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Hello! It is Thursday once again and by now I think most of you know what that means: a brand new edition of the Brazil Beat, the weekly roundup of everything that happened in the Brazilian fighting community, all neatly organized in one place and delivered by yours truly.
This was a rather exciting week, too, with some drama involving former UFC middleweights Anderson Silva and Ronaldo Souza, as well as several finshes on the Brazilian circuit, some flashy judo moves and much more.
So let’s get right into it.
Did Jacare not get a title shot because of Anderson Silva?
In this week’s top story, Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza shared some bad memories he had from the time was a top contender in the UFC middleweight division. A teammate of legendary former champion Anderson Silva, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu blackbelt revealed some of the inner going-ons at the gym, in an interview with podcast ‘MMA Hoje‘.
In the conversation, Souza explained how one of their coaches, Rogerio Camoes, allegedly played favorites with Anderson Silva at the time both men were in the title mix in the UFC. According to Jacare, the treatment he received ultimately cost him a title shot in the promotion, which is something Souza still regrets after all these years and wishes he could have done differently.
“Camoes was always team Anderson Silva. I was on the rise then. I believe he stood by Anderson more so that the fight wouldn’t happen and it really didn’t. I was doing great at the time, I was in phenomenal shape. It was my moment to have an opportunity (to fight for the title), but that didn’t happen. I failed. I should have left, changed teams, anything. My agent failed. I fought a lot and when you fight more, you have a bigger chance of losing. Because of that, I didn’t have a chance to fight for the belt.”
Attack Fight 27 brought the knockouts
Moving on from the drama between Anderson Silva and Jacare, last weekend was a busy one in Brazil, which featured some impressive finishes on the regional muay thai circuit. Lucky for you, dear readers, I have all of them linked just below.
Starting with some muay thai bouts at Attack Fight 27, Yuri Soares knocked out Raphael Straccioni with a left uppercut to the body in the second round of their match.
Then, a man with the name of Neimar Almeida scored a kick TKO victory, just to add a fun element to his finish. Yes, Neimar Almeida finished Fernando Bueno with a body kick that took a few moments to make his opponent feel the shot, but when it sank in, Bueno had no choice but to retire from the fight in an unusual stoppage.
Next up, some not so bloody elbows still got the job done in the first bout of the card. Erik Silva, not to be confused with UFC vet Erick Silva, scored a TKO win in the third round of his match against Marco Pakorn, who did not recover in time after the count, forcing the referee to wave off the bout.
Two Brazilians won medals at the World Judo Championships
Moving on from striking to grappling. a couple of Brazilians won medals at the World Judo Championships, in Qatar.
Firstly, 24-year-old heavyweight Bia Souza went home with a bronze medal after scoring an ippon win against Kim Hayun.
“My goal was another one, but after losing in the quarterfinals, I told myself I wouldn’t leave here without a medal.” The Brazilian told Sportv shortly after her win. “We train so much every day, so hard. This result shows that we’re on the right path. My dream, of course, is the Olympic medal.”
Speaking of Olympic medals, two-time Olympic bronze medalist Rafael Silva also went home after winning yet another bronze in Qatar. This time around, the 36-year-old defeated number 1 judoka in the world Temur Rakhimov with a wa-zari at the beginning of the golden score.
Tainara Lisboa impressed Amanda Nunes in her UFC debut
Moving on from muay thai and judo to mixed martial arts, we have quite the opposite of Anderson Silva and Ronaldo Souza’s drama. This time around, it’s a rising UFC prospect who got some positive feedback from a legendary champion after a successful debut.
Just last week, two-time muay thai world champion Tainara Lisboa showed she had more than just striking skills when she submitted Jessica-Rose Clark with a rear-naked choke at UFC on ABC 4. According to the bantamweight, her performance was so impressive that even double champion Amanda Nunes reached out to congratulate her.
In an interview with Portal do Vale Tudo, Lisboa explained that the positive feedback after her win has been quite thrilling. Especially once she checked her phone to see that Nunes had started to follow her on social media.
“The feedback overcame all of my expectations. The media, everyone who makes the show happen. The crew who followed us around every day in Charlotte. Everyone was amazing. Then I checked my phone and the giant Amanda Nunes had started to follow me and was congratulating me on the win. I was like ‘she’s been at the top for years and she noticed me?’. It was surreal. I’m really happy.”
Former training partners to clash at UFC Vegas 73
Training partners relationships seems to be a recurring theme for this week’s beat, as a Brazilian heavyweight prepares to take on an opponent who he has trained with in the past. While he makes the final preparations to take on Ilir Latifi at UFC Vegas 73, prospect Rodrigo Nascimento reflects back on the time they trained together a few years ago.
