Chuck Liddell Training With Danillo Villefort at ATT

Sherdog reports: ...the one-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion was invited to help train Liddell in advance of his UFC 97 showdown with Mauricio "Shogun"…

By: Nate Wilcox | 14 years ago
Chuck Liddell Training With Danillo Villefort at ATT
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Sherdog reports:

…the one-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion was invited to help train Liddell in advance of his UFC 97 showdown with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua this Saturday at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

American Top Team founder Ricardo Liborio connected Villefort with Liddell.

“He’s a good friend of Chuck’s coach, John Hackleman,” Villefort said. “John needed someone to help him on the ground. Liborio invited me, and I accepted immediately. Chuck’s a legend in MMA.”

“One thing that really impressed me was the professional way he takes care of his diet,” he said. “Before coming here, I thought Gesias [Cavalcante] was the master in that aspect, but Chuck is the most impressive I’ve ever seen in my whole life. His diet is totally natural. He has a nutritionist who takes care of his diet for the whole week. When I told American Top Team people about it, they didn’t think I was serious. Because of Chuck’s natural belly, many people have the wrong idea about him, but this guy is a real example of how a professional should behave.”

Villefort signed with the WEC before the collapse of their middle and welterweight divisions. Apparently he’ll be fighting for the UFC but not clear at which weight. Villefort’s father is Master Francisco Pereira da Silva, also known as Master Indio, “a legendary fighter in Brazil with more than 280 vale-tudo fights.” Anyone with more info on Master Indio please post it in the comments. I know he had a judo background but also trained jiu jitsu.

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About the author
Nate Wilcox
Nate Wilcox

Nate Wilcox is the founding editor of BloodyElbow.com. As such he has hired every editor and writer to work for the site. Wilcox’s writing for BE is known for its emphasis on MMA history, the evolution of fighting techniques and strong opinions. Wilcox developed the SBN MMA consensus rankings which were featured in USA Today from 2009 to 2011. Before founding BE, Wilcox was a political operative working for such figures as Senators John Kerry and Mark Warner and an early political blogger. He is the co-author of Netroots Rising, a history of the political blogosphere from 2003 to 2007. Wilcox also hosts the Let It Roll podcast on music history for the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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