When most mixed martial arts fans think of Chute Boxe, the face they think of is that of Wanderlei Silva or Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
But behind the recognizable faces, there are others that are just as responsible for the successes of the team as any of the competitors gracing the world stages today. Second in command at Chute Boxe, behind Master Rudimar Fedrigo, is former professional fighter Master Rafael Cordeiro.
MMAWeekly.com’s Ivan Canello recently spoke with Cordeiro about the state of the Chute Boxe camp, Shogun’s loss in his recent UFC debut, Wanderlei’s departure, and more.
MMAWEEKLY: Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, former Pride star, debuted at UFC 75 and was defeated by Forrest Griffin. What happened that night?
CORDEIRO: Shogun is that kind of athlete that [at] any time you know [anything] can happen. We truly believe that Shogun can and will be the UFC champion and this loss won’t change a bit what Chute Boxe thinks about his potential.
He knows better than anyone the big factors that made him lose that bout. He had a serious injury in his left knee, but he chose to fight anyway. It was his decision. Besides that, he got married and all this made him not train that well, but this is not an excuse, Forrest was better that night and he deserved the victory.
But we all know that he will be back stronger after the surgery.
MMAWEEKLY: Another recent disappointment for Chute Boxe was when Murilo “Ninja” Rua, Shogun’s brother, lost his belt to Robbie Lawler at the last EliteXC. What do you think happened in that fight?
CORDEIRO: Ninja was surprised by Lawler’s power. Lawler is very tough and a very strong fighter, but I think Ninja was doing good. But when you are a fighter who likes to punch and be punched, you must know that anything can happen.
Again, we are not here to make excuses, we have to learn from our loss and try to create a new path to victory and Chute Boxe is this, we always learn from our losses and victories.
MMAWEEKLY: According to the Rua brothers’ latest results, what are you and Master Rudimar Fedrigo planning to change at Chute Boxe?
CORDEIRO: We are planning to change some things here at Chute Boxe due to our latest results. Ninja and Shogun used to train their stamina and power training away from Chute Boxe with another trainer, but now we are contacting a great name here in Brazil to take care of their stamina and muscles inside our gym. This last September was very odd for Chute Boxe, but we will be back with a lot of victories.
MMAWEEKLY: In Japan, two more Chute Boxe fighters competed recently. Fabio Silva fought and lost by TKO in the first round to Melvin Manhoef. Andre Dida fought in the Hero’s Grand Prix and in his first fight of the night beat Karo Uno by unanimous decision and in the finals was defeated by Gesias "JZ" Calvancante by arm-lock.
CORDEIRO: Fabio Silva’s fight was interrupted a little bit too early, but due to Melvin’s name, the fight was interrupted. If it was the opposite, the referee will let the fight stay on a little bit more. But Fabio will be back again at Hero’s and will show what he can really do in the 205-pound division.
Dida to me was the biggest name of the night. Nobody knew about him and he went there and showed everybody that he is the man.
He made an excellent fight against Uno and did a good job with JZ. Dida has everything to be champion and we are working to make that happen in the near future.
We really believe in his potential and about JZ, I think that this second championship to Gesias speaks to itself. He is a very tough fighter and he deserved the title again.
MMAWEEKLY: Another fighter who fought last month was Chute Boxe Jiu Jitsu coach Cristiano Marcello. He defeated Hector Munoz by rear naked choke in the first round. Tell us a little bit about that fight.
CORDEIRO: Cristiano fought a tough fighter at Art of War and was able to show that the Chute Boxe Jiu Jitsu is very strong. Cristiano is family to me and he is very professional too, his fight was postponed three times and he kept training the same way.
MMAWEEKLY: Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos will fight at Cage Rage in December. Is everything ready for him?
CORDEIRO: Cyborg is one of the most exciting fighters ever. Every event wants to have a fighter like Cyborg. He will fight in October at Hero’s in Korea. After that, he will fight at Hero’s in Slovenia and then in December at Cage Rage. That will be a busy end of the year for him.
MMAWEEKLY: No one has really talked much about the situation with Wanderlei Silva and Chute Boxe. Please explain to us what is the real situation between Chute Boxe and Silva.
CORDEIRO: Wanderlei was the greatest icon at Chute Boxe. It was 17 years together. The most painful thing was to see that friend going to another country and lose that friendship.
It is impossible to talk about Wanderlei Silva and not talk about Chute Boxe and it’s impossible to talk about Chute Boxe and not talk about Wanderlei Silva. It was a very beautiful marriage. He was projected to be a great champion and we all did it.
We wish all the best to him and we know that he will transmit everything he learned here at Chute Boxe, not just as a fighter, but as a man, too. God bless him and very good luck to him in his new way and his new camp.
Chute Boxe is always here. Chute Boxe did not stop with Wanderlei going out and Chute Boxe won’t stop with Shogun [losing]. We are very sure that there will always be a new champion coming out of here at our camp.
