Issue 105

September 2013

The big boys from Brazil have current champion Velasquez in their sights, and both JDS and Werdum are being driven by the quest for UFC gold

The herd has thinned, the unworthy have retreated and the UFC heavyweight division’s two leading title contenders have emerged. Junior Dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum are the last men standing.

The nation of Brazil’s two best hopes to recapture heavyweight gold speak exclusively to Fighters Only this issue. About how badly they want to have UFC gold wrapped around their waist, why wearing the crown consumes their every thought, and what they’d have planned for one another should they ever have to square off for the right to the title.

Dos Santos will meet reigning champ Cain Velasquez for the third time later this year. Already highly anticipated, it will decide who takes the dramatic best-of-three series. 

Having first stripped the belt from Velasquez with a 64-second KO, then surrendering it back a little over 12 months later after a 25-minute beating, a spectacular spinning knockout of Mark Hunt has thrust JDS to the head of the contender queue once again, and Junior tells FO he’s more confident than ever abut again conquering the king.

Meanwhile, dominant victories over dangerous Roy Nelson, resilient Mike Russow and the legend ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira have moved Werdum from fringe contendership to the top table. Should Velasquez win out against ‘Cigano’ he’ll surely have Werdum to deal with next. 

A heralded Brazilian black belt, he’s the only man to submit the long-feared Fedor Emelianenko and Rodrigo Nogueira, ‘Vai Cavalo’ has never looked more devastating. Is this his greatest, and perhaps only, chance to bring home the belt?

One title, two hungry Brazilian challengers. Dos Santos and Werdum talk to Fighters Only.

MUCH MORE TO COME

With the trilogy fight between Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos just around the corner, the Brazilian insists it’s still just the beginning, of his talent and achievements, and a career of confrontations between both men

Junior Dos Santos takes that huge right arm of his and points to the floor in the center of the Octagon. ‘It’s time,’ he reckons, to show the world that losing the world crown against Cain Velasquez was just a bad night. A blot on the landscape he intends to decorate with his heavy hands, feet and presence.

 Fight number three with Velasquez, he told Fighters Only, could just be the next in a sequence between them. In boxing, Jake LaMotta, ‘The Raging Bull,’ fought Sugar Ray Robinson six times. It led to LaMotta’s great line: “It was a wonder I didn’t get diabetes.”  

 Dos Santos and Velasquez, remarkably, are still both developing fast, so the styles and the fights themselves may have a diversifying plot. “First of all, any trilogy at its core starts with an awesome matchup,” JDS explains from his home in Salvador, Bahia. “Then it just gets better with each fight because the story builds, the rivalry builds, the fans get worked up and the excitement grows.

 “For the fighters, it’s interesting because we get a better sense of each other with each fight – we start learning the other’s weaknesses, trying to adjust our own strategy, build on what we know, so it’s challenging.

 “The psychology changes with each fight too, and it’s another element we have to adjust to which just makes it all the more interesting, for us fighters and for the fans.

“I think Velasquez vs. Dos Santos III is going to be awesome, but as much as I’m looking forward to it, I have to be honest with you, I don’t think Cain and I will be a trilogy… I see us fighting more times than that regardless of who wins this third fight.”

Given their first meeting, when JDS took the title with a devastating first-round knockout, it was all the more surprising that he was far from his best in the second installment.

“I don’t have an explanation for it. I think there are lots of reasons the fight went the way it did, starting first and foremost with the fact that Cain had an amazing performance and excellent strategy.

 “I had a few issues… I think I over trained, I had other stuff going on, but I’ve talked about that too much already. At the end of the day, I don’t want to explain why or much less try to excuse my bad performance; I just want to go back out there and win the belt again.”

 This time, he insists, things will change. “My attitude and approach to the fight will be different. I’m going to fight like myself, offensively, seeking a knockout.”

 Remarkably, there have not been three successful title defenses of the UFC heavyweight title in the last 15 years. The belt has changed hands so many times. 

 “It’s the most dangerous division,” JDS concedes. “It has the most power – everybody in the division has knockout power. One good punch gets you a knockout; one bad day can cost you your belt. The thing about heavyweights is, we finish fights, so that belt really can and does change hands often.”

