FCF:   Your last outing was against Carlos Newton in PRIDE, where you were considered the underdog by many abroad, and still won by KO! Did you get worried when he took you down early in the match?
AS:     I was expecting it to be a tough fight, even because Carlos Newton is a well known athlete who always presented himself well in PRIDE, always fighting against great opponents. However I didn’t feel surprised by him at any moment during our fight. I knew he would take the fight to the ground and wouldn’t want to fight standing up, but I was very well prepared to fight him both standing up and on the ground. Of course he is more used to ground fight on the ground, so the time we spent on the ground where he could show his efficiency standing up, was the time I need to get back to my feet to show my efficiency standing up. I think it was a good fight that showed that there are lots of good people coming up and those who didn’t know my work will now be able to get to know more about it because of this win, and now I’m eagerly waiting for my next fight to make things continue to progress for my career and for the Chute Boxe team.

FCF:   You had perfect timing with your flying knee that knocked Newton out. Did you train this move a lot during your preparation, or was something that occurred to you at the moment?
AS:     During the brief moments of stand up we had in the fight, he feinted some takedowns, so I had this already on my thought. At that very moment I saw him with his guard a bit low, so I thought about feinting a kick to his head to force him to try a takedown. When we got back to our feet after he took me down, he went low a couple of times in moments he shouldn’t have done it, so I thought about feigning the kick to force him to try a takedown, and then I would throw the knee! And it worked! It worked very well! [Laughs]

FCF:   He fought Pele when he was still a teammate. Did Newton’s win over Pele served as a parameter for your training for this fight?
AS:     I think each fight is a different fight. I saw his fight against Pele when he was there in Japan, and then I didn’t see it anymore even because Pele was still a member of the team back then and it would be something bad not only for him, but for our group. So we don’t use to watch our opponent’s fights, and it was the case this time as well. I try even not to see fights from my future opponents, cause it makes you create an expectation and you end up trying to neutralize the guy’s game instead of doing your own thing. I try not to look at tapes before the fight to even not create any ghosts on my mind that sometimes doesn’t even exists.

• UFC Champion and Brazilian Top Team member Murilo Bustamante’s negotiations with the Ultimate Fighting Championship have come to a null point. Right now there are no talks going on and Bustamante is concentrating on teaching to his students and preparing several members of the team to get ready for the coming competitions, such as the Abu Dhabi World tournament and MECA World Vale Tudo, both in May, as well as other NHB events such as HOOKnSHOOT and the like. Murilo is, however, anxious to fight again.
• PRIDE veteran and Abu Dhabi champion Ricardo Arona is now training only submission wrestling for his Abu Dhabi World Tournament Superfight against Mark Kerr this May in Sao Paulo. Arona, who is expecting to be back in PRIDE soon, stopped his stand-up and NHB training for awhile to concentrate on this Superfight against Kerr, to show he continues to dominate in submission wrestling as he did two years ago.
  

  Terere

• Jiu-Jitsu stand out Fernando Terere is still excited with his NHB debut at Bitetti Combat Nordeste 2, where he lost a split controversial decision to local fighter Tibau. Terere is now helping Vitor Belfort’s training for the UFC and told FCF he is already negotiating his next NHB bout, with America’s HOOKnSHOOT event looking like the next stop for him.
• On the other hand, PRIDE veteran and multiple-time ADCC winner Mario Sperry is still doing his regular NHB training. "The Zen Machine" is expecting an invitation to fight in the next PRIDE, therefore he chose to continue with his regular training in order to keep his current form, and he told FCF he will start focusing only on submission wrestling two weeks before the ADCC tournament, where he hopes he will put on a decent performance in his weight division.
• Former Chute Boxe fighter Jose Pele Landi worked as referee for the small NHB show Brazilian Gladiators 2, in early April. Pele told FCF he is spending time in Rio de Janeiro with Gracie Barra, as well as some time in Sao Paulo and on his own academy in Curitiba. According to the WEF veteran he has a deal to compete in a new NHB event to take place in England some 80 days from now, in an 80 kg division fight. Word is that his event will really happen as some other famous Brazilian Fighters were also invited.
  

