The Brazilian Beat
Shogun, Silva and Arona Ready, Chute Boxe Receiving VIP guests, Minotauro Recovering from Surgery, Jungle 5 Postponed, Ninja to Stay in Pride, BJJ World Championship Review and More!

The Brazilian Beat:
      What awaits MMA fans around the world in less than two weeks, can be simply called amazing. The Pride Middleweight Grand Prix finals are coming up on August 28th, and although much more is going on in the mixed martial arts world, is tough to distract fans', fighters' and press' attention from such an important event, that will match up "enemies" Wanderlei Silva and Ricardo Arona, and maybe even provide the first-ever clash between two Chute Boxe stars. Needless to say, this scenario created plenty stirrings involving these two powerhouses, Chute Boxe and Brazilian Top Team, just adding more spice to the always busy Brazilian fight scene and its usual happenings. With that said, we won't keep you any longer from reading the news and imagining what will unfold when August 28th finally comes to pass! So let's go straight to the news, 'cause as showtime approaches, Full Contact Fighter allows space for the Beat to releases the sweet sounds, straight out of Brazil!
  • Although it already took place a good while ago, taking place over the very last days of July until the very beginning of August, the 2005 edition of the traditional BJJ World Championship, promoted by CBJJ, is still worth of mention here in this space, as it has been a while since this column last appeared. Through endless hours of Jiu Jitsu fights in Rio de Janeiro, many famous names of the "Smooth art" once again proved their value with the world championship as their prize in the end, like MMA veteran Fredson Paixao, Bibiano Fernandes, and mostly the current Jiu-Jitsu stand outs Ronaldo Jacare and Roger Gracie. However, maybe the most appealing fact of the tournament was controversy, as Roger Gracie and Ronaldo Jacare, both champions in their respective weight classes, battled in the final match of the absolute class, maybe the most important prize in today's Jiu-Jitsu. In a bout that was more conservative than open, Jacare ended up scoring a controversial takedown near the very end of the match, that gave him the win and cause much, believe me, much talk in Brazil during the past weeks. Here are the champions of 2005:
    • Roosterweight: Samuel Braga
    • Featherweight: Fredson Paixao
    • Super Featherweight: Bibiano Fernandes
    • Lightweight: Celso Vinicius
    • Middleweight: Andre Galvao
    • Light Heavyweight: Ronaldo Jacare
    • Heavyweight: Robert Drysdale
    • Super Heavyweight: Roger Gracie
    • Overweight: Francisco Fernandes
    • Absolute: Ronaldo Jacar

  • Chute Boxe fighter Murilo Ninja's UFC debut won't happen so soon, at least not in the October UFC show, as already stated by UFC's matchmaker Joe Silva, and confirmed by the fighter in Brazil. Although talks have supposedly went on about Ninja representing Pride in the UFC, as part of a co-operation between the two promotions, recent rumors have that negotiations have possibly fell trough about 15 days ago. It's tough to determine how far, or not, talks had gone, despite the fact that the fighter himself was eager and motivated to compete inside the Octagon. Rumors have that negotiations just didn't develop, possibly for financial reasons. Murilo will indeed likely be fighting in Pride's October show now.

  • In fact, Murilo Ninja decided to re-schedule his European seminar tour, that he had cancelled due to training for the early October UFC. The tour will start with a seminar in Gothenburg, Sweden, on September 3rd and 4th. Other cities in the tour includes Stockholm, also in Sweden, Copenhagen in Denmark, Cambridge, Milton Keynes, and Strood, in England, Belfast in Northern Ireland, as well as Milan in Italy, among others. Ninja is also expected to be a special guest at the September 10th Cage Rage show. FCF will keep you posted on the complete Chute Boxe stand out European seminar schedule.

  • Speaking of the Chute Boxe academy, things couldn't be hotter in the Curitiba based academy right now. With the intense training going on, as the only team that has two representatives on the Pride GP Finals, plus other athletes training for shows such as Cage Rage, one couldn't think those were enough ingredients to grant a busy training environment. However, guests just won't cease appearing at Chute Boxe right now, as after Pedro Rizzo and Beto Leitao, from Ruas Vale Tudo, another MMA fighter with striking background has showed up in the academy for some training. MMA star on rise Lyoto Machida is the latest fighter to arrive on Curitiba, and has began training with the team this past August 8th. At this point, it's not clear whether this is just training for a small period of time, or if a longer relationship can develop.