 Dos Santos has no intention of changing too much in his training, his team and in his life. He just wants that UFC gold back around his waist when he faces Velasquez in Houston in October. 

With one victory apiece, and after a rough night in Las Vegas last December when he never really got started against the Mexican-American, JDS has gone back to his roots. To what got the powerful fighter to the throne.  

His much publicized jibe about Velasquez ‘hitting like a girl,’ he explains, was misreported.

“The whole comment was taken out of context,” he reveals. “I was a guest on a comedy radio show; the comedian-hosts were joking, among other things, about how ‘good’ my face looked after that fight.

 “I joked that Cain hits like a lady because even though I was really swollen, there wasn’t any blood or open cuts or ooze. Anybody who saw the beating I took in that fight has to realize this whole line of comments was totally joking around, and not intended to disrespect Cain, who I have nothing but respect for as a person and as a fighter.”

What JDS clearly displayed in his last contest, nonetheless, was control and power, and at its denouement, mesmerizing skill, to become the first heavyweight in history to knock out Mark Hunt in MMA. “I liked my last performance a lot. My goal going in was to maintain composure and keep control of the fight, keep it where I wanted it and fight offensively.

“In the last title fight, all I did was try to defend, defend… I didn’t attack. It had been really frustrating for me, so my goal against Mark Hunt was to dictate where and how the fight would happen; to be the offensive fighter and keep control.

 “I accepted a stand-up fight with a guy nobody stands up against. That was good because I fought my way, on my feet where I’m most comfortable, and also because it showed that I will stand up with anybody. It was just a nice way to get back to winning. Everybody was surprised with the kick I threw, but the truth is there’s a lot you guys haven’t seen from me yet. I train a lot of different techniques, I just don’t always get to use them in my fights. This time, I saw the opening for that kick and I capitalized on it.

 “Next fight, I might see an opening to use something else. You have to be prepared to use whatever techniques will win you a fight, not get so stuck on one game plan that you’re unprepared to adjust mid-fight if needed.”

Unlike many other Brazilians who have moved their camps to the US – such as Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida – Dos Santos is staying true to Salvador. “I don’t train in the US, I train in Brazil. I’ve been really busy down here thanks to a lot of great opportunities, so I keep all my training here.”

On the subject of ‘home,’ JDS has views on the political situation in Brazil, with police on the streets for the first time in 20 years, and many Brazilian people angered by the money pouring into the football World Cup and Olympics, yet in the favelas people are still going hungry.

“The situation now in Brazil is that hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of citizens are protesting in the streets,” he explains, putting his own sport aside as he tackles a deep, serious subject. 

“I am really proud of all of the peaceful protesters who are out on Brazil’s streets demanding a better quality of life in our country, and I support them 100%. I think it’s time things change, and the change has to come from the people.”

The people, indeed, have also thrown their lot behind MMA and the UFC in Brazil, with consistent, exponential growth over the last two years.

“Brazilians love sports generally, and have a real passion for contact sports. The country is the birthplace of MMA really; it was created at the hands of a Brazilian family, and I think we all take pride in that.

 “We also have a lot of very talented countrymen at the very top of the sport’s rankings, who we all love to cheer on. I think as a result of all this, MMA has become a source of tremendous pride for Brazilians, and that more than anything contributes to its popularity and growth.”

The viewing figures in Brazil for the UFC are astounding. Up to 30 million people watch the UFC. “And they’re staying up until 3am to watch it,” he adds. 

 “The whole country has MMA fever; it’s really something special. It brings me a feeling of joy and pride to be a part of it.”

The admiration from the public has not been lost on him, either. “I feel a lot of love from my fans, including when I’m out and about, and for sure it’s more intense in Brazil – my anonymity is definitely gone there.

 “Everybody wants to take a picture, or get an autograph. It’s really a joy for me, though. I truly appreciate everybody’s support. I have really been given a lot of extraordinary opportunities professionally and personally. I have nothing but gratitude for what I have in my life.” Now all Dos Santos needs is the UFC heavyweight belt back. 

