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The "Zen Machine" Is Ready for Yet Another Test! By Eduardo Alonso 
The "Zen Machine", Mario Sperry, doesn't need any introduction among the NHB fans all over the world. Three times BJJ world champion, Sperry stayed undefeated in BJJ competitions for 14 years, and more impressively without having a single point scored against him in competitions during all those years! His amazing success in BJJ was also repeated at Submission Grappling with memorable wins at Abu Dhabi, and as true champion Mario wasn't satisfied with that and wanted a new challenge to his career, testing his skills in NHB! To resume his NHB career Mario Sperry finally signed a contract with PRIDE, and despite what many would believe he started by fighting the very best the event has to offer, facing one of the most active and feared fighters in NHB history, Igor Vovchanchin. Not only the "Zen Machine" fought Vovchanchin but he also beat him! Now, after several months waiting for another chance to fight at PRIDE Sperry is finally coming back to the event, facing a young, up and coming fighter from the Chute Boxe team, Murilo Ninja, in what promises to be one of the more intriguing matches so far in 2002. FCF already got Ninja's words on this classic Brazilian Top Team vs. Chute Boxe encounter, and now, just before his trip to Japan for the fight, Mario Sperry himself shared his views about this fight and showed why he's considered a true class act, as FCF delivers the heath for PRIDE 20! FCF: After your win at PRIDE 17 against Igor Vovchanchin, you're finally coming back to the event. How was it to deal with the expectation to fight during several months and never getting a shot? MS: It was sort of some tough times for me because I was intending to fight a good while ago, and the fights wouldn't happen. I tried several times to contact the event's people, but we couldn't get an agreement. But the good thing about it is that I kept on training, I didn't stop! I continued to train and looked to improve my technique, in fact not only mine but my student's techniques as well. And in the end, thank God, everything went right. FCF: PRIDE only announced your opponent with little more than two weeks before you're the fight. So, how was your preparation for this fight? Did you get the chance to do any specific preparation for Ninja? MS: This time it was even a bit more tranquil than in my previous PRIDE fight, because last time I found out that I was going to fight Igor Vovchanchin only five days before going to Japan! So basically I try to make sure that I'll prepare in all aspects, like physically, and technically in the same way for every type of athlete. But in the end we start to draw a strategy, we look at our opponent's strongest points and stuff like that! So I don't think this was much of a problem because this time I consider that I even had a good amount of time to prepare for my opponent's game. FCF: You recently dropped some weight, joining PRIDE's middleweight division. How much will you be weighting for this fight? And are you already at your fight weight, or will you have to drop some extra pounds in Japan? MS: I will be weighting at the division's limit, around 93 or 94 kg. By the way I'm already weighting that much, so I won't have to drop weight there. FCF: Several opponents were cogitated to fight you at PRIDE 20. Did the choice of Ninja as your opponent surprise you in any way? MS: Look man, I never liked to fight against other Brazilian fighters, and in fact this will be the first time in my career that this will happen abroad. But I expect anything! To tell you the truth what really surprised me was to fight Igor Vovchanchin! (Laughs) Not disrespecting Ninja by any means! Not at all! But I'm prepared to anything, and I'm not in position to pick fights or fighters, I'm here to fight. I'm a PRIDE employee, so I have to expect anything and accept anything. FCF: What do you think of Ninja as a fighter? What are the strongest and weakest points of his game in your opinion? MS: He has a very few weak points! He is an excellent all around athlete! He works very well in all aspects. He works very well on the ground, he knows some ground game! He also knows Muay Thai; he is very aggressive and has a great cardio. So he's a dangerous opponent for anyone! He will be a tough fight to anyone! He's a great athlete. FCF: Do you believe that this fight can increase even more the rivalry between the Brazilian Top Team and Chute Boxe? MS: Look man, people talk a lot about this rivalry but there's no such thing from our side. I don't know! People talk so much about it! This is something that doesn't exist at first for us. For me it's not different if the rivalry will increase or drop because of this fight because I don't have any animosities towards anyone! But I don't know if there's a rivalry on their [The Chute Boxe Team] opinion, and if it'll increase or drop. I can't talk for them FCF: Do you enter this fight with any special motivation because he is from Chute Boxe? MS: Not at all! I don't have any personal motivation because he is from Chute Boxe, the motivation I have is exactly because he's a great athlete! He is an athlete from a great team! And this motivates me! Because a win or even a lost to him in a great fight would be a great thing for my career! It would be a great test for my qualities as a fighter! So I get very proud and very happy to get to fight against a great athlete! But I don't have anything personal against him or against anyone for that matter! Much less against any Brazilians! FCF: So you get motivated every time you