  Belfort training

• The work at Vitor Belfort’s new training center continues to develop as the much-anticipated octagon is now set and ready, and already being used for training! This is the first ever octagon available for training in Brazil and Belfort has been using it to prepare for his fight against Marvin Eastman. Vitor has been training hard with Jiu-Jitsu standouts Leonardo Vieira and Fernando Terere, and some new training partners are expected very soon. FCF will have the developments.
• Former PRIDE Heavyweight champion Rodrigo Minotauro Nogueira had surgery on his nose a few days ago. Minotauro had his nose broken by a punch from Emelianenko Fedor during his last PRIDE outing, and continued to fight in spite of the injury. The surgery went well and Nogueira is now considering a trip to Holland to take care of his now famous back problems, making sure he will be 100% ready and healed the next time he steps into the PRIDE ring.
  

  Tiago Pitbull

• The Chute Boxe team has a new addition to its arsenal. Bitetti Combat Nordeste 1 and 2 standout Tiago Pitbull is now training with the team in Curitiba! The talented 19-year-old kid has already done plenty of NHB fights in the tough events of the Brazilian Northeast where he always showed a lot of talent and Muay Thai skills. Tiago was very excited with the opportunity as he joined his idols at Chute Boxe this last Wednesday and the kid is bound to make some noise in the recent future!
• Speaking of Chute Boxe, all of the tickets for the first ever STORM GRAND PRIX are already sold out! The event is happening tonight in Curitiba and Chute Boxe fighters such as Marlon Matias, Jamanta and most of all Anderson Silva are all ready to perform against Muay Thai fighters from all over Brazil. The show is being negotiated for PPV broadcast in Mexico, Colombia and possibly the USA, and FCF will be there to bring all the action. Additionally, Jadson, now a Chute Boxe fighter, made his NHB debut as a member of the team yesterday in a small event.
• Fighting legend Royce Gracie is still teaching, doing seminars and training while he waits for a new fight to appear, this is however not his only project of the moment. Royce is working on a new book to come out soon where he will explain his methods of training regarding stretching, food intake, and other fitness related techniques, illustrating the proper preparation for a professional fighter.

Ticket Prices: $15 General Admission (rows 14-25), $30 Ringside (rows 4-13) and $50 VIP Ringside (rows 1-3). $5 discount on Ringside tickets with RITC flyer or KUPD red card. Call 602-267-1600 to order tickets now (can pick up at will-call on fight night).

Super Main Event:

Aaron Brink (240 lbs) vs Andy Montana (240 lbs)

Aaron Brink, a veteran of UFC, WFA, 2H2H and Rings will travel to Phoenix to take on Casa Grande favorite and #2 ranked RITC Heavyweight, Andy Montana in a dynamite Super Main Event. There will be at least 12 fights on the card which will feature fast and furious action between RITC veterans and debut fighters such as John Sullivan (225 lbs), a "young gun" heavyweight from San Diego.

This show will be "over the top" with exciting action from start to finish. Two jumbo screens will be used at Celebrity to provide close up action for all the fans, and our new 21 foot cage will fit perfectly on the raised stage at Celebrity Theatre. Get your tickets early.

Fight Card subject to change.

Upcoming Events:

RITC 48 – Let’s Do It Again
Saturday, May 3, 2003
Casa Grande

Fight Card Subject To Change:

• 145 pounds — Mike French, Miletich Fighting Systems, IA vs. Tommy Lee, Hellhouse/Gilbert Grappling, IL
• 155 pounds — Brad Gumm, Colorado BJJ, CO vs. Steve Berger, Team Vaghi, MO
• 155 pounds — Tom "The Captain" Kirk, Integrated Fighting Academy, IN vs. Bart Pazlewski, Linxx Academy/Jeff Curran, IL
• 170 pounds — Jeremy "The Scorpion" Jackson, Team Freedom, CA vs. Chris "Lights Out" Lytle, Integrated Fighting Academy, IN
• 170 pounds — James "Mad Dogg" Meals, NJ vs. Shannon "The Cannon" Ritch, Team Cannon, AZ
• 185 pounds — Kevin Knabjian, Brian Ebersole, IL vs. James "Jiggy Jaguar" Lowe, MO
• 185 pounds — Jon Fitch, AKA, IN vs. Roberto Ramirez, Hellhouse/Gilbert Grappling, IL
• 205 pounds — Davion Peterson, Integrated Fighting Academy, IL vs. TBD
• Heavyweight — Travis Wiuff, Dave Menne, WI vs. Kerry Schall, Meat Truck Inc., OH
• Heavyweight — Jeff "White Grizzly" Gerlick, Brian Ebersole, IL vs. TBD