lightweight
03-10-2004, 08:19 PM
This interview was done by Gleidson Veiga from a brazilian vale tudo site called “Portal do Vale Tudo"(www.portaldovaletudo.com.br) and was translated by soccer kick from sherdog.
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Wanderlei just came back from Japan with another victory for his records. He was the one responsible for Chute Box winning the challenge against the japaneses on Pride Bushido 2. Besides that, Wanderlei played a character on a japanese movie and did some kind of valentine’s day promotion in Japan. He plays on all 11 positions (when a guy does a lot of different things at the same time, we in Brazil says the guy plays on 11 positions. It is refered to soccer, where a team has 11 players, for those who don’t know)
Gleidson: Talk about your fight against Minowa
Wand: It was a long awaited fight in Japan, cause Minowa is a tough guy, who had fought almost 15 minutes against Quinton Jackson. I had to train very hard for the fight, cause I don’t know what could happen back then. Even though the fight itself was quickly over, I trained very hard for it.
Gleidson: Was it faster than you expected?
Wand: Way faster! I thought it was gonna be a long fight, he tried to double leg me, but I punched him back, and then he let it go and put me on his guard. Then I landed two right crosses and one of them hit him right on the chin. It was similar to the one I landed on Sakuraba, but on the guard. It was right on the chin and it made him passed out cause it was indeed a very solid punch. The Japanese were really impressed, saying things like “wow, Silva is getting stronger”. I think it was the first time I knocked someone out while on the guard.
Gleidson: What do you think about Jadson’s and Shogun’s performances?
Wand: Jadson is a great athlete, I think his performance at Bushido does not show what kind of fighter he really is. But he’s young and new opoortunies will come, so we’ll have to train him better for the next challenges. I think experience is all. Even though he has lost his fight, I think the experience he gained for fighting on another country will make him grow. And Shogun surprised me, not because of his victory, cause I was sure he was gonna win, he is a very good athlete. I was surprised with his stand up technique, cause he was landing very solid punches and when he hit the guy straight, the guy simply fell off his feet. It was an awesome fight. I was very happy for him, he’s also a young athlete, only 22 years old. We are helping him and his brother Ninja to have a brilliant career on MMA.
Gleidson: So, the Chute Box team was the victorious in Japan
Wand: Yeah, it was tied 1-1 and Silva was the one who had to decide (he often refers to himself in the third person). Believe it or not, this was the most important challenge for our school, because it was going to show in what level Chute Box is now. The first ones invited to a Bushido challenge were the Gracies, because of their tradition on MMA. The second one was Chute Boxe. This challenge showed the world in what level we are. Our master (Rudimar) has been in touch with some japanese promoters, so we are gonna to take other athletes to fight in Japan, like Daniel Acácio, Macaco and Azeredo. They all keep saying how they’re gonna be the next big names in Japan.
Gleidson: Is really Murilo Ninja the Chute Box man to fight on the Heavyweights GP?
Wand: We’re still negotiating but it’s probably gonna be him. It’s not totally confirmed, but we’ve decided that it’s gonna be him. We are training him, and we know people think he does not not have a chance to win, but I think he’s gonna surprise everybody, cause he’s a very tough athlete. When I asked Kawasaki about placing Ninja to fight at the HW GP, I said to him “You have to put Ninja on the GP, have you ever seen a bad fight by him”? Ninja has never had a bad fight, he’s not afraid of anyone, he’s a very brave athlete. His cardio is great, he’s a young guy and he’s really looking forward to it. He’s gonna get married in october, so he’s really going for it. I think Ninja’s opponents will face a hard time. I am saying this because I train with him everyday, and whenever I hit him hard he would never back off. He’s very brave and I think he can win this GP, so we’re putting our money on him (on a figurative way).
Gleidson: How about the movie you did in Japan?
Wand: It was very cool, My caracther’s name is “Morte” (death in portuguese), and the japanese didn’t know what it means, cause the name of my character was not translated. I performed a scene with an actor who is also a fighter, he weights 60 kilos (140 pounds). The japanese were really impressed by my acting, they loved it, cause our fight seemed very real. I told the actor there was no problem about him hitting me and kicking for real, cause I am used to take punches. In the beginning of our scenes, he runs towards me and land me some real punches on my face. My mouth was bleeding for real, peole got scared, but I told them to relax. Our performance looked very real. In another shot, I kicked and punched him on the face, and made him fell. He stood up quickly but fell on his back, and then I soccer kicked him, but I only hit his arm. It’s gonna look awesome on the big screem.
Gleidson: So is Wanderlei Silva the next Van Damme?
Wand: (Laughs) No, Van Damme is different, he’s not as “plastic” as Silva (I couldn’t find a right adjective here, but “plastic” here means that Wand consider his moves way better and skillfull than Van damme’s). But indeed the director told me he was very happy with my acting, so I’ll probably do one more movie this year.