have to face a top-level fighter... MS: Very motivated! It's something that makes me very happy! To be pressured and forced to train a lot and overcome my limits! FCF: I know this is a tough question, because anything can happen in a fight, but how do you believe this fight will unfold? What are you expecting from this fight? MS: Man, I expect a tough fight! A difficult fight! As you said, anything can happen, it's unpredictable. Ninja is a great athlete and I also have my qualities, so I think whomever makes fewer mistakes will win the fight. It's unpredictable; it can end standing up as well as it can end on the ground. Ninja is a guy that loves to fight all aspects of the game. FCF: With Ricardo Arona and Rogerio Nogueira fighting in the same card, who is going to be in your corner for this fight? MS: We're going in a bunch of guys. Minotauro is going along with his brother Rogerio, I'm going too of course, and Arona is going to fight too. Then Luis Alves is also going there to help us, Bebeo Duarte, Gaviao, Alex Paes and Marcel Ferreira. FCF: So Murilo Bustamante won't be going this time? MS: No, Murilo isn't going because he is fighting on the 10th of May, so he's already preparing hard. But we're going with some good guys! And it will even be good because we're [The BTT members, although Arona is not exactly on the team] going to fight one after the other! We'll fight on the third, fourth and fifth fight of the card. FCF: Do you think it's a good thing that you're all fighting one after the other? MS: I even think it's better because we can all go and warm up together at the same time! Since we're fighting on sequence. Rogerio will fight first, then Arona, and then myself! So we'll sort of warm up at the same time. FCF: Your friend Ricardo Arona will be facing Dan Henderson, who was considered as a possible opponent for you! How do you believe this fight between Arona and Henderson will unfold? MS: Look man, it's always that old story. Dan Henderson is an international level athlete, very good at Wrestling and Greco, knows some ground game and hits very hard! He's also very courageous and has great cardio. So it's going to be a very tough fight! I believe Arona has an advantage because he's stronger and more explosive. I believe the fight will be decided on the first ten minutes. I think so, and I'm not trying to disrespect anyone! But I believe Arona will decide the fight on the first ten minutes because he's an athlete with a lot of potential. FCF: Inclusively he was sick in his fight against Mezger... MS: He was totally out of shape and sick in that fight. We didn't train together for that fight! Nowadays we're training together from time to time, and I have been following what he has been doing, and he's well prepared this time. FCF: Since you even thought you could face Henderson at PRIDE 20, did you help Arona to study Dan's game? MS: Of course! We talked a lot about it! I talk to Arona almost every day! We're always in touch with each other, and we're meeting around three to four times per week to comment and talk about the fight. And we're going to prepare together in Japan too! FCF: What are Mario Sperry's plans for after this PRIDE? How many fights do you still have left in your contract? MS: I have one more fight in my contract, after the Ninja fight. I expect to be able to win all of my fights and then sign a new contract with PRIDE, which is the biggest MMA organization in the world in my opinion. FCF: Do you expect to be fighting for the title only in your next contract? MS: I believe it's more probable that it'll happen in my next contract. I'll fight my second fight for PRIDE, and there are other athletes with more fights on the even than myself, so if we're going to look at it objectively there are people deserving it more than me right now. FCF: You have been also achieving a lot of success as a manager, what about Sperry's plans as a manager? MS: After the event, if everything ends up right and nothing seriously happens with me, I'll stay in Japan for four or five days more. And all the days are already scheduled with meetings and appointments with people from different organizations. I'm even in touch with some Pro-Wrestling people to find something for our athletes. I'll have meetings with the Pancrase director, the Deep director, the Shooto director, and stuff like that! And I'm not going to mention any names now, but we'll have like four names at the new UFO show that's coming up. FCF: By the way, Rogerio Nogueira is finally making his PRIDE debut! He is still sort of a young fighter, what can we expect from him? MS: The good thing that I noticed about our team is that we're going NHB everyday. We train a lot and we pursuit our dreams all the time. Things aren't different with Rogerio. He was always worried "Man, when I'm going to fight? Am I'm going to fight soon?" and I always told him "Rogerio, keep something in your head! Train! Train and be ready, because sooner or later a fight will appear!" So he has been training hard for more than seven months waiting for an opportunity to fight! So now this opportunity appeared and he is more than ready! He dropped college and has been working very hard, so I believe he has great chances to become a champion! FCF: Any final message to your fans? MS: I want to thank them for the support that I have been receiving. I want to thank everybody that believes me and follows my work, and I hope they'll keep supporting be because they can be sure that I'll be training hard to not let them down. FCF: Thanks a lot for your time, and good luck! |
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