Fighters Only

Issue 150

January 2017

The Brazilian submission king talks about the power of patience ahead of his long-awaited 170lb title shot.

You’re training twice a day yet right now you don’t have a fight booked, why?

I like to stay in shape. I’m always training. It goes back to my jiu-jitsu roots. You are always training, not just when you’re in a camp. I know other fighters only train properly when they have a fight to prepare for, but I don’t do that.

Of course, it’s not hard training, it’s not focused on a fight. It’s just about learning and keeping on learning. Plus, if I do need to take a fight a late notice, I’m ready.

Were you disappointed Stephen Thompson got a shot at the title before you?

Of course, I was disappointed. But you cannot defeat the monster. You can’t beat the person who is choosing the title fights – that is out of my control.

All I can do is my best, keep on winning and stay in shape. Refine my technique and wait for the opportunity when it does come. I was sad. But I can’t just keep complaining about it. I have to make sure that when my chance does come that I am ready. And I know it is coming soon.

I can’t focus all my energy on not getting the fight. I think the fans want to see me fight for the title, so it should come soon.

Are Brazilian fighters getting a fair opportunity in the UFC?

I don’t believe it’s got anything to do with the country or the nation. I don’t believe we are being punished because we are Brazilian, because we sell less or don’t translate well. I don’t believe in these things.

But it’s hard to say why myself and ‘Jacare’ and José Aldo aren’t getting the fights we deserve.

Maybe some people are thinking we don’t sell well in the American market. But the Brazilian market is very big also and you have to create heroes and idols there to grow, also.

Perhaps sometimes there are misconceptions about the true value of some fighters. Some Americans often think the world is just the US, sometimes decisions are made with this mindset.

Is there too much emphasis on selling a fight rather than rewarding the most deserving fighters?

I know the fans want to see me fight for the title. Fans in Brazil, in America, Canada, Europe – I know this is true. So why go against the fans?

It’s all about how much you invest in the fighter. Conor (McGregor) is a great character and a great fighter. But the UFC have really had to invest in him to build him also. Both together is what makes him so big. And you need more than just one big character.

If the support was there (for) more fighters then you would attract a bigger market, also. If you invest in more fighters, then everybody can sell. But if you invest in just Conor then you only get people who either like him or don’t like him and want to see him lose. But you are not attracting the people who have no connection with him.

If you invest in other personalities then you attract a broader spectrum of fans and the sport gets even bigger.

Have you mastered the art of patience inside and outside the Octagon?

Yes. Not necessarily in regards to having to wait for a shot at the title, but during the fight especially.

Sometimes I was too anxious or excited in fights. One time where I made a lot of mistakes was in the Rory MacDonald fight. I won the first round well, but was too anxious in the second round trying to make sure I won the fight there and then.

I was just going after him – shoot, shoot, shoot. I made so many mistakes chasing that victory and ended up losing.

But the more experienced I’ve gotten the more patience I’ve learned – both in the Octagon and in life.

The loss to Rory was a turning point. What changed after that?

Learning not to rush in and try to finish any fight too soon is what I took away from that loss. Not having too big a will to win. When you want something too much, it makes it harder to get.

When you relax a little bit and just do your job then things get a little bit more arranged. So I learned that you’ve got to do your best, but even when you win the first round you can’t think about the end of the fight.

You can’t think about the future. You’ve just got to stay relaxed and keep calm to do your job well. Staying patient is the key.

That’s very much a jiu-jitsu mindset. Why have you gone back to your greatest strength?

For a while there I became obsessed with boxing, and that was good because I needed to improve my standup.

But my jiu-jitsu training suffered because of it, and it was showing in the fights. But this new mentality is really down to where I was after Rory.

At that time I didn’t think I would get a title shot anymore in my life. I was in the hospital and started to look at the things in my life differently. I sat and realized that fighting for the UFC title was not the number-one thing in my life anyway.

I have many other things which mean more to me. That mindset means that I have approached my fighting much differently. Those changes have helped me to relax.

There is no more pressure on me from me. It all happened at once, the loss to Rory, the pressure on my health, the jiu-jitsu. It all made more sense.

So you’re fighting because you love it again and not just to achieve a goal?

Maybe that’s correct. I love to train. I love to fight. It’s a big pleasure for me to travel and be with my friends who train hard. To grapple with them and then go to Brazil and do a camp here and go there, it’s amazing life.

In fighting, they say the journey is more important than the destination and it’s hard to appreciate that when you are fighting. But I’ve realized that and it’s made my life easier. I think my mentality is quite obsessive so I do things 100% always.

So this was a tough lesson for me to learn. But I think I’ve now found the balance.

It’s not clear yet when you will fight. Can you afford to stay inactive for so long?

Waiting is a tricky thing. If you fight and you lose, guess what, no more title shot. And in MMA anything can happen. These 4oz gloves are very dangerous and it only takes one hand to destroy something that has taken years of sweat and blood to build, so I can wait. I don’t think it’s too long.

If it’s March then it’s only seven months and I’ve been working my whole career to get to this point. So waiting is not a problem.

What do you think of GSP coming back and do you think he might hamper your chances of a title shot?

I don’t worry about this unless Georges wants to fight me for the title after I win it. But I don’t think GSP is coming back to win the welterweight title again. I think he’s coming back to fight Conor.

I don’t know whether he’ll get that fight, but I’m pretty sure he’s only coming back for the biggest fights, the big money and everything. GSP already conquered the division and will forever be the best of all time. He’s not coming back for this title.

So GSP is coming back for the money?

He already has a lot of money. I don’t know why he would want more. It’s hard for me to figure it out because I don’t have this mentality of more, more, more.

I don’t know how he thinks, but if they offer him a lot of money to fight a guy like Conor then maybe that’s what he wants. A fight like that isn’t just about the money from the fight, but in terms of sponsors it’s huge because it’s a fight the world will want to see. The promotion would be huge.

Were you surprised when Rory left the UFC for Bellator?

I wasn’t surprised because I saw in some interviews he wasn’t happy. But he’s a great fighter, definitely one of the best. I thought he was going to win the belt, and he was very unlucky in the fight against Robbie Lawler. But he let his emotions take over.

He was winning but he let the moment get to him and tried to beat Robbie at his own fight. He allowed it to become a brawl and then he got the shot to the nose. He’s a big loss to the UFC as he’s a great fighter, but for me, as a competitive athlete, it’s good because it’s one less tough guy to fight.

Welterweight is a very tough division, so at least one of the best guys is not there now.

Do you think we’ll see more fighters switch promotions?

Of course, it’s happening more and more regularly now. But at some point also the sport will stop growing. If it goes too much to the entertainment side then the sport will a certain lifespan and it will die at some point.

If it keeps moving in the direction of a sport then it has a huge future, but it’s a careful time.

Do you think MMA will ever be in the Olympic Games?

We missed a huge opportunity in Brazil for jiu-jitsu to be a part of the Games as an exhibition event. Instead we had golf, even though nobody in Brazil plays golf. The only thing Brazilians know about golf is Tiger Woods.

In regards to MMA, why not? But it will take years. People need to understand the sport is not just violence. It has some work to go yet educating most people.