Gleidson: How about the Valentine’s Day on Japan?
Wand: It was another very cool thing, they did the promotion through the internet. They first picked 100 ladies and, among them, they chose 10 girls to give me a gift. They gave me gifts and chocolate, cause giving chocolate on valentine’s day is a tradition in Japan. When I go back there I’ll have to give them gifts too. I’m gonna make it up to them, cause I’m a gentleman (Laughs)
Gleidson: When is your next fight?
Wand: Probably in june, because there is the HW GP on april and I’m going to help Ninja and be in Japan to support him. I am in touch with a management company in Japan, they’ll help me to promote my name there. I’m gonna do what some other athletes do, like some commercials, merchandising, this kind of stuff. I’m gonna work these things this semester, and in june I’m gonna be prapared to fight.
Gleidson: How about you challenging Yuki Kondo?
Wand: He was the one who challenged me. It’s probably gonna happen soon and I’ll knock him out. I said “Yes” to his challenge and I’ll probably defend my belt on June. The guy has beaten Zé Mario Sperry, who is a top fighter, so he’s a good atlhlete. That’s the way we (from Chute Boxe) like it.
Gleidson: Your final thoughts
Wand: The crowd (from the portal do vale tudo forum ) is awesome. A while ago, my plane stopped for about 8 hours in Paris, so I spent my time on the internet taking a look at all the threads and messages from the forum. There are some really nice guys, giving me support and stuff, and there are some critics as well, but that’s ok, you cannot please everybody. I am very thankful to the ones who like Silva’s style. I am a professional fighter for quite a while. I try to show my opponent that I’m not afraid of anyone and that they’re always going to have a hard time trying to beat me. To the ones who like what I say, thank you very much. To Those who don’t like or do not understand what I mean on my interviews, be sure that I have no disrespect for others. And I want to ask the fans to cheer for our scholl on the HW GP if Ninja really fights on it. And to the ones who want to train at Chute Boxe here in Curitiba, be sure that our doors are open. We will receive you nicely, it does not matter if you’re a fighter or only a fan. We’re open 10-12 am.
Also, I’d like to say hi to the paulistas (people born at São Paulo) cause I’m gonna be there in a few weeks. I’ll put on my site the name of the hotel I am staying, so people can come and chat with me, I am avaiable. I wanna thank everybody from the Portal, cause I spent 4 hours while in paris taking a good look at all the messages. So I know what they’re talking about. I am also an internet head.
****************************************
**
Wanderlei just came back from Japan with another victory for his records. He was the one responsible for Chute Box winning the challenge against the japaneses on Pride Bushido 2. Besides that, Wanderlei played a character on a japanese movie and did some kind of valentine’s day promotion in Japan. He plays on all 11 positions (when a guy does a lot of different things at the same time, we in Brazil says the guy plays on 11 positions. It is refered to soccer, where a team has 11 players, for those who don’t know)
Gleidson: Talk about your fight against Minowa
Wand: It was a long awaited fight in Japan, cause Minowa is a tough guy, who had fought almost 15 minutes against Quinton Jackson. I had to train very hard for the fight, cause I don’t know what could happen back then. Even though the fight itself was quickly over, I trained very hard for it.
Gleidson: Was it faster than you expected?
Wand: Way faster! I thought it was gonna be a long fight, he tried to double leg me, but I punched him back, and then he let it go and put me on his guard. Then I landed two right crosses and one of them hit him right on the chin. It was similar to the one I landed on Sakuraba, but on the guard. It was right on the chin and it made him passed out cause it was indeed a very solid punch. The Japanese were really impressed, saying things like “wow, Silva is getting stronger”. I think it was the first time I knocked someone out while on the guard.
Gleidson: What do you think about Jadson’s and Shogun’s performances?
Wand: Jadson is a great athlete, I think his performance at Bushido does not show what kind of fighter he really is. But he’s young and new opoortunies will come, so we’ll have to train him better for the next challenges. I think experience is all. Even though he has lost his fight, I think the experience he gained for fighting on another country will make him grow. And Shogun surprised me, not because of his victory, cause I was sure he was gonna win, he is a very good athlete. I was surprised with his stand up technique, cause he was landing very solid punches and when he hit the guy straight, the guy simply fell off his feet. It was an awesome fight. I was very happy for him, he’s also a young athlete, only 22 years old. We are helping him and his brother Ninja to have a brilliant career on MMA.
Gleidson: So, the Chute Box team was the victorious in Japan
Wand: Yeah, it was tied 1-1 and Silva was the one who had to decide (he often refers to himself in the third person). Believe it or not, this was the most important challenge for our school, because it was going to show in what level Chute Box is now. The first ones invited to a Bushido challenge were the Gracies, because of their tradition on MMA. The second one was Chute Boxe. This challenge showed the world in what level we are. Our master (Rudimar) has been in touch with some japanese promoters, so we are gonna to take other athletes to fight in Japan, like Daniel Acácio, Macaco and Azeredo. They all keep saying how they’re gonna be the next big names in Japan.
