In a recent interview, Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueria states that his next fight will be in December at UFC 79 against Cheick Kongo. Of course, I don’t speak Portuguese so I translated the interview into English online. If it doesn’t all make sense, its not my fault.

My next fight must be in December, with the Cheick the Congo. It was announced that I would face the winner of the combat of the Cro Cop, that was it.

If you are interested in reading some pretty crappy Portuguese to English translation of the full interview, keep reading.

PdL – After years in the Pride, you already estreou in its new house, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), with victory on Heath Herring. What it is finding of this new taken over on a contract basis in the valley-everything?

Rodrigo Minotauro Рthe perspectives are the best ones. Well I was received by the public of the Ultimate, liked it event and the reception of the organization also was excellent. I publish North American to it gave a good support to me in the hour of the combat and the fact of the fight to be transmitted to the living creature for Brazil is very important here, therefore I have the support of twisted daqui and increases my recognition. I am with motivation the sufficient and I wait in briefing to dispute the heading of my weight in the UFC. My next fight must be in December, with the Cheick the Congo. It was announced that I would face the winner of the combat of the Cro Cop, that was it. The duel must be in 29 of December and after this fight I wait to have the possibility to dispute the cintuṛo. It takes that they give this chance to me, to have a Brazilian with the cintuṛo of the weighed one in the UFC.

PDL – The Pride is an event that very marked its career, that gave the status to it of astro of the MMA. With this change in the world of the modality, where U.S.A. centers the domain of the valley-everything, you feels nostalgia for the lack of the Pride and of I publish Japanese to it, who idolatrava you?

RM РAs you it said, the world of the MMA changed and had this transference for the United States. The Ultimate had a bigger financial growth in last the two, three years, with paypervew, that it is very important. A world-wide trend for the American market and some fighters of the Pride grew if they had moved for there. Finally, the Pride finished being bought for the Ultimate and before this I already it came talking with Dana White and I felt a good acceptance on the part of it. People if understood, my family also deferred payment in U.S.A., then I felt that the trend was to go for there. I feel lack of the Pride, of the Japanese public, who I identified myself very, but as I spoke, the American public also is giving a good support to me. It is a new adrenalin to fight in octagon, beyond the sensation of a new challenge. Also me empolga the possibility to obtain this cintuṛo. In all the events that I fought in the life, WEF, Rings and Pride, I had the chance of being champion. I think that in the Ultimate it does not go to be different.

PDL – You it said that really it must face the Cheick the Congo in its next combat. In its house, you also already it analyzed fights of the Cheick, folloied of its trainers Amaury Bitteti and Rodrigo Artilleryman. What you wait of this adversary?

RM РIt is a gas athlete, that pulls the fight and I also pull. Then this is good, goes to be a quality combat. It is good in foot, in the troca̤̣o, but I find that I can also fight in foot with it. The Congo has a soil enough to defend itself, but I do not know if it goes to obtain to escape of my positions. It is a strong soil, but a little defensive. It has good spread and its fort is the kicks, socos and, mainly, the joelhadas ones. Then, I am training very clinche to kill the game of it. I believe that it will be a fight I to try to finish and it to try to define in foot. I am confident in my soil and go to leave for finishing.

PDL – How it was its beginning in the martial arts?

RM РWith four years of age I initiated in jud̫ through my older brother. It had 8 years and I 4, already I attended the fights of it, then he was in the tatames since the 3 years. My mother was owner of a gymnastics academy and had martial arts there, as taekwondo and kung fu. All the martial arts that I could make in the life I I practised. I made jud̫ my entire infancy, was champion Brazilian some times and regional champion, back in the Bahia. With 14 years I entered in boxe, with 17 I entered in jiu-jitsu, modality that I went deep myself sufficiently, and to the 18 years already I was champion absolute Brazilian blue band. There I started to have a bigger interest for jiu-jitsu, coincided that the Royce Gracie was starting to appear in the valley-everything and I got passionate myself for the modality. As already it had a knowledge of other fights, I decided that this age what I wanted for my life.

PDL – But as it was the transistion for the valley-everything?

RM – I perceived that the valley-everything age the mixture of all the modalities that already practised, but really I entered in this life when I liveed in the United States. There, I started to practise wrestling in one high school and boxe in an academy in Miami. In this time also it gave lessons of jiu-jitsu with the Conan and had my academy in Fort Lauderdale. From there the owner appeared of the WEF, it he took pupils to train back in the academy and I was well with all. It needed to pay accounts, it appeared an event and I entered confident. I fought with one face that already had 11 fights, I earned, later I fought with that had nine fights and I finished. I finished getting passionate itself for the sport, that adrenalin to enter in ringue, this vitiated me. After this I found the team Brazilian Top Team (BTT), I liked the academy, it training method, and continued my career.

PDL – You a true novel lived, that involved its exit of the BTT. It explains what it had e, after all, now you fight for which team?

RM – I currently fight for my proper team. We mount a teams who is training me and are concluding a center of training here in the Recreation of the Bandeirantes. Now, when I go up in ringue, I am Minotauro. An example that I go to give to you, you know the name of the team that the Oscar of la Hoya trains? Somebody knows the academy that the Mike Tyson trained? Which academy that the “Rampage”, that the Chuck Liddell, that the Couture trains? They represent the teams of them. This business to have a Teams for backwards of the athlete devaluates its name and values the name of the academy. Then if I have a name athlete that trains with me and to blunt, it I go to use the proper name. Why the name of the academy has that to be bigger that of the athlete? This is a culture that happens here in Brazil and that in U.S.A. it does not exist very not.

PDL – Who is training you and as is elaborated this work? She is you who command everything?

RM – I joined a teams of first. The Amaury Bitetti in the soil part; the Rodrigo Artilleryman, one of the best ones of Brazil in the Wrestling, that is helping me sufficient; the Kelson Young chicken and the Dória in the Boxe; e the Luiz Alves and the Wedge in muay thai. I joined all they and I am representing my name, my brother goes to fight for the name of it and finds that this is the future. How much to the training, in we congregate them and we made a spread sheet with all the trainers. Nothing he is determined for my head not. The time of trainings, the repetitions, tá everything in the paper.

PDL – You also act you have some time as entrepreneur of fights. Which are its future projects?

RM – We are making in the October start the Minotauro Fight, that already had five editions. Already it had also carried through other events in Bahia and one in Cuiabá. It is my intention to place the people who are training with me to fight, to disclose new fighters. When I to stop to fight, want that other people are there representing its names and I working in the way them fights. The intention is not to stop the work. We today have the Beans, Gypsy, Fábio Melo, Ribeiro, Cesar Prophet, many fighters who can grow in the modality.

PDL – Its cartel today is of 30 victories, four defeats, beyond one it ties up to and another one “in contest”. Of the four defeats, you later it fought again and it won the Dan Henderson and the Josh Barnett. But against the Emelianenko Stench it finished again losing. You want to face it and to finish with this history?

RM – Clearly that yes. I consider to have done three fights with the Stench. “in contest” it was against it. If today I had happened to that in the rule of the UFC I would have looser, I was clear that it gave intentional cabeçada to me. It who opened the head and I I had conditions to continue, but the fight stopped. I consider to have looser that confrontation. It is a fighter good, one heavy weight very to be looser, but I know that I have conditions to make this. Strategically it is very good, but I go to train to win it. I want to have the chance to fight again with it, who knows in the UFC.

Source: Interview and photo – Carlos Eduardo Ozório (vestibule of the Fight)