In the end, we hope only the best to Wanderlei Silva.
But behind the recognizable faces, there are others that are just as responsible for the successes of the team as any of the competitors gracing the world stages today. Second in command at Chute Boxe, behind Master Rudimar Fedrigo, is former professional fighter Master Rafael Cordeiro.
MMAWeekly.com’s Ivan Canello recently spoke with Cordeiro about the state of the Chute Boxe camp, Shogun’s loss in his recent UFC debut, Wanderlei’s departure, and more.
MMAWEEKLY: Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, former Pride star, debuted at UFC 75 and was defeated by Forrest Griffin. What happened that night?
CORDEIRO: Shogun is that kind of athlete that [at] any time you know [anything] can happen. We truly believe that Shogun can and will be the UFC champion and this loss won’t change a bit what Chute Boxe thinks about his potential.
He knows better than anyone the big factors that made him lose that bout. He had a serious injury in his left knee, but he chose to fight anyway. It was his decision. Besides that, he got married and all this made him not train that well, but this is not an excuse, Forrest was better that night and he deserved the victory.
But we all know that he will be back stronger after the surgery.
MMAWEEKLY: Another recent disappointment for Chute Boxe was when Murilo “Ninja” Rua, Shogun’s brother, lost his belt to Robbie Lawler at the last EliteXC. What do you think happened in that fight?
CORDEIRO: Ninja was surprised by Lawler’s power. Lawler is very tough and a very strong fighter, but I think Ninja was doing good. But when you are a fighter who likes to punch and be punched, you must know that anything can happen.
Again, we are not here to make excuses, we have to learn from our loss and try to create a new path to victory and Chute Boxe is this, we always learn from our losses and victories.
MMAWEEKLY: According to the Rua brothers’ latest results, what are you and Master Rudimar Fedrigo planning to change at Chute Boxe?
CORDEIRO: We are planning to change some things here at Chute Boxe due to our latest results. Ninja and Shogun used to train their stamina and power training away from Chute Boxe with another trainer, but now we are contacting a great name here in Brazil to take care of their stamina and muscles inside our gym. This last September was very odd for Chute Boxe, but we will be back with a lot of victories.
MMAWEEKLY: In Japan, two more Chute Boxe fighters competed recently. Fabio Silva fought and lost by TKO in the first round to Melvin Manhoef. Andre Dida fought in the Hero’s Grand Prix and in his first fight of the night beat Karo Uno by unanimous decision and in the finals was defeated by Gesias "JZ" Calvancante by arm-lock.
CORDEIRO: Fabio Silva’s fight was interrupted a little bit too early, but due to Melvin’s name, the fight was interrupted. If it was the opposite, the referee will let the fight stay on a little bit more. But Fabio will be back again at Hero’s and will show what he can really do in the 205-pound division.
Dida to me was the biggest name of the night. Nobody knew about him and he went there and showed everybody that he is the man.
He made an excellent fight against Uno and did a good job with JZ. Dida has everything to be champion and we are working to make that happen in the near future.
We really believe in his potential and about JZ, I think that this second championship to Gesias speaks to itself. He is a very tough fighter and he deserved the title again.
MMAWEEKLY: Another fighter who fought last month was Chute Boxe Jiu Jitsu coach Cristiano Marcello. He defeated Hector Munoz by rear naked choke in the first round. Tell us a little bit about that fight.
CORDEIRO: Cristiano fought a tough fighter at Art of War and was able to show that the Chute Boxe Jiu Jitsu is very strong. Cristiano is family to me and he is very professional too, his fight was postponed three times and he kept training the same way.
MMAWEEKLY: Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos will fight at Cage Rage in December. Is everything ready for him?
CORDEIRO: Cyborg is one of the most exciting fighters ever. Every event wants to have a fighter like Cyborg. He will fight in October at Hero’s in Korea. After that, he will fight at Hero’s in Slovenia and then in December at Cage Rage. That will be a busy end of the year for him.
MMAWEEKLY: No one has really talked much about the situation with Wanderlei Silva and Chute Boxe. Please explain to us what is the real situation between Chute Boxe and Silva.
CORDEIRO: Wanderlei was the greatest icon at Chute Boxe. It was 17 years together. The most painful thing was to see that friend going to another country and lose that friendship.
It is impossible to talk about Wanderlei Silva and not talk about Chute Boxe and it’s impossible to talk about Chute Boxe and not talk about Wanderlei Silva. It was a very beautiful marriage. He was projected to be a great champion and we all did it.
We wish all the best to him and we know that he will transmit everything he learned here at Chute Boxe, not just as a fighter, but as a man, too. God bless him and very good luck to him in his new way and his new camp.
Chute Boxe is always here. Chute Boxe did not stop with Wanderlei going out and Chute Boxe won’t stop with Shogun [losing]. We are very sure that there will always be a new champion coming out of here at our camp.
In the end, we hope only the best to Wanderlei Silva.