By Marcelo Barone

Photo Marcelo Alonso

Officially confirmed to be in UFC Rio card, on an event scheduled for August 27th, at HSBC Arena, in Barra da Tijuca, Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira was one of the names the fans craved to see in action. Away from the octagon since February 2010, when he was beaten down by Cain Velasquez, the heavyweight has to speed things up to be at his bet on the event, where he’ll confront the American Brendan Schaub.

With his dream of fighting at home almost coming truth, the athlete promises not to let the fans down, and claims it should be crowded in there. On the chat with TATAME, Nogueira also talked about the possibility of trying to regain the division’s belt, promised to be among the bests of the event, revealed how he’s doing and betted on a knockout coming from Anderson Silva and Junior “Cigado” dos Santos, over Yushin Okami and Shane Carwin.

How was the feeling of being called in to be part of UFC Rio card?

We were waiting for the doctor to say I was good to go. I met him this week, I’ve asked the guys from UFC to wait a little longer (to tell that I’d be fighting in Rio), to check if I would have conditions to do actually do it. The doctor told me I’m ok, asked me to start training and he’ll be side by side with me until the bout, to check how I’m doing. I’m coming back after over a year without fighting, doing my trainings and regaining speed, but I’m feeling fine. I’m not 100% yet. The problem is my conditioning, because I’m completely healed from my injury.

What do you expect off this bout with Brendan Schaub?

I’ll do my homework and watch his bouts. He’s a good boxer, uses the distance, but I’m prepared to strike. I won’t keep trying to take him down all the time. I’ll try to do my best, no matter where things are. I’m not worried about him. I want to be at my best, in a good shape, because I believe in myself. I want to be focused in being in my best shape ever. He’s a tall and thin guy, knows how to deal with the distance, he’s a good wrestler, he punches hard, but I’ll really go for it.

Your greatest motivation is to be fighting in Rio de Janeiro?

Absolutely. I speed things up on my healing process because of this bout. I’ve focused on what I would need so that I could fight in Rio. I’ve never fought in Brazil. It’s a dream come true, fighting where I live, in my home. It’ll be nice, exciting. Representing Brazil will be cool.

Have you noticed any difference on your training, now with no pain coming from your injuries?

I’m more balanced and more explosive. I’m doing my physiotherapy sessions with Angela Cortes, who was pointed out by my doctor. She helped on Gustavo’s (tennis player) healing process and she’s really good. After the injury is completely healed, I’ll keep doing physiotherapy so that I get more stretched. We get hut every day. The truth is that a MMA fighter is always injured. We need to do some stretches here and there. I’m doing it three hours a day, from Monday to Saturday, and I’m faster, more at ease. I used to do it on Sundays too, but I’ve stop a couple of weeks ago. I was doing it like five hours a day.

Will your surgeries make it easier for you to use your Jiu-Jitsu on the guard?

I was fighting injured, I wasn’t doing good at all, I was slow, my leg was heavy, my hip was injured. I couldn’t really explode because I was slow, less agile, less flexible.

Where do you see yourself on this division currently?

I want to be on a good position again. I was last defeated by the champion (Cain Velasquez), who’s been beating everybody down. Many people try to let me down, saying that I’m not that Rodrigo I used to be anymore, but as the bouts go by, I’ll be among the tops again.

Do you believe you can fight for the title again?

If I have the chance, absolutely. But I won’t fight Dos Santos. Other than him, I’ll fight anyone.

Talking about the other bouts scheduled for UFC Rio, do you believe Okami has enough game to defeat Anderson?

He’s a tough guy, strategic, also left-handed, a good wrestler, he’s one of the best to confront Anderson. But he won’t keep it up to that something else that Anderson’s got. Okami will feel Anderson’s coups, because he always uses something you can’t imagine him doing, a surprise coup, one that makes the difference. I believe Okami will be knocked out.

Among the confirmed bouts, which one do you believe that will be the best of the night?

It’ll be mine. I’ll submit him. It’ll be a good bout. He (Schaub) is a warrior. It’ll be a pretty busy fight for the heavyweight division.

What do you hope to see happening in Junior Dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin?

I guess it’s easier for him (Dos Santos). (Brock) Lesnar would take him down. Carwin is strong and likes to strike. It’ll be another exciting bout, but he won’t handle the rhythm that Junior will impose, because he has bad conditioning. Junior is more talented and is also better on the ground too. I like this match up. The guy’s a tough opponent, a tough guy, but he had bad conditioning. I bet Junior will knock him out.