The Brazilian Beat
Pride GP Finals, Ninja to the UFC?, Belfort and Assuerio team up, Rizzo looking to rebound, Barreto sidelined, Storm results, Meca 12 and more!

The Brazilian Beat:
      MMA history continues to be written, and the last phase of the Pride Middleweight GP certainly wrote one of its most exciting chapters as Mauricio Shogun and Rogerio Minotoro battled it out in what will surely be talked for years to come as a great bout. With this kind of enthusiasm, that only a great fight like that can bring, we decided that it was more than time to bring another Brazilian Beat and we await for the Pride GP finals in the best way we can, delivering news and reports to you all! With that in mind, and not forgetting other major happenings such as the UFC, Meca, Storm and others, we better jump straight to the news as this edition of the Beat is full of news and info! So, enjoy your reading as Full Contact Fighter sends the news all the way from Brazil, as the Beat keeps going in July!
  • Heavyweight Brazilian Top Team fighter, Pride and UFC veteran Carlos Barreto will be sidelined for quite a period of time after the injury he suffered at the last Jungle Fight, in the early moments of his bout against Vladimir Matyushenko. After waiting a period of rest, so the doctors would be able to determine a bit better the extent of the injury, Carlos found out that he had really breached his left knee ligaments, and would need surgery as soon as possible. Barreto's surgery will likely take place next week, at a date to be set, and only during surgery the doctors will be able to find the exact extent of the damage. Depending on that the recovery process can take from 6 months or longer, but the BTT fighter is motivated and focused to overtake yet this one more obstacle and his career and get back to the MMA scene as soon as possible. FCF wishes him a speedy recovery and will keep you posted.

  • Chute Boxe stand out Murilo Ninja is training hard with a new venture in his sight! Although nothing is official yet, it looks very likely that Ninja is going to be making his UFC debut in October, as a part of a cooperative agreement between Pride and the UFC. After some UFC fighters, such as Chuck Liddell, Vitor Belfort and Phil Baroni have performed in the Japanese promotion, it seems Pride will also send some guys over to compete inside the Octagon, and Murilo could very likely be one of them. As mentioned before, this isn't official and sure yet, however the Brazilian is very excited and declined a trip to the next Pride Bushido as a cornerman to keep training hard in a new physical preparation program for the bout.

  • Speaking of Ninja, before a possible UFC bout becomes reality, the Chute Boxe light heavyweight will be doing his fourth ever European seminar tour, in late August and early September. Because of training, of course, the trip will be smaller than usual, and among the likely destinations of the Pride veteran are Sweden, Germany, Italy, Northern Ireland and England. FCF will keep you posted as always.

  • On the other hand, Ninja's brother Mauricio Shogun is taking his well deserved rest, after winning a epic battle against Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira. However, this small vacation won't be long, as in one week and a half Shogun will be back in training full time, preparing for the Pride GP finals. In the meantime, Mauricio is reported to be going to Los Angeles, to join his teammate Nino "Elvis" Schembri at the NOGI Submission Grappling tournament, where Nino will face Ricco Rodriguez.

  • Still talking about Shogun, it looks very likely, and I mean it, that Shogun will be facing BTT representative Ricardo Arona in yet on more chapter of the Brazilian Top Team against Chute Boxe rivalry, at the Pride GP semi-final match up. The bout that has what it takes to be another epic battle, leaves of course the other semi-final as Wanderlei Silva against Alistair Overeem. As always with Pride, nothing is still official and it can still change at any minute, but those bouts are very likely to take place, and as a matter of fact "The Axe Murderer" already challenged Overeem while in Japan. Time will tell and FCF will keep aware.

  • Speaking of Chute Boxe, the already intense training that goes down in the famous academy from Curitiba may get even better for a while, as talks are going on for Heavyweight striker Pedro Rizzo to spend a couple of weeks, or a bit more, training there with the likes of Wanderlei Silva, Mauricio Shogun and Murilo Ninja. Word has it that Chute Boxe and the Ruas Vale Tudo team have been talking about cooperating with each other in training, and that could be the first step into this trend. Rizzo told the Brazilian press and friends, that he may ask his long time friend Peter Aerts to join him in that training period!

  • Brazilian Top Team founder and Jiu-Jitsu legend Mario Sperry will be following the next Pride bushido from a different perspective this time. After years of constant trips to Japan, helping out his teammates, the "Zen Machine" decided to stay in Brazil this time to rest and spend some more time with his baby daughter and wife. However, Sperry will join Ricardo Arona in the Pride GP finals in Japan, and told FCF that he will likely fight one more time in Pride this year.

