Jump to
Hello, boys and girls. It is Thursday once again, which means it’s time for another edition of the Brazil Beat. You know, the weekly roundup of all the news in the Brazilian fighting community (from the UFC and beyond), all conveniently put together in one place by yours truly.
This week, we’ve got UFC heavyweight contender Jailton Almeida analyzing the competition at the top, including Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall, flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja on his rematch with Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 296 and some interviews with this weekend’s winners. So let’s jump right in.
Jailton Almeida names names, calls Jon Jones the best
In our top story, we’ve got UFC heavyweight contender Jailton Almeida weighing in on how his division looks near the top who he would like to take on next.
Undefeated in the UFC and currently riding a six-fight win streak, the Brazilian is right to think he is getting close to a title shot and knows who he would like to face in order to guarantee a crack at the belt with one more win.
“Against Ciryl Gane would be ideal, but Tom Aspinall already spoke to the media or whoever and is already talking about a fight with Jailton,” Almeida told MMA Junkie through an interpreter in an interview facilitated by Stake.com. “So, I think probably the Tom Aspinall fight will come first.”
“It will be a very good fight because Tom Aspinall is a complete fighter,” Almeida said. “He has really good movement. I see myself as an equal in the sense that it would be a good, fair fight. It would be for the future of the category. It’s going to be the future fight for the title.”
Though Almeida mentioned Aspinall and Gane during the interview, he would like to let everyone know that he still thinks the champion reigns supreme above the rest of the division.
“Jon Jones is still the best in the division,” Almeida said. “I believe Tom Aspinall could eventually get there, but for me, there is no doubt that Jon Jones is still No. 1.”
Almeida is the kind of heavyweight that could make a fight interesting against any of those top guys, because of his grappling game. Especially against Jon Jones, who’s the best wrestler among the ones aforementioned. It would be interesting to see current-day ‘Bones’ could stuff takedowns and defend submissions from a prime ‘Malhadinho’.
Alexandre Pantoja happy to rematch Royval at UFC 296
Moving on from Jailton Almeida in the heaviest division to the lightest one in the UFC, we’ve got flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja talking about his rematch with Brandon Royval at UFC 296. Although the Brazilian has already defeated Royval via submission just two years ago, he looks forward to giving his opponent a second chance as he believes ‘Raw Dawg’ has earned it.
In an interview on the MMA Hour, Pantoja praised Royval’s most recent wins and pointed out how being a champion makes the fight different than the first they met in 2021. Although the champion feels healthier and more matured as a fighter this time around, the Brazilian also understands that a chance to win the title is something for which every fighter prepares and he needs to be extra ready for the rematch.
“Royval definitely deserves to fight for the belt. It’s a guy coming off a few big wins. He knocked out Matheus Nicolau, a phenomenal fighter from Brazil. He finished Matt Schnell, and he [beat Rogerio Bontarin]. He deserves it. He’s fought with everybody in the top 10, he deserves to fight for the belt, and it’s a very good match in a very different moment for me.
“When I fought Brandon Royval for the first time, that time I was driving [for] Uber, I had an injury in my knee, and that fight had a lot of emotion. I think at one point, all the emotion was very heavy, but I could use that. My mind that fight was 200 percent, very strong. Now it’s very different moment. He wants something that I have and I need to take care. Brandon Royval is very, very real dude. He’s a guy I need to be prepared for. I’m going to make a lot of money for that fight and I’m going to deserve all the [pay-per-view] points because I’m going to put on a very good show for everybody watching.”
Honestly a good rematch and a title fight that makes sense with Royval being number 2 in the rankings and with Pantoja having just beaten Moreno. Both men have exciting styles, so this a great fight to celebrate flyweights and give them a chance to show how thrilling the division can be on a PPV card. On paper, this should much more exciting than Edwards vs. Covington, that’s for sure.
Andre Muniz is out of the woods (for now)
Time to take a look at some athletes who picked up wins this last weekend at UFC Vegas 83.
For starters, we have middleweight Andre Muniz, who scored a much needed split decision against Park Jun-yong and may have secured his job with the promotion, as he was on a two-fight skid before this match.
In an interview with Ag Fight (translated by Bloody Elbow), a relieved Muniz was happy to have scored the win, knowing very well he could have been released from the promotion with a third straight loss on his record.
“I’m very happy, very relieved. I have to thank God for my health, for making me able to win. My family, my team, everyone who made this win possible. It was a great victory for me. I’m back in the win column. We know how this company works. Three losses puts your head on the chopping block, so I need to win at all costs.
Furthermore, the Brazilian was also happy to have scored a win by using his most well-known skill: his Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Although he was unable to finish Jun-yong, ‘Sergipano’ is glad he was able to showcase his grappling once again.
“I was up against an athlete who was on a really good streak, that could put some hype back on my name. That’s what happened, I beat a great athlete, who had three straight submission wins. What’s more, I also represented our jiu-jitsu. I tried to grapple from the beginning. The most important thing is that I won. It was a huge weight off my back. I snapped the losing skid.”
