe when we're facing Japanese fighters, it creates bigger ticket sales. Now they're running out of options, I already went at it against almost everyone there brother. [Laughs] But they do the show for Japan, I even think this is one of the factors that when Rickson fights, he always fights against a Japanese fighter, because this is what is marketable for Japan. FCF: It seems that now PRIDE is starting to focus on the American public as well, so things may change a bit... Renzo: I believe from now on we'll start to face American fighters, even Brazilian Fighters as well. Now things we'll have a bigger variation, [something that] I think is important for the game. 
FCF: By the way, do you believe that for a fighter in your position it can be sometimes even more dangerous to face someone with a "not so great" record in NHB?Renzo: Without a doubt! Because you don't know what to expect from the guy! On the other hand, he probably studied all of my life in terms of fighting! So he has sort of a study of my reactions, and I don't have any about his reactions. Because when they offered me Ohara, despite [the fact that] we may think that he was going to be a "piece of cake" since we don't know him, he was training at Sakuraba's academy, and several other academies back then, and he completely dominated everyone he trained with! And since he was a heavy guy, weighing 103kg and a very good wrestler, good in judo, so they were counting that he could beat me! But they weren't expecting that he was going to get very nervous! At the moment he would take a punch, all of his technique would go away! So his technique went away because he got nervous. I was seeing that he was nervous in the fight, so I worked exploiting it. But at the same time the physical difference was so big that I couldn't put him where I wanted. If he tried to attack me, the fight would be much easier, but this didn't happen and he stayed on the defensive through the whole fight. With that physical disproportion things got tougher this way, and at the same time I didn't want to expose myself so I stayed clinching and hitting when I had to hit him. FCF: And you know how it goes, if you beat a guy with not so much [status] in NHB, you only did what you were supposed to do... Renzo: Exactly! It's even funny now because everyone calls me and says: "Hey Renzo! This one is easy man!" [Laughs] But man, the fights that I like are when people call me and say: "Be careful! He is going to rip your head off in there!" [Laughs] The only easy and sweet thing in life I know is milk pudding! [Laughs] FCF: That and Mommy's lap! [Laughs] Renzo: Yeah!! Milk pudding and Mommy's lap man!! [Laughs] Other than that everything is tough [Laughs] FCF: Speaking of opponents, your opponent for this fight will be Shungo Oyama. What do you think of him as a fighter? Renzo: He fought some Grappling events in Japan, and, as I told you before, he gave quite a show there from what I saw. He was unfortunate in not being able to do the same performances when he fought in PRIDE. But I was even reading an interview [he did] not too long ago, and he commented the same thing. He said that now he has nothing to lose and he is facing a top name and now he can try to really show his game. So I believe it's going to be a very tough fight, and I'm not expecting an easy fight by any means. FCF: Why do you believe some athletes that were great judokas, like him, have some difficulties to adapt and achieve success in NHB? Renzo: I'm a judo black belt, so I can comment on it. Judo is a strict sport and it preaches discipline all the time... you're a sportsman all the time. It's a sport with several rules, where you fight for points to be able to win. So it's tough for someone who trained it for his whole life, to the point where he became a top name on the sport, change his mindset that much to fight NHB. In Jiu-Jitsu's philosophy, since you're kid you start to learn to adapt yourself for future NHB competition. You prepare yourself mentally, physically and technically. And I think this is very important. FCF: So they're so used to the sportive style of judo, that they don't have that fighting mentality of who is ready to brawl... Renzo: Without a doubt! And in the moment he feels some pain he taps you know. The moment that he takes a punch, he gets scared, or surprised! And this doesn't happen with someone from Jiu-Jitsu! Every time I take a punch, I get even crazier! [Laughs] I want to return the favor as soon as possible. [Laughs] FCF: You have been showing a very good evolution in your Muay Thai, and you looked to trade strikes all the way during your fight against Ohara. Oyama has a strong right hand punch. Can we expect some surprises standing up in this fight? Renzo: I was training a lot of Muay Thai, and now I have been emphasizing a lot on my hands. I have been training a lot of boxing. Oyama strikes very hard, and hits very strong with his right-hand, but, without a doubt, if he leaves his guard open my hand will be flying! [Laughs] I'm not only counting on going there, grabbing him and doing my Jiu-Jitsu you know. Without a doubt, Jiu-Jitsu is my specialty, so if I have an opportunity to do my game, I'll try! But If I see an open guard, I'll try to show that the same rain that pours on my land, pours on the neighbor's land too! Do you know what I mean? FCF: It's noticeable in your fights that you're feeling more comfortable trading now, and you're starting to feel more confident about it... Renzo: Yeah! Now all this time training standing up is really starting have an effect on my game. I have been able to train it a lot, and now I can see when the punches will come, I know how to react better, so I'm improving! I think this is the quest to be a perfect fighter, I mean, to be comfortable in any situation! Learning stand-up fighting is very important. FCF: You have been gaining weight recently. How much will you weigh for this fight? Do you intend to gain even more weight? What do you consider your ideal weight to fight NHB? Renzo: For this fight I'll probably be weighing around 86kg [189.6lbs]. I don't think I'll try to gain more weight, because I don't have a very big body structure. I believe that weighing too much may even hinder my game instead of improving it. I think my ideal weight is around 86, or 87kg! It doesn't need to be more than this. In the end brother, I'm a malnourished Brazilian! [Laughs] FCF: [Laughs] But nowadays we have lots of well-nourished Brazilians in NHB! [Laughs] Renzo: Isn't it amazing man? [Laughs] They started to add some vitamins to the food down there and the guys are getting big! [Laughs] FCF: Do you feel comfortable fighting with that extra weight? Renzo: I feel comfortable! But I'll be honest with you; it doesn't make much difference, because all of my