  • As far as guests go in the Chute Boxe camp, that's truly not all! As have been rumored around the internet for a while, what could seem impossible years ago seems to be coming true, as Japanese MMA superstar Kazushi Sakuraba may be on his way to a period of training under the academy that once represented his nemesis! Lots of different info has been said about the date as when Sakuraba would arrive in Curitiba, but right now the latest information has that he will be arriving in Curitiba this next Monday, August 22nd. In what could be unthinkable in the past, is about to happen as Sakuraba will share a mat with the likes of Wanderlei Silva, Mauricio Shogun, Nino Schembri and Murilo Ninja, as his plan is supposedly to stay for around 20 days, up to maybe two months training with Chute Boxe. FCF will keep you posted.

  • However, Monday August 22nd seems like a curious date for one to arrive at Chute Boxe, as on this day the team's top group, including competitors Wanderlei Silva and Mauricio Shogun, trainers Rudimar Fedrigo, Rafael Cordeiro and Cristiano Marcello, as well as Murilo Ninja Rua, will be flying to Japan for the Pride GP finals on August 28th. On top of that, it may be strange for DSE not to want an idol such as Sakuraba ringside for their main show of the year, so it wouldn't be a surprise if such trip ends up being postponed. Also traveling on August 22nd will be the Brazilian Top Team crew, with Mario Sperry, Milton Vieira, and Paulo Filho joining competitor Ricardo Arona on the trip. Difference is that as it seems, BTT crew will be going from Brazil to Japan trough Paris, while the Chute Boxe crew may go trough Los Angeles.

  • Speaking of the training for the Pride GP Finals, Chute Boxe prodigy Mauricio Shogun is in top shape an eager to perform. Recovered from a minor flu he suffered in recent days, Shogun is right now weighing 98 kg and training three times a day. Mauricio told FCF he is thinking only on the semi-final match against Alistair Overeem and nothing more, but in the event of a final against teammate Wanderlei Silva, both will fight for real. His teammate, The "Axe Murderer" Wanderlei Silva is also reported to be in good shape and focused on his bout against Arona, thinking one step at a time, and seeing a possible bout against his friend Shogun as something natural, as training in Chute Boxe is famous for being close to a real fight.

  • Getting back on the Brazilian Top Team subject, while heavyweight stars Emelianenko Fedor and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic will battle for the Pride belt next August 28th, top contender and former champion Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira is recovering from a recent elbow surgery. Minotauro suffered from a similar problem to what his brother, Rogerio Minotoro Nogueira, had in the past, and had to take surgery on both elbows. Already in a good recovery process, Nogueira is expected to resume training in about 10 days, and plans to fight at least one time before the end of the year, keeping a close eye on the result of the Cro Cop x Fedor clash.

  • During his recovery, Minotauro also took time to promote the second edition of his fighting show, Minotauro Fight 2, in the city of Salvador, located in the state of Bahia, Brazil, this past August 5th. The show was later broadcast trough pay per view for the whole country on August 13th, and had a mix of Boxing and MMA bouts, for a good crowd on hand. The highlight of the show was probably the debut of Pride veteran Anderson Silva on professional Boxing, scoring a TKO on the second round after punishing his opponent, Ulisses Lopes, with severe body shorts trough the fight. MMA-wise, the stand outs were heavyweight Edson Drago who walked trough Cabo Jai easily, proving he deserves better opponents, and IVC veteran Alexandre "Baixinho" Barros, who won a tactical battle against a worthy opponent in Peterson Mello, winning a judges' decision. Here are the results of the MMA bouts:
    • Yuri Fernandes defeated Osvaldo Hulk by KO in the 1st round
    • Diego Braga defeated Carlos Eduardo by KO in the 2nd round
    • Alexandre "Baixinho" Barros defeated Peterson Mello by judges' decision
    • Wanderson defeated Luis Buda by guilliotine choke in the 2nd round
    • Danilo Indio defeated Ricardo Dinamite by TKO in the 1st round
    • Ediberto Crocota defeated Eder Jones by judges' decision
    • Johnny Prachey defeated Genilson Tavares by TKO in the 1st round
    • Edson Drago defeated Cabo Jai by KO in the 1st round

  • Initially scheduled for September 9th, in the city of Las Vegas, USA, the 5th edition of Jungle Fight was forced to postpone their plans of their first show out of Brazil in the promotion's history. Promoter Wallid Ismail told the Brazilian MMA press that a conflict in the American pay per view company's schedule, with the Hotel Casino's schedule, where the show would take place, gave him and co-promoter Antonio Inoki no choice but to postpone the event. Ismail also emphasized that this is just a postponement and they still have plans for the Las Vegas edition of Jungle Fight, with another Brazilian edition of the show also being a possible plan. FCF will keep an eye open for developments.