JUNIOR ON FABRICIO

Fabricio Werdum is also on the rise again. JDS, of course, made a huge statement at UFC 90 in 2008 when he stopped his fellow Brazilian with a brutal uppercut in Illinois. Since then, both men have risen up differently shaped escalators. Dos Santos believes the pair are most likely destined to meet again, and would relish the opportunity. But he says it is not up to him. Surely, though, if Werdum continues to win, and JDS overcomes Cain Velasquez when they meet in their trilogy fight, the prospect of them colliding is very high. “I don’t choose my opponents. If the UFC makes that fight, that fight will happen. I think if Werdum continues on his winning streak, we’ll wind up fighting again.”

JUNIOR was the first Brazilian to win the UFC heavyweight title. Big Nog held the interim belt in 08

THE LEGEND KILLER

Once sent packing by the UFC after getting knocked out by then-unknown debutant Junior Dos Santos, submission master Fabricio Werdum is finally reaching his full potential – and has the UFC belt firmly in his sights

After 11 years and 23 fights it finally feels like Fabricio Werdum is hitting his prime. Up until recently his mixed martial arts career had been something of a rollercoaster. With lows deep enough to question one’s profession, and highs so dizzy they include the unlikely scalps of potential Hall of Fame legends. 

Now in his second – and perhaps most significantly, undefeated – run inside the UFC Octagon, Werdum has blossomed into one of the most destructive fighters in the heavyweight division. It’s all a world away from his first tenure with the promotion, which was ended after he was knocked out by a debutant in 2008.

The fact the first timer was countryman Junior Dos Santos, who would soon go on to become the UFC champion again, albeit temporarily, naturally wasn’t as significant then as it is today. Yet Werdum maintains the knockout and subsequent release from the UFC snapped him back to reality.

“I don’t blame anyone but myself in terms of being released from the UFC,” Werdum admits speaking exclusively to FO. “I think it was more of a blessing in disguise actually, as being released made me a better professional fighter. Back then I thought I was amazing and I underestimated a couple of fighters and ended up losing.”

The blessing in disguise he’s referring to led to his career-high submission victory over Fedor Emelianenko three fights into his deal with Strikeforce. He locked the legendary ‘Last Emperor’ in a triangle choke/armbar submission forcing him to tap out and ended his 10-year unbeaten reign as the world’s number-one heavyweight. 

Though Werdum has fought, and more often than not beaten, plenty of top-level opponents in his career, most recently bagging another legend’s scalp in Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, the Brazilian maintains his win over Emelianenko was the fight he will be most remembered for.

“After being released by the UFC I was able to fight Fedor, which was probably the most important moment of my career,” he says. “Without the release that fight would never have happened. Having that win on my record has made me a better fighter and I’m more professional than ever and completely focused on getting the title.”

Werdum became the first person ever to hold submission victories over two Pride heavyweight champions, in Emelianenko and Nogueira. And, even though he’s a humble man, when it’s brought up he can’t help but smile about the achievement.

“Facing and beating those legends is a big motivation for me, especially beating Fedor and ‘Minotauro’ by submission,” he says proudly. “It’s very important to have those victories, because in the future people will ask, ‘Who is Fabricio Werdum?’ and people will say, ‘Fabricio is the guy who submitted Fedor Emelianenko. Fabricio is the guy who submitted Minotauro.’ That’s very important to me.”

Although he’s gained the moniker of ‘The Legend Killer’ amongst some fans for those victories, he won’t be changing his nickname anytime soon. “No, no, no, I’ll keep ‘Vai Cavalo’ as Vai Cavalo can mean a lot of things,” he laughs.

Unbeaten in his UFC return, Werdum is back amongst the elite at the top of the heavyweight division. The 2013 version of the BJJ stand-out is a much more well rounded fighter than the Werdum of old. He admits overconfidence in his skills played a factor in his demise, but it was a lack of happiness in his personal life that affected him the most.

He explains: “A normal person works five days a week and a guy will usually have his family at home – that’s what I was missing. My family was back in Brazil while I was in LA with Master Rafael Cordeiro. Coming to the US was very important to me because I wanted to follow Master Rafael, and having my family here now changes everything for the better.