Gleidson: Is really Murilo Ninja the Chute Box man to fight on the Heavyweights GP?
Wand: We’re still negotiating but it’s probably gonna be him. It’s not totally confirmed, but we’ve decided that it’s gonna be him. We are training him, and we know people think he does not not have a chance to win, but I think he’s gonna surprise everybody, cause he’s a very tough athlete. When I asked Kawasaki about placing Ninja to fight at the HW GP, I said to him “You have to put Ninja on the GP, have you ever seen a bad fight by him”? Ninja has never had a bad fight, he’s not afraid of anyone, he’s a very brave athlete. His cardio is great, he’s a young guy and he’s really looking forward to it. He’s gonna get married in october, so he’s really going for it. I think Ninja’s opponents will face a hard time. I am saying this because I train with him everyday, and whenever I hit him hard he would never back off. He’s very brave and I think he can win this GP, so we’re putting our money on him (on a figurative way).
Gleidson: How about the movie you did in Japan?
Wand: It was very cool, My caracther’s name is “Morte” (death in portuguese), and the japanese didn’t know what it means, cause the name of my character was not translated. I performed a scene with an actor who is also a fighter, he weights 60 kilos (140 pounds). The japanese were really impressed by my acting, they loved it, cause our fight seemed very real. I told the actor there was no problem about him hitting me and kicking for real, cause I am used to take punches. In the beginning of our scenes, he runs towards me and land me some real punches on my face. My mouth was bleeding for real, peole got scared, but I told them to relax. Our performance looked very real. In another shot, I kicked and punched him on the face, and made him fell. He stood up quickly but fell on his back, and then I soccer kicked him, but I only hit his arm. It’s gonna look awesome on the big screem.
Gleidson: So is Wanderlei Silva the next Van Damme?
Wand: (Laughs) No, Van Damme is different, he’s not as “plastic” as Silva (I couldn’t find a right adjective here, but “plastic” here means that Wand consider his moves way better and skillfull than Van damme’s). But indeed the director told me he was very happy with my acting, so I’ll probably do one more movie this year.
Gleidson: How about the Valentine’s Day on Japan?
Wand: It was another very cool thing, they did the promotion through the internet. They first picked 100 ladies and, among them, they chose 10 girls to give me a gift. They gave me gifts and chocolate, cause giving chocolate on valentine’s day is a tradition in Japan. When I go back there I’ll have to give them gifts too. I’m gonna make it up to them, cause I’m a gentleman (Laughs)
Gleidson: When is your next fight?
Wand: Probably in june, because there is the HW GP on april and I’m going to help Ninja and be in Japan to support him. I am in touch with a management company in Japan, they’ll help me to promote my name there. I’m gonna do what some other athletes do, like some commercials, merchandising, this kind of stuff. I’m gonna work these things this semester, and in june I’m gonna be prapared to fight.
Gleidson: How about you challenging Yuki Kondo?
Wand: He was the one who challenged me. It’s probably gonna happen soon and I’ll knock him out. I said “Yes” to his challenge and I’ll probably defend my belt on June. The guy has beaten Zé Mario Sperry, who is a top fighter, so he’s a good atlhlete. That’s the way we (from Chute Boxe) like it.
Gleidson: Your final thoughts
Wand: The crowd (from the portal do vale tudo forum ) is awesome. A while ago, my plane stopped for about 8 hours in Paris, so I spent my time on the internet taking a look at all the threads and messages from the forum. There are some really nice guys, giving me support and stuff, and there are some critics as well, but that’s ok, you cannot please everybody. I am very thankful to the ones who like Silva’s style. I am a professional fighter for quite a while. I try to show my opponent that I’m not afraid of anyone and that they’re always going to have a hard time trying to beat me. To the ones who like what I say, thank you very much. To Those who don’t like or do not understand what I mean on my interviews, be sure that I have no disrespect for others. And I want to ask the fans to cheer for our scholl on the HW GP if Ninja really fights on it. And to the ones who want to train at Chute Boxe here in Curitiba, be sure that our doors are open. We will receive you nicely, it does not matter if you’re a fighter or only a fan. We’re open 10-12 am.
Also, I’d like to say hi to the paulistas (people born at São Paulo) cause I’m gonna be there in a few weeks. I’ll put on my site the name of the hotel I am staying, so people can come and chat with me, I am avaiable. I wanna thank everybody from the Portal, cause I spent 4 hours while in paris taking a good look at all the messages. So I know what they’re talking about. I am also an internet head.