Brazilian heavyweight Marcos de Lima, famous for his outstanding victory over the legendary Andrei Arlovski, came to Russia as a second for Fernando Rodrigues, who will fight Vladimir Mineev by the kickboxing rules on November 18. The Brazilian talked about his victory over Arlovski, Rodrigues' chances, admired Valentina Shevchenko and Islam Makhachev, estimated his chances in a fight against Alexander Volkanovski and talked about the best Brazilian MMA fighters.
"I want to challenge Abdurahimov and Tybura to a fight”
- What are your impressions of the fight with Andrei Arlovski? What was your plan for the fight?
- My plan was to fight according to the MMA rules. I've been training every day for years. I practice jiu-jitsu and wrestling. I'm fast. In this fight, I tried to work as fast and as hard as I could. Right now I have good jiu-jitsu. That's what I used to finish Arlovski with. This is my second early victory by submission in the UFC.
- What does it mean to you to defeat the MMA legend and former UFC champion?
- To me, not only is Arlovski an MMA legend, but he's also my training partner in American Top Team. It's a good win. Now I feel closer to the UFC leaders and am preparing for my next fight.
- When do you plan to get into the top 15 heavyweights of the UFC?
- To do that I'd like to take a rematch with Blagoy Ivanov, but the UFC won't give me that opportunity. Shamil Abdurakhimov, a guy from Dagestan, would be a good match for me. Marcin Tybura also looks like a good opponent to me, but I don't want to fight Alexander Romanov after his loss to Marcin. My best options are Tybura and Shamil.
"It's amazing that Makhachev wasn't intimidated by Oliveira on the ground"
- What do you think about the recent fight between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira?
- It was a great fight. Alex is the best puncher in the UFC. He was stronger, he hit harder, and in the end his punches got the job done. I think there will be a rematch now. Adesanya got the experience, but it was the most amazing fight this year.
- Glover Teixeira said that his pumping and cues in the corner helped Alex knock out his opponent. Do you believe that?
- Glover Teixeira is very smart and also has a strong heart. You can see from his fights that Glover Teixeira is one of the best fighters in the light heavyweight division. Glover and the other trainer prepared Alex Pereira well. He was the best in the last round.
- Did you believe in his victory before the fight?
- Of course I did. Alex and I have the same coaches. And I'm very happy with his victory.
- And what would you say about the other title fight of Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira, where the Brazilian lost?
- Charles Oliveira has a versatile style, but Islam Makhachev is too strong. Charles gets knocked down in every fight, but he remains dangerous to his opponent, because of his jiu-jitsu. And the guys are afraid to go on the ground and finish him. But Islam Makhachev wasn't afraid. He went for it, improved his stance, got side control and performed a choke. Makhachev is very good. For me Makhachev's style is even better than Khabib's, but Nurmagomedov's cardio is excellent. And Makhachev's style is excellent.
- What do you think of his next fight with Alex Volkanovski?
- Volkanovski is a different style of fighter. He's faster, he has good movement and footwork. I'd like to see that fight.
"Amanda Nunes is the best MMA fighter from Brazil at the moment"
- Who would you include in the top three Brazilian fighters?
- Amanda Nunes is the best at the moment. Glover Teixeira is second and Charles Oliveira is third, but that's for now. And in the past Brazil had many great fighters: Anderson Silva, Antonio Nogueira, Wanderlei Silva, Shogun Rua. Brazil is rich in talent.
- But you put a woman in first place. How popular is women's MMA in Brazil?
- It's so popular that we already have a whole galaxy of strong girls: Jessica Andrade, Amanda Ribas, Amanda Lemos. We have a lot of gyms in our country where girls can do MMA.
- Can Amanda Lemos get a title fight?
- Yes, she had a very good victory over Marina Rodriguez and now she can fight for the title, but Valentina Shevchenko is just great. Maybe in three or four fights Amanda Lemos will be ready to face Valentina, but right now she has little chance. Shevchenko has excellent jiu-jitsu, excellent wrestling, and her striking technique is the best. She's a crazy fighter.
- Would you like to see a third fight between Valentina and Amanda?
- That would be a good fight, but Amanda has more power, more weight. Amanda is good for her weight and Valentina is good for hers, but Shevchenko shouldn't move into Amanda's category. Yes, Valentina is faster, but Amanda has more power and huge muscles.
"Mineev is very fast, experienced and smart"
- Do you see a real chance for your friend Fernando Rodríguez to fight against one of the best Russian fighters Vladimir Mineev, or did he just come here to make money?
- Mineev is a very experienced kickboxer. He fought against the best fighters in the world, but Fernando is also very strong. He was a state champion in kickboxing and a Brazilian champion in 2016 and 2017. He's a strong kickboxer, although lately he's been gravitating more toward MMA, and now he's gotten much better at boxing as well. Fernando is targeting boxing, he's good at MMA, but let's not forget his background in kickboxing as well. It will be an interesting fight. Mineev is very fast, experienced and smart, but Fernando is strong and has incredible power in his arms.