UFC
champions Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira and Anderson "Spider" Silva of
Brazil have moved to South Florida to open a mixed martial arts academy
in downtown Miami.
Nogueira and Silva Mixed Martial Arts Academy
is the first academy headed by two current UFC champions. The pair plan
on training together, giving seminars and teaching adults and children
of all ages and ability levels.
Like they do in Brazil, the
academy's pro fighters will also work with underprivileged children,
ages 4-14. In Brazil, Nogueira works with 160 kids, he said.
Nogueira,
31, is the only man to hold the UFC and PRIDE Fighting heavyweight
titles simultaneously. At UFC 81 he knocked off 6-foot-8, 260-pound
slugger Tim Sylvia for the title. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt
took Sylvia down and moments later forced him to submit using a deep
guillotine anaconda choke.
Silva
has beaten everyone in the UFC middleweight division. Silva, a
dangerous striker, showed off his jiu-jitsu at UFC 82, submitting
former PRIDE middleweight champion Dan Henderson with a rear naked
choke in the second round. It was Silva's third defense of his UFC
belt. Silva hasn't been forced to a third round since 2004.
The
longtime friends and training partners, who already have academies in
Brazil and Dallas, said the timing is right to come to South Florida.
"The
sport is growing here now and is a hotbed for mixed martial arts. … Big
things are growing here," Nogueira said. "This has been a dream to open
an academy together here.
"This is a good area and the weather
is very good. In Miami, you can walk in the street and see people. It's
like Brazil. This is the right time and right place. This is the
biggest time right now, in America, for this sport."
The 15,000
square-foot academy includes a training cage and is located inside
Johnny Rock Fitness at 90 SW 8th St., off Brickell Avenue. Nogueira,
whose mother and sister live in Pompano Beach, will call Miami his
second home. He plans on buying a condo close to the academy where he
also plans to train for his fights.
Nogueira said his next fight may be in August against an opponent still to be determined.
The
academy's grand opening and open house is set for May 16. Nogueira,
Silva and other instructors will conduct a seminar, What It Takes To Be
A Champion on May 17 at 2 p.m.
South American champion Daniel
Valverde, a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and judo will also be
part of the coaching staff. Valverde has been working with Nogueira at
The Fight Club. Nogueira's twin brother, Antonio Rogerio, is expected
to join him next summer. For information call Juliana Nogueira at
305-200-2789.
Inside MMA Danillo Villefort of Pompano Beach and American Top Team Coconut Creek and Josh Souder
of Mason, Ohio, who competed at IFL Draft events in September, are
among seven fighters added to the nine-bout International Fight League
card at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Friday, May 16.
Villefort will fight Mike Massenzio of Patterson, N.J., at 185 pounds. Three IFL champions will put their titles on the line during the nine-bout card. Ryan McGivern takes on Dan Miller at middleweight, Roy Nelson battles Branden Lee at heavyweight and Ryan Schultz defends against Deividas Taurosevicius at lightweight. HDNet will television the event live. ...
Thiago "Pitbull" Alves of ATT will fight Matt Hughes,
one of the best welterweight fighters in UFC history, on the June 7 UFC
85 card at London. Hughes' Made In America autobiography is one of the
few good MMA books on the market. ...
ATT's Jeff Monson and Jorge Santiago will fight on the May 18 World Victory Road Sengoku card at Tokyo, Japan. Monson will fight heavyweight Josh Barnett and Santiago, who recently cracked the Top 10 middleweight rankings, takes on Yuki Sasaki. ...
ATT fighters Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante and Denis Kang lost their recent No Contest fights. Cavalcante, coming off two consecutive HERO's tournament wins, lost his rematch against Shinya Aoki by judges' decision. Kang lost to Gerard Mousasi by triangle choke in the first round. ...
Ultimate Fighting Championship's Las Vegas-based Fertitta brothers, Frank and Lorenzo, are the featured cover story of the May 5 issue of Forbes
at local newsstands and bookstores now. The story follows how the
brothers turned "a violent fight club into a billion dollar sports
empire." Lorenzo said in the article, "What makes UFC so great is that
every single man on the planet gets it immediately. It's just two guys
beating each other up."…
YouTube legend Kimbo Slice of Perrine, gearing up for his May 31 EliteXC CBS debut, is the second MMA fighter to make the cover of ESPN Magazine. Chuck Liddell was the first in May 2007.
UPCOMING LOCAL MIXED MARTIAL ARTS EVENTSMAY 17: Nogueira and Silva Mixed Martial Arts Academy Seminar, 90 SW 8th St., Miami, 2 p.m.
MAY 24: Warriors Collide 5, War Memorial Auditorium, Fort Lauderdale, 6 p.m.
JUNE 7-8: NAGA International Grappling Championships, FAU, 10:30 a.m.
TV HIGHLIGHTSWEDNESDAY: UFC Unleashed, 9 p.m. and The Ultimate Fighter, 10 p.m., Spike
THURSDAY: The Ultimate Fighter, 11 p.m., Spike
FRIDAY: Ultimate Knockouts 2, 9 p.m., Spike; Ultimate Knockouts 4, 10 p.m., Spike; Iron Ring, 10:30 p.m., BET
SATURDAY: Ultimate
Knockouts, 3 p.m., Spike; Ultimate Knockouts 4, 4 p.m., Spike; Ultimate
Fighter Marathon, 5 p.m., Spike; Strikeforce On NBC, 2 a.m.
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