A few hours after becoming the second fighter in all history who conquered the Pride and UFC’s belt, Maurício Shogun talked to TATAME directly from Canada, celebrating his great victory by knockout over Lyoto Machida on UFC 113. On the chat, Shogun commented to come back to the top of the division after five years of triumph on Pride, revealed he went through an appendicitis surgery seven weeks before the combat, despite the recommendations were for him not to fight, talked about the extra motivation after the first fights against Lyoto, thanked his fans and answered the question about the best light heavyweight fighter from all times.

What did you think of fighting Lyoto?

I was very glad with the result, everything went well, thanks God. I put in action everything I have been training, it was a tough fight. He chose to take me down and stay in the top of me, but I managed to stand and punched him on the head…

Did you believe that your victory would come so quickly, on the very first round?

Fighting is unpredictable, I can’t say what I expected and what I didn’t, but I know that in our division, a strong punch can be fatal. Lyoto is a tough and experienced guy, but I didn’t know what would happen in the fight.

How did the lost on the first fight motivate you for this rematch?

It really was a polemic fight, but it was a bigger motivation for me to come even stronger for the second fight and conquer the belt.

What did Dana say to you inside the octagon?

He complimented me a lot because I had done a stomach surgery seven weeks ago, an appendicitis surgery… It was an emergency surgery, but I decided to fight. The doctor and Dana warned me not to fight, but I took my risks, said I would be fine and he was glad with my attitude and complimented me.

Did this operation affected your training?

I had to take almost two weeks off to recover and then I started walking so I could come back for the hard trainings, a month later.

Did you fear it could make a difference during the fight, the conditioning part, since you lost two weeks of trainings?

No, because I already knew I was ready and that I would have some time to recover.

And the feeling of coming home with the belt, being the second fighter to conquer the Pride and UFC’s belt, how was it?

I’m thrilled I managed to conquer the title of the most traditional events on earth.

A lot of fans are pointing you as the best light heavyweight from all times... Do you agree with them?

I don’t think so… Wanderlei is better than me, he represented Brazil for several years keeping himself on the top and there are few people who also represent well and is on the top of the world for a long time too.

Who do you think you may face on your first belt defense? Do you think it would be the winner between Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans?

For me it doesn’t matter. I’ve heard a rumor that it could be Randy Couture… I think it’s between Randy, Rashad or Rampage.

Who do you think it would be a fight against Randy or the winner between Rashad and Rapage?

It would be a really tough fight, they are high level athletes and, for sure, the fights would be very tough… Now I’ll have to train even more.

Maybe you will have to rematch some guys, like Rampage and Minotouro…

I leave it to Dana White to think about… I’m a professional fighter and I fight against whoever they want me to fight with.

You are staying there for Ninja’s fight on Shine… What are the expectations?

For sure… His fight is on the 15^th (of May) and the expectations are for us to bring two titles home.

Would you like to leave a message for your Brazilian fans, who are very happu with your victory on UFC?

I have an enormous affection for my fans, they are always by my side. I’d send a hug with all my heart for them because I care about them a lot. I try to treat them as best as possible… A special hello to my fans in Brazil, which have a great affection for me.