opponents are much heavier than me! Everyone fights above 90kg [198.5lbs] and PRIDE usually asks me to weigh more than 90kg, because I'll have much more fights then, since everybody there is above 90kg! I'm always the smallest one there! [Laughs] FCF: You never cared about weight differences! But don't you think an event like the UFC, with more weight divisions, could be good for you? Renzo: Without a doubt. I already considered this hypothesis, but I have a very big sympathy for PRIDE. I think PRIDE is the event where the best fighters in the world today are fighting, and it's where the best rules are! Inside the ring in PRIDE "sparks really fly," and there's no easy time, people fight in there! It's the biggest show, and beating up someone or taking a beating myself, it's there that things happens for me. Without a doubt, it's the biggest show nowadays, with the best organization, best event production, and they're now even coming with a new videogame. FCF: Yeah! Everybody is anxious for this game! Renzo: Sure! They even told me they're putting the best looking guy in the martial arts on the game! A certain guy called Renzo... [Laughs] FCF: [Laughs] I bought a videogame console just because of this game! Renzo: I'm anxious to give it to my kid! He plays this crap all day long! I told him that he is going to have to play with me! [Laughs] But the worst part is that he likes to play with Tito Ortiz on the UFC game! [Laughs] 
Renzo: Like I told you before, I had the chance to train a lot, because I trained for more than six months for this fight, because I trained for three PRIDE events that I ended up not fighting in... since PRIDE 18, when I was supposed to fight! So I trained for PRIDES 18, 19, 20 and now 21! To be honest with you, I'm feeling in the best shape of my life nowadays! I'm anxious for this fight to see how it's going to unfold! I have been training everything! From takedowns, to boxing, the ground game, so I'm very well prepared. When I tell you that I'm very well prepared, I mean in all aspects! Standing up, taking him down, fighting on the ground, from the top, inside the ring, outside the ring! [Laughs] Where the situation presents itself, I think we can make a good showing! FCF: Rodrigo Gracie recently made his debut at PRIDE, fighting very well against Daijiro Matsui. When will we se Rodrigo back in PRIDE? Renzo: He was confirmed to fight in this event now! He was going to face Kikuta, but at the last minute the Pancrase people didn't enter this PRIDE. He was then going to face Kanehara, but there was a little problem with Kanehara, and I don't know what it was. So, in the end he prepared till last week to fight, and his fight was cancelled. He is now getting a little taste of what I experienced in the past months, [Laughs] but he is in an excellent shape! In great condition, very strong, very lean! He is punching so hard that he is even knocking down a horse. [Laughs] FCF: You are now bringing another student of yours, Daniel, to the event. What can we expect from him? What can you tell us about his fighting style? Renzo: Daniel, to be honest, is still a bit raw. I didn't want him to debut in PRIDE now. I wanted him to prepare more and get more experience before taking a fight of this importance. But on the other hand, the guy he is going to face is also making his debut. It'll be a novice against a novice -- even though the guys have some very good credentials... and from what I have been told, he is a very strong guy. I think Daniel has a very good variation of strikes and positions and if he will be able to do his game and feel relaxed in the fight, he can shine and make a good showing without a doubt. Besides, he is a good- looking kid! He's supposed to be taking pictures instead of fighting and breaking other people's faces and having his face broken! [Laughs] But he weighs 102kg [224.9lbs], is a very strong kid, very lean, punches very hard, and has a very good variation of positions on the ground! So if he can impose his game there, he is going to surprise a lot of people! I believe if he keeps preparing himself hard, in about a year or so, he is going to be a star of the sport! FCF: What are Renzo Gracie's plans for the future as a fighter? Renzo: Man! I want to brawl again!! [Laughs] This is my religion and I want to pray man! [Laughs] I plan to fight for PRIDE, and if other opportunities appear, I'll be fighting as well! I like it! I think I'm one of the few in this business who can say from his heart that loves to do it! I like to brawl in that event! I don't get nervous and I sleep before the fights! Before the event you even have to wake me up because I'm sleeping! [Laughs] Nothing shakes me there! Half an hour before the fight I'll be speaking to you on the same way I'm speaking now. So I think you only get so relaxed when you have confidence in yourself, and [are conscious] of everything that can happen inside the ring. I don't think I need to prove anything anymore. I believe I've already proved what I'm capable of doing, the same way I already showed when I lost what I'm capable of doing. I didn't deny extending my hand to my opponent in defeat. I was a sportsman. I believe something that happens inside the ring is out of your control. But it only happens to the ones who are inside the ring! Those who are watching only comment! [Laughs] FCF: That's why I chose this profession! [Laughs] Renzo: It's easier! [Laughs] But it's the most important one in fact, because it's the profession that will generate future fighters! They'll read what you're writing and they'll understand it, so it'll help generate future characters, future fighters, and future right ways of thinking! FCF: Since you always want to test yourself, is there anyone you would like to face? Renzo: I think it's very bad when a fighter tells a name of someone he would like to fight. But man, I think it would be easier for you to ask me who is the fighter I wouldn't like to face! [Laughs] And I'll tell you: None! FCF: Excluding the family the family members! [Laughs] Renzo: Yeah! I don't see faces or hearts man! [Laughs] Without a doubt, there are various great fighters that I would like to test myself against. It's a question of letting faith decide who's going to be the next one, and let the event promoters feel enthusiastic to make it happen. FCF: Any final message for your fans? Renzo: Here we go again! [Laughs] I'm not alone, and if a win or a defeat comes, it isn't only mine! It's ours! As long as I'm alive and thinking, I'll be brawling, and when I get to a point where I won't be able to brawl anymore, I'll still be brawling through my students and my kids! This was the choice I made in life. FCF: Thanks a lot and good luck! Renzo: Man, thanks a lot! |
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