The Brazilian Beat
BTT busy and flying, "Mendigo" clear to enter Japan, Ninja and Silva training hard, Jacare dominating in BJJ, "Big Dog" retires and more news from Brazilian events!

The Brazilian Beat:
      As cold continues to make its presence known during the Brazilian winter, in the coldest July the country has seen in years, the MMA scene manages to stay hot and present all sorts of action for the avid fight fans. Pride Bushido 4 next weekend continues to be the current favorite dish on everybody's menu, with the Brazilian Top Team army ready to conquer Japan. However, other happenings made sure there is a bit of everything for every taste, as a new "wave" of MMA shows are just around the corner in Brazil, and plans for international events in later months are already in the works. From established promotions, such as Heat, to new ones, such as Brazilian Challenger and Real Fight, and even international ones like the AFC, Brazil will have numerous shows in the coming months, and FCF has news from them all, plus training news from the top camps and tidbits from the international shows. So, enjoy summer in America and Europe, as this reporter freezes while FCF lights the fire and brings the beat straight from the uncharacteristically cold Brazil!
  • Meca 11 sensation Tony de Souza was finally granted his Japanese visa. "Mendigo," [beggar] as he was nicknamed by the Brazilian fans, is still in his beloved country of Peru and told FCF that his visa was granted by the Japanese consulate; therefore he is clear to fight in Pride! De Souza, who will stay in Peru where he is training his students until the end of the month, will be competing in Japan in September's Pride Bushido show, a likely opponent is Takanori Gomi. At the end of July the UFC veteran will return to Brazil to resume training with the Nova Uniao team in Rio de Janeiro.

  • The Brazilian Top Team squad is already on their way to Japan for their battle with Japanese fighters at Pride Bushido 4 this weekend. With some of the group departing for the land of the rising sun on Monday, the rest of the crew left Brazil this Wednesday, led by the "Zen Machine" Mario Sperry. According to Sperry all the team prepared very hard and all fighters are in top shape for the show. Mario himself expects to be fighting again around September or October, as his priority has been to help the preparation of all BTT fighters, including Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira in his task of becoming the Pride Heavyweight GP 2004 champion.

  • The newest MMA show in the Brazilian Northeast is almost set to go. Brazilian Challenger will be taking place in the city of Natal, also home of Heat FC, this next July 29th, and the news are that the show will be fought inside an octagon! Inside the cage eight young fighters will battle in a tournament, where to be the champion they'll have to win three fights in one night, like in the old UFC days. Besides Heat FC veteran Sergio Junior, and Bitetti Combat veterans Rivanio Aranha and Loquinha, the show will now also count with Deep veteran Gleison Tibau, who was a win over BJJ great Fernando Terere in his record. The official brackets will be released soon, and FCF will keep you posted.

  • Speaking of the gorgeous city of Natal, rumors have that Heat FC may be returning with his third edition in late September, also in the city of Natal. Heat's third edition was postponed due to problems with sponsors, and no final date has been set yet. Now, the rumor floating around is that the next edition may take place in September, possibly in a tournament format. FCF will keep you posted.

  • Training has been as tough as ever in the Chute Boxe headquarters. With Wanderlei Silva's match against Yuki Kondo getting closer and closer, the "Axe Murderer" has been dedicating himself to his training sessions with the same intensity he showed when he was starting up. Wanderlei has been sparring hard with his teammate Murilo Ninja Rua, among others. Ninja, who has been improving his shape, and his brother Mauricio Shogun may be fighting again in September, but nothing is sure right now.

  • Master Carlson Gracie event, Real Fight, has been seeing many changes on its card, scheduled for July 30th, in the city of Rio de Janeiro. As of now fighters such as Roan Carneiro and Fabio Mello are out of the card, due to Mello's fight in Pride Bushido and Roan likely due to his participation in AFC Brazil. Also, the main event between UFC veteran Alexandre "Cafe" Dantas and Rodrigo Riscado is also not going to happen, making the card so far a bit of a disappointment. One interesting thing though, is that Meca veteran Marcelo Dourado, who became famous in Brazil due to his participation in the last Big Brother TV show, is now taking part on the event facing Luiz Fernando Pimpolho, from Nova Uniao. Other standouts in the show are K-1 veteran Eduardo Maiorino, and Meca veterans Claudionor Fontinelli, Ivan "Batman", and Alessio Sakara.

  • Coming up in August 28th, at the city of Nova Friburgo, located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, AFC is going to hold his first ever show in Brazil. AFC Brazil is drawing attention of everybody in the MMA scene in this country, with a very solid card featuring names such as Eric Tavares, Marcel Ferreira, Milton Vieira, Jeff Monson, Aaron Riley, Leornardo Santos, Roan Carneiro and Rodrigo Ruas. Ruas and Carneiro are scheduled to fight each other, in a fight that promises to be the best of the night. Coming from his Black Belt Challenge GP win, Leonardo Santos will face Meca stand out Milton Vieira in a fight that has also all the tools to be great! FCF will have more on AFC Brazil later down the road.

  • Profight FC took place this past July 3rd in the city of Porto Alegre, counting with matches in submission wrestling, Muay Thai and MMA. Unfortunately for the promoters, the lowest point in the show was that the main event in Mixed Martial Arts ended up not taking place, as Carlos Aveline decided not to fight hours before the show, due to a problem regarding his purse agreement with the promoters, leaving Meca veteran Allesandro Custodio without an opponent. Here are the results of the other MMA fights:
    • Nelson Velasque def. Rodrigo by forfeit
    • Tiago Minu def. Alex Alves by rear choke
    • Eduardo Munra def. Leandro Costa by rear choke
  • This past weekend the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Cup, promoted by CBJJO, gathered the curiosity of all the "Smooth Art" lovers around the globe. The action was heated on the mats, and two things quickly drew everybody's attention: Ronaldo Jacare's amazing display of skills and Fernando Margarida Pontes comeback to Jiu-Jitsu competition, after being on the sidelines for long due to injury. Margarida returned in great fashion, showing good form and winning the heavyweight division, while Jacare was spectacular winning the light heavyweight division. As in a movie script, both guys ended facing each other in the finals of the absolute division, only to Ronaldo Jacare show his magic and crush Margarida in a solid 11-0 win, to become also the Absolute champion. Another stand out in the World Cup was Fernando Terere, who won the Middleweight division and kept showing everybody he is still in the top of the game. Now all the focus will be laid on the BJJ World Championship, promoted by CBJJ coming up later this year.

  • In a move that surprised many fighting fans around the world, "The Big Dog" Ricardo Almeida retired from fighting competitions, and this includes, of course, MMA competition. Ricardo's decision was made after a lot of thought, based on his desire of becoming a great Jiu-Jitsu master, helping other individuals and being able of learning more about his loved art of Jiu-Jitsu and its impacts on life. Coming from a solid win at Pride Bushido 3, Almeida still had a long career ahead of him in MMA and had the chance to compete in shows such as UFC, Pancrase and Pride, even resigning his Pancrase belt due to his retirement decision. Time will tell if the "Big Dog" won't ever step in a MMA ring again to compete, and FCF wishes him all the best in this new phase of his life!