In a conversation with Ag Fight, Nascimento differed from the whole Anderson Silva and Jacare situation when he mentioned that he enjoyed spending time with Latifi. Furthermore, ‘Yogi Bear’ also says that even though they only trained together in 2019, the fact that he knows something about his opponent gives the Brazilian more confidence ahead of the bout.
“I trained with him in 2019. It was really good, but that was years ago. I’m not the same guy and neither is he. It was just a small training session anyway. He’s good at what he does, but I’m also good at what I do. It was an MMA training session. You shouldn’t talk about training, right? But there’s no doubt (it gives me more confidence ahead of the fight).”
Douglas Lima staying at middleweight for good
Former Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima may have found a new home after a unanimous decision win over Costello van Steenis at Bellator 296 in the middleweight division.
Though Lima has fought at middleweight before, the last time he competed in the division predates his Bellator career, going all the way back to March 2010.
Now that he tried the move again 13 years later, Lima is happy he did not need to cut so much weight ahead of the match. In fact, the Brazilian believes the change has positively affected both his mental and psychological health.
“I felt better than when I was at welterweight. I didn’t need to go through that crazy weight cut.” Lima told Combate. “I cut way too much weight to fight at welterweight. I think middleweight will be my home now. I don’t see myself making 170 anymore. I was well-trained, but when it came the time to pull the trigger, I couldn’t do it. The other guy would take me down and I would just stay there waiting for the time to run out. I don’t know if it was a psychological thing, but I couldn’t fight.”
Augusto Barros suffered a broken hand at Bellator 296
While Douglas Lima shared some good news about his latest performance, another Bellator fighter is going through a more bittersweet feeling. Though light heavyweight Jose Augusto Barros did score a unanimous decision win over Simon Biyong at Bellator 296, the result came with a price.
On his official Instagram account, ‘Gugu’ shared an x-ray of his fractured left hand. Though the injury will keep the Brazilian out of action for a while, Barros expects to be back sooner rather than later.
“I’m really happy with the result, but a bit upset that the fight didn’t go as planned. I would have preferred if it had been a show for the fans and the promotion, but my opponent came with a different strategy. I broke my hand in the beginning of the second round and I’ll have surgery this week. I hope to recover and be back soon.”
Maria Oliveira already out of reality show
In another disappointing turn of events, it looks like UFC strawweight Maria Oliveira will have no problem being present at UFC 289 for match against Diana Belbita.
Just last week, the ‘Spider Girl’ announced she would be on a reality show on Brazilian TV channel Rede Record, competing for a prize money of one million reais (approximately 200 thousand dollars). However, Oliveira’s dreams were short lived, after a recent post on her official Instagram account revealed that she has already been eliminated from the show.
“The end. Unfortunately, Maria has been eliminated and is no longer in the game. We thank everyone’s support. The journey now continues outside.”
LFA 159 will feature an all-Brazilian title fight
On May 27, a new light heavyweight champion will be crowned at Legacy Fighting Alliance 159 and one of its challengers is eager to make it an exciting match for the fans.
In an interview with Tatame Rodrigo Bellato shared his expectations ahead of the fight, which are high. Claiming he had a perfect training camp ahead of his match against Acacio Santos, ‘Trator’ (9-2) aims to maintain a record of only finish wins, which already consists of five knockouts and four submissions.
“I don’t think this fight is going the distance. If you know me, you know I don’t like to leave it in the hands of the judges. It has ‘war’ written all over it. We’re two big guys with knockout power.” Bellato said. “I hope he’s training hard, because I’m in the best shape of my career. I’ve had a perfect camp for this fight, with adjustments to my game. I’m really excited and confident I’ll bring this belt home.”
“If you haven’t seen me fight, you can expect an aggressive fighter, who is always looking for the finish. I really want this belt and I’ll do everything in my power to get it. It’s a dream come true.”
A Brazilian Beat
To keep the tradition that I started last week going, I’d like to cap off this week’s edition with a mellow track that has been on repeat on my phone for a couple of days now. In fact, singer and songwriter Curumin knows exactly how to convey an atmosphere with his music.
With some beautiful lyrics about riding a bycicle in the urban scenery of Sao Paulo, this is a great one to listen to when you are feeling that need to get away and just relax. Perfect for a bike ride, if you’re into it, I might add.
This week’s song is Curumin – Magrela Fever.
See you all next week!
Lucas out.
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