Considered one of the greatest heavyweights of all time at the MMA, Pedro Rizzo went through a bad phase and now is fighting again to be among the 10 best heavyweights in the world. His chance to return to the top will be on July 19, when he will face the fourth fighter of the world at the weight, Josh Barnett, at the event Affliction. To make it happen, the athlete is training heavy and received in the last week the help of his teacher, Marco Ruas, who was in visiting his family. Below an exclusive interview with Pedro Rizzo, who talks about his training and hopes at the new American event.
What is you expectation to this fight at Affliction?
I expect more than anything to win…I am expecting a lot from the event, everybody has tough fights, very hard bouts. I am training a lot to succeed inside the ring.
What will be your tactics at the fight against Josh Barnett?
I am training everything with a team that since a long time I don’t have it. I have 12, 13 heavyweights , good wrestlers, good on the ground, good at stand up…I am well in all the three skills. Josh is also complete, so I don’t know. I am going to try to take advantage from the stand up and, if we go to the ground that I already had putted some good blows. Josh is versatile, He improves a lot his stand up and he is very well. At Wrestling he has good take downs and his ground everybody knows, he tries the leg-lock, so I am working on that.
Do you believe if you defeat Barnett you will return to the top 10?
Josh is the fourth at the ranking and I am very happy. What motivate me more is to could compete among the best and josh is one of the bests. I don’t know if a possible win could let me be among the top 10, I am happy to face a top 10. I am going to the ring and make my fight. Many people say that I am passing through a bad phase, saying that I should stop…I am training hard and who is training with me and my family is supporting me and I will try. I am going to face Josh and, if I win, I am going to try to be even more competitive.
This is a new event at …What do you expect from him?
I hope it succeed. The event is great, there is another one schedule for October. Me and most of the fighters signed for three bouts. I hope the audience answer at the pay-per-view and pack the arena so we could have others events. They made the right thing putting the best card of the year, the best heavyweight fighters. The only one that is out is Rodrigo Minotauro, that is at the UFC. I think it will be the best event of the year, they are working really hard and I hope the work keep been donning.
How were trainings? Marco Ruas came specially to train with you?
Marcos is already going back…he came to visit his family and got surprised. He was worried with my train but after that he said I am with a very good staff, that he had never saw as many heavyweights as he saw here. He help at my trains and I got more confident. Now is everything right, everything is going fine and I am having time to train. I know since two months ago who is my opponent and everything is going 100%.
When are you going to board?
I must go two weeks before because there is very hot and drier than here. I am going to train there to adapt myself with
Los Angeles
weather.
What do you expect from the others Brazilians at the event?
I want everybody to win. I want that every Brazilian win. The first one to fight is Vitor (
Belfort
), I hope he win. Then is going to be Rogério (Minotouro), then (Renato) Babalú, (Fábio) Negção and then me. I hope everybody win to show that
is the MMA biggest power.
UFC wants to make an edition on the same day…
Yeah... I wrote at TATAME… UFC is bothered, it saw a card like this and saw that it is a competitor, and as all big company wants to finish with their competitors. This is good to the sport and good to the athletes. Affliction sold in one or two weeks half of the tickets and it’s an event with fights that nobody wants to loose. I don’t know which will be UFC card but this from Affliction is hard to break.
What do you expect from Minotauro vs. Frank Mir?
Minotauro wins. Mir best skill is the strongest skill from Minotauro. Everybody says Mir ground is good but Minota is better. I can’t see Mir defeating Minotauro. Rodrigo has Boxing, has attitude, more will, search more the fight and his ground is better. The fight is better for Rodrigo, not just because he is Brazilian and a friend but for all he already done at MMA. Mir is not going to be a problem to him.