“I can now train and go back home and have my wife, Karine, and my daughter, Julia, there. It just gives me piece of mind. I can be happy training with the best coach and happy at home with my family.”

With his personal life in order, Werdum now has his sights firmly set on the UFC title. And after sitting out for just over a year to coach on TUF: Brazil, plus his new position as play-by-play commentator for the UFC on Fox Deportes, he’s had plenty of opportunities to scout out both Dos Santos and current heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez.

“It was definitely tough to be outside of the loop for so long, but at the same time I believe that I will have my moment, and when it comes I’ll be ready. It’s tough to say who I’ve been impressed with the most, neither of them are trying to go five rounds, they want to knock out their opponent. I would love to have a rematch with ‘Cigano’ just because he’s beaten me before, but I think Velasquez probably has a better style to match my own.

“Velasquez won’t want to take me down, it won’t be an option for him, so we’ll have to stand and trade. I would like to fight both of them, all I want is the belt. If Dos Santos has it, then it will be a rematch. And if it’s Velasquez who has the belt, then it will be a great opportunity to show everyone how good I really am.”

With Dos Santos and Velasquez penciled in for their rubber match in October, Werdum, despite his lofty position in the rankings, isn’t keen on waiting another six months to fight. While others may be happy sit and wait for their shot at the belt, Werdum is desperate to stay busy and so he does have one other opponent in mind should a title shot be out of reach until the new year.

He adds: “I’m going to be ready to fight in October, just in case something happens, because injuries happen all the time. It’s not that I want anyone to get injured, but I’ll be ready just in case something comes up. I’ll be commentating on the Fox Deportes table so I can just change from my suit into my board shorts and fight (laughs).

“However, if that doesn’t happen then the only fight that makes any sense is Daniel Cormier. He’s second in the UFC rankings so he’s the only fight that probably makes sense. I believe it would be a good experience as Cormier has a game that’s kind of similar to Velasquez, they’re both strong wrestlers.

“I actually trained with Cormier a couple of years ago for quite a long time, so I pretty much know his game and I think it would be a good fight. However, if the UFC tells me to wait to fight for the title then I’m probably going to have to wait. But at least I’ll have more time to prepare myself and get ready.”

Even though he’s fully focused on his fighting career and is enjoying his new life in California, Werdum still keeps up to date on all the things going on in his home country, from the quick rise of MMA to the political turmoil making waves across news channels and websites.

“MMA has become this huge sport and more people are starting to understand what’s going on. In the beginning, people would look down on fighters and think we were bad guys, not athletes as people see us right now,” he says. 

“Nowadays I can barely walk through certain parts of Brazil. Everywhere I go I get attention from people, we’re like superstars. When I go back home now I get stopped and asked for autographs everywhere I go. It’s great. 

“As for the political situation, it had to happen and I’m happy that it’s happening right now. Brazil has a lot of issues that most of the time people just sweep under the rug. They just act as if we’re a happy country that has carnivals all the time. In other places in the world, governments may steal 10% from the public, but in Brazil they try to steal 100%. I’m glad it’s happening now and hopefully we’ll see changes and make a better Brazil.”

With everything going his way in his career Werdum continues to dream. And why not? They seem to keep coming true. And with a title shot already close and the fact that Brazil is the biggest MMA market in the world there’s one more dream left to come true.

He adds: “To fight in my hometown of Porto Alegre, especially in a more-than 60,000-capacity soccer stadium like Gremio Arena, would be the ultimate dream come true. I think it would beat all the public records and everyone would be there. That would definitely be my biggest dream come true.”

FABRICIO ON JUNIOR

“I was commentating for the UFC’s Spanish production team when ‘Cigano’ fought Mark Hunt and you could see that when he was on the ground he wasn’t in his comfort zone. It’s not where he wants to be and he doesn’t like to be there, it’s not his speciality. He definitely could be a black belt, but in MMA it’s clear that he’s not comfortable being there. It’s tough to say what level he is, but it’s clear that standing is his priority.”

WERDUM has notched six wins and one loss since being knocked out by Dos Santos in 2008