  • While rumors unfold about a possible fight in the August Pride card, and his UFC situation doesn't seem totally clear, Vitor Belfort keeps training in the city of Belo Horizonte, the third biggest in Brazil behind Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, with grapplers such as three times BJJ world champ Eric Wanderlei. However, Vitor's training partners aren't just grapplers, as "The Phenom" got joined by former Chute Boxe fighter Assuerio Silva in Belo Horizonte, in a combination that can certainly help both sides. Assuerio decided to train with Vitor as he felt the former BTT fighter had enough octagon experience to help him out with his UFC debut, while Belfort was in need of a good sparring, mostly for striking. The future will unfold the result of this partnership, and FCF will keep one eye open!

  • After years marked as a premier Muay Thai event in Brazil, Storm Samurai is already more than recognized as a top MMA show in the country, putting some interesting editions in the last months. However, this past July 2nd, Storm Samurai had undoubtedly its biggest edition so far, counting with 10 MMA fights, including a female bout, showcasing not only some Chute Boxe promising prospects, as well as some famous international fighters as well! Some surprises set the tone as Pancrase veteran Gustavo Ximu ended up surprised by Jiu-Jitsu fighter Thales Leite, and Heat FC veteran Vinicius Draculino suffered a KO defeat to BTT own Pride veteran Fabio Mello. All in all the show was reported to be very good, and it went to history as the first major Brazilian MMA promotion to hold a show at the county capital of Brasilia. Here are the results:
    • Vanessa Porto def. Juliana Aguiar by katagatame choke in R1
    • Udi Lima def. Luciano Boinha by judges' decision
    • Edson Sururu def. Maicon Costa by judges' decision
    • Eric Wanderley def. Rodrigo Riscado by armbar in R1
    • Mauricio Veio def. Avanor Filho by KO in R2
    • Fabio Mello def. Vinicius Draculino by KO in R2
    • Andre Dida vs. Claudio Marcos - draw
    • Thales Leite def. Gustavo Ximu by katagatame choke in R2
    • Paulo Thiago def. Ricardo Petrucio by triangle choke in R3
    • Dimitri Wanderlei def. Claudio Godoy by judges' decision

  • The month of July seems quite good for Brazilian MMA fans, as after this history making edition of Storm Samurai, Meca Vale Tudo is coming up in its 12th edition, doing its third venture at the city of Terespolis, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, this coming July 9th! The show will, as always in its latest editions, have live coverage of Premiere Combate in Brazil, and although it won't have the same prestigious names as in Meca 11 in its fighting card, it will give fans the total of 14 MMA fights in the show, the largest number ever done by the traditional promotion ever since they begun their business. The most interesting bout, at least on paper, will be Chute Boxe fighter Evangelista Cyborg, facing Jungle Fight winner Kassim Annan, from France, in what can very well be a stand up war. Here is the full card:
    • Carlo Prates (USA) vs. Claudionor Fontinelle (Champions Factory)
    • Jair Sorriso (Gracie Pitbull) vs. Eric Tavares (Ruas Vale Tudo)
    • Valdir Kabeca (Union RS) vs. Claudio Popeye (Chute Boxe)
    • Fabrício Morango (Gracie Humaita) vs. Gleidson Tibau (Kimura Nova Uniao)
    • Michelle Verginelli (Italy) vs. Rafael Capoeira (Gracia Barra)
    • Luiz Beicao (GBCT) vs. Marcelo Nigue (Gracie Tijuca)
    • Danilo Motoserra (GBCT) vs. Rodrigo Durock (Gracie Barra)
    • Delson Pe de Chumbo (Gracie Pitbull) vs. Boris Jonstomp (France)
    • Evangelista Cyborg (Chute Boxe) vs. Kassin Annan (France)
    • Fabricio Monteiro (Never Shake) vs. Flavio Moura (GBCT)
    • Rafael Tatu (Gracie Pitbull) vs. Fabio Silva (Chute Boxe)
    • Edson Draggo (Profight) vs. Eduardo Maiorino (Champions Factory)
    • Jose Aldo (Nova Uniao) vs. Anderson Silverio (PEJOR)
    • Suyan Queiroz (BTT) vs. Reginaldo da Hora (Nobre Arte)

  • Talks are still ongoing about the fourth edition of Heat FC taking place in the month of August, in a partnership with a new sponsor. Although some rumors flew that the show could take place in Rio de Janeiro, it seems more likely that it will, indeed, happen in the city of Natal once again, as in the previous three editions, and news may be released next week about the show's plans. There are also rumors that the show may return to using a ring, after using an octagon-shaped cage in the last edition. Stay tuned, we will keep you posted.