• It’s apparent that Vitor Belfort’s injury was indeed serious enough for him to pull out from the upcoming UFC; Vitor just had surgery on his knee yesterday and is still in the hospital recovering. According to the doctors, the surgery on his knee ligaments went well and, since Vitor is very strong, he is recovering better than expected. However, due to the seriousness of the injury "The Phenom" will need to take the usual physiotherapy to fully recover and it may take up to five months for him to fight again, leaving him unable to compete on the November UFC card. Full Contact Fighter wishes a speedy recover for Vitor and will keep you up to date as things develop.
• After his family vacation through the Northeast of Brazil and going up to Japan to help Anderson Silva in his PRIDE 22 preparation, PRIDE Middleweight Champion Vanderlei Silva is finally back in training in Brazil. "The Axe Murderer" resumed his weight training and fight training this week and is looking to be in the best possible shape for his title defense at PRIDE 23 in November. Some opponents are rumored at this point, with all of them being Japanese, but nothing is anywhere near sure at this point, the only sure thing is that he is eager to fight again and will be defending the belt in November at the Tokyo Dome.
• Speaking of the Chute Boxe team, the news about NHB legend Pele Landi leaving the team are unfolding to be true. Chute Boxe coach Rudimar Fedrigo told FCF that the team is staying united and strong, and will keep on working hard to achieve the best possible results in the future, despite being sad about the situation. At this point the situation still isn’t clear and resolved, so we wish the best for both parties and will report on the developments in the near future.
• UFC Middleweight champion Murilo Bustamante is also back in Brazil after spending a good amount of time abroad helping his teammates in training. Murilo is happy how things are going for the team and he is now training hard again to stay in top shape. Bustamante still hasn’t reached a deal with the UFC, but he is preparing himself with defending his UFC belt in mind, and hoping to be in the Octagon again early next year.
• Speaking of the Brazilian Top Team, the team’s attention is now focused on the November PRIDE show at the Tokyo Dome, and chances are high that several team members will be performing at the event. Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira is scheduled to defend his belt for the first time at the show, and his twin brother Rogerio, coming from a win over Tsuyoshi Kohsaka at Deep, will probably be fighting on the card as well. After his fight with Kopylov at PRIDE 22, the "Zen Machine" Mario Sperry is still in Japan right now negotiating possible fights at PRIDE 23 for his fighters, including Rogerio Nogueira and former Top Team member Ricardo Arona, and maybe even for himself. Paulo Filho is another name who can very well appear on the PRIDE 23 card and one thing is certain, PRIDE 23 will feature several