Andre Muniz is a great grappler and his speak for themselves. We’re talking about a guy who submitted Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza in his third Octagon outing and has 15 submission wins on his record. Though he lost two in a row to Paul Craig and Brendan Allen, I think he’s the kind of guy who will often find a way to score a finish or might lose an exciting fight.
If the UFC decided to let him go, he’d easily find a home in the PFL, which, come to think of it, could actually be better for Muniz’s career. Mmm…
Luana Santos dreams of Miesha Tate
Unlike Muniz, women’s bantamweight Luana Santos was not in any danger ahead of UFC Vegas 83. In fact, the Brazilian prospect scored her second win in a row in the Octagon when she defeated Stephanie Egger via unanimous decision.
Now that she has two wins and is feeling more comfortable the 23-year-old revealed to Ag Fight (translated by Bloody Elbow) some of her dream matchups in the Octagon, which even include a former champion. Even though Santos knows it may be a tall order, she explained how she grow up watching women such as Ronda Rousey, Cris Cyborg, Miesha Tate and Amanda Nunes and has always dreamed of facing them.
With ‘Cupcake’ being the only active fighter left on the UFC roster, Santos wonders if she will ever have the honor of sharing the Octagon with the former bantamweight champion. In fact, Santos would even be willing to drop to the flyweight division in order to make her dream come true, if Tate decides to return to that weight class.
“I’ll let you in on a secret. I wasn’t event going to say that because I missed weight. I was thinking I had no business saying that, but here it is. I’ve always the watched UFC for the big names from back in the day. I’m a judoka, so those were the big names I used to watch: Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, Holly Holm, Amanda Nunes. I had some puppies in 2017 and I named one of them Ronda. I also named another dog Miesha, though I don’t have her anymore. I’d like to fight Miesha Tate.”
“I’ve always been a fan of hers. She was one of the first people I watched in the fight. I know we are from different weight classes, but I’m open to fighting at both flyweight or bantamweight. Whatever the UFC throws at me. I think Miesha would be a good fight for me. I watched her fight last week and she’s coming off a win now, while I have two straight. I know it’s a big name to ask for, I may be asking too much, but I’ve always been a fan of hers.”
It is a tall order, but Tate is also past her prime and we’ve seen the UFC give older veterans to build up rising prospects, so you never know. With both of them being mostly grapplers, at least it doesn’t sound like it would be that dangerous of a fight for the former UFC bantamweight champion, but I still think Santos might be one or two more impressive wins from getting her wish granted. That’s also provided that Miesha doesn’t retire again in the meantime, so better not to hold your breath.
Muay thai champ sidelined due to knee injury
To cap off this week’s Beat, we’ve got an optimistic interview with two-time muay thai world champion and UFC women’s bantamweight Tainara Lisboa, who has been sidelined by a knee injury and most likely not returning until mid 2024.
In an interview with Globo Esporte (translated by Bloody Elbow), the Brazilian explained how a torn cartilage in her left knee is going to keep out of the gym for the next six months. However, instead of feeling sorry for herself, Lisboa prefers to look at the bright side and hopes to be back in less than a year, if all goes according to plan.
“It was a bit frustrating and sad for me, but I try to look at it from a different perspective. I’m in the biggest organization in the world today. I have nothing but reasons to motivate me to get better, not to mention the support the UFC has given me. I’ve been using that as fuel to get through this moment.”
“The protocol is a bit annoying in the beginning. 45 long days without bending my knee.” She continued. “Then, little by little with the help of my physical therapist and my coach, we can start the rehabilitation exercises. The first prediction is that in six months I might be fully recovered and training normally.”
No need to rush. Six months is not that long and at 32, it’s not like she’s that old of a fighter, too. Lisboa is a muay thai fighter who has shown she can also grapple and score submissions, so that’s quite an interesting and easy to promote skill-set. With the right matchups, she can go a long way, so better to recover properly and not risk getting injured again in order to take advantage of all of that.
A Brazilian Beat
Jovem Guarda was a Brazilian musical movement from the 1960’s in Brazil which celebrated a young and exciting way of living, emphasizing established genres of the time such as rock n’ roll, soul and surf music. The biggest representative of the movement in Brazil was definitely Roberto Carlos, who would go on to be known as the ‘King’ for the remainder of his career.
However, I’d like to talk about a different singer from the same era, one I believe has composed songs with deeper lyrics and whose songs have better, less commercial. So, this week’s artist is going to be my favorite Jovem Guarda artist: Erasmo Carlos.
Though his career can easily go from rock to pop and some styles in between, I’m picking a song that has his roots in soul music with a killer bassline, eery vocals and an awesome sax solo at the end. This track comes from the 1971 album ‘Carlos, Erasmo’ and it’s called ‘É Preciso Dar Um Jeito, Meu Amigo’ (‘We’ve Got to Find a Way, My Friend’).
Carlos passed away in 2022 at age 81, but left us with a career of over 50 years full of memorable hits that marked several generations in Brazil. This one goes out to him!
That’s it for this week, folks. See you next time, stay safe!
Lucas out.