realkaps
09-18-2003, 11:12 PM
From www.adcombat.com.....
"Interview: Former PRIDE World Champion Rodrigo Minotauro Noguiera Submitted by: Team TATAME Posted On 09/19/2003
By Gleidson Venga / Team Tatame
Rodrigo 'Minotauro' is back and he is looking forward to his next Pride match, tentatively scheduled for November. Heīs not satisfied at all with his last fight against Ricco Rodrigues. Minotauro promises he will not allow his opponents to stall and drag the fight out.
Was Ricco tougher than expected?
His style is not good, he doesnīt play, he doesnīt try to pass the guard, he doesn't try to hit so I got pissed off over it. I didnīt appreciate that match, I didnīt like the way the fight went, I mean style-wise. I watched Riccoīs other fights on tape and I saw that all his fights are the same that way. He is good, very technical, I think he is a good fighter but when I was going to attack, he got on top with those 120kg and then he stopped playing.
There were some fans in America especially that thought Ricco should be the winner. What do you think about that?
People who say that know nothing about Vale Tudo, they donīt understand what Vale Tudo means. In the United States, people think that the fighter who is on the top the whole time during the match is winning. At the end of the fight, my face was clean, the guy stayed on the top the whole time and didnīt hurt me, he didnīt beat me up, he didnīt even have a good punch sequence. I donīt think that he had a good fight against me at all.
You are one of the more prolific submission fighters the past few years, but you didnīt finish your last 2 matches. Are you worried about this in some way?
Both opponents were pretty good defensively. Ricco got free from a triangle that almost had him passed out. He took his head out in time and he also escaped from a very tight armlock. I did try, he did it well and escaped. I donīt think it was my mistake, it was due to his skills.
In some circles, your next opponent is rumored to be Josh Barnett?
I think so, they hope so. That will be in November and if I win the fight my net match will be against the winner between Fedor and Cro Cop next year.
What did you think about the Murilo match?
I think Muriloīs pretty good. If he could have carried the energy level to the 3rd round same pace he had in the 1st round, I think he would have submitted the American. Everyone knows Murilo didnīt have time to train, he wasnīt ready physically, he knew he was going to fight only a week before the match. But I think he fought much better, he put the best punchs standing up, he tried submit him. It was a tough match.
What do you think about the Cro Cop and Fedor matches?
Fedor was fast, he destroyed the guy. Cro Cop was also fast, heīs very technical. When Vovchanchin was moving and circling according to his game plan, Cro Cop didnīt connet with even one strike. The time he went to the left side, the guy got the kick. Cro Cop is very intelligent, very good in stand up position.
About the middle weight finals, whatīs your bet?
Iīve heard rumors they may put Wanderlei against Yoshida and if they do that, Wanderlei is in the final for sure. That leaves Liddel against Quinton Jackson, a tough match, whose winner will likely get to the finals broken. So I bet on Wanderlei. If they arrange the brackets in this way, I think Wanderlei takes it.
Tell us about your training.
Iīve been training a lot, I went to Bahia recently, Iīve was there with Popoīs brother, Luiz Claudio, the guy has fought twice for the world title, so he is teaching me to box and he is coming to Rio next week. Iīll start a very focused preparation on boxing for the next matches, I think it will add much to my fights.
Your brother, Rogerio Minotouro, is going to fight in Korea... Thatīs true. He is training, he is recovered from an injury he had, he is now training hard, and I think he will beat this guy. I hope he gets a submission, he is a submission guy as well, but nowadays the guys are playing defensive, they try to stop our game, so, since they donīt get submitted, the fight becomes boring and sort of ugly.
What can you do in order to finish with this stalling game?
Itīs hard to say, I have to improve my sprawl and try to keep the match standing up, not on the ground. Iīve got to improve my wrestling, since when Iīm standing up, it becomes easier for submission.
Final comments?
Iīd like to thank MMA Gear, they are sponsoring me. Not just me, but they are with a our team. They are with me, Allan Goes, Rogerio, Arona, Grillo, a host of BTT fighters. And our website (www.minotauro.net) is excellent too, we will add a virtual store. During the events we tell about whatīs going on the background, after the matches we will come up with news, great interviews. At the time of the Pride GP, when we had that confusion, I got an interview with Murilo and Arona. I think it is very good and it worth a look."
"Interview: Former PRIDE World Champion Rodrigo Minotauro Noguiera Submitted by: Team TATAME Posted On 09/19/2003
By Gleidson Venga / Team Tatame
Rodrigo 'Minotauro' is back and he is looking forward to his next Pride match, tentatively scheduled for November. Heīs not satisfied at all with his last fight against Ricco Rodrigues. Minotauro promises he will not allow his opponents to stall and drag the fight out.
Was Ricco tougher than expected?
His style is not good, he doesnīt play, he doesnīt try to pass the guard, he doesn't try to hit so I got pissed off over it. I didnīt appreciate that match, I didnīt like the way the fight went, I mean style-wise. I watched Riccoīs other fights on tape and I saw that all his fights are the same that way. He is good, very technical, I think he is a good fighter but when I was going to attack, he got on top with those 120kg and then he stopped playing.
There were some fans in America especially that thought Ricco should be the winner. What do you think about that?
People who say that know nothing about Vale Tudo, they donīt understand what Vale Tudo means. In the United States, people think that the fighter who is on the top the whole time during the match is winning. At the end of the fight, my face was clean, the guy stayed on the top the whole time and didnīt hurt me, he didnīt beat me up, he didnīt even have a good punch sequence. I donīt think that he had a good fight against me at all.
You are one of the more prolific submission fighters the past few years, but you didnīt finish your last 2 matches. Are you worried about this in some way?
Both opponents were pretty good defensively. Ricco got free from a triangle that almost had him passed out. He took his head out in time and he also escaped from a very tight armlock. I did try, he did it well and escaped. I donīt think it was my mistake, it was due to his skills.
In some circles, your next opponent is rumored to be Josh Barnett?
I think so, they hope so. That will be in November and if I win the fight my net match will be against the winner between Fedor and Cro Cop next year.
What did you think about the Murilo match?
I think Muriloīs pretty good. If he could have carried the energy level to the 3rd round same pace he had in the 1st round, I think he would have submitted the American. Everyone knows Murilo didnīt have time to train, he wasnīt ready physically, he knew he was going to fight only a week before the match. But I think he fought much better, he put the best punchs standing up, he tried submit him. It was a tough match.
What do you think about the Cro Cop and Fedor matches?
Fedor was fast, he destroyed the guy. Cro Cop was also fast, heīs very technical. When Vovchanchin was moving and circling according to his game plan, Cro Cop didnīt connet with even one strike. The time he went to the left side, the guy got the kick. Cro Cop is very intelligent, very good in stand up position.
About the middle weight finals, whatīs your bet?
Iīve heard rumors they may put Wanderlei against Yoshida and if they do that, Wanderlei is in the final for sure. That leaves Liddel against Quinton Jackson, a tough match, whose winner will likely get to the finals broken. So I bet on Wanderlei. If they arrange the brackets in this way, I think Wanderlei takes it.
Tell us about your training.
Iīve been training a lot, I went to Bahia recently, Iīve was there with Popoīs brother, Luiz Claudio, the guy has fought twice for the world title, so he is teaching me to box and he is coming to Rio next week. Iīll start a very focused preparation on boxing for the next matches, I think it will add much to my fights.
Your brother, Rogerio Minotouro, is going to fight in Korea... Thatīs true. He is training, he is recovered from an injury he had, he is now training hard, and I think he will beat this guy. I hope he gets a submission, he is a submission guy as well, but nowadays the guys are playing defensive, they try to stop our game, so, since they donīt get submitted, the fight becomes boring and sort of ugly.
What can you do in order to finish with this stalling game?
Itīs hard to say, I have to improve my sprawl and try to keep the match standing up, not on the ground. Iīve got to improve my wrestling, since when Iīm standing up, it becomes easier for submission.
Final comments?
Iīd like to thank MMA Gear, they are sponsoring me. Not just me, but they are with a our team. They are with me, Allan Goes, Rogerio, Arona, Grillo, a host of BTT fighters. And our website (www.minotauro.net) is excellent too, we will add a virtual store. During the events we tell about whatīs going on the background, after the matches we will come up with news, great interviews. At the time of the Pride GP, when we had that confusion, I got an interview with Murilo and Arona. I think it is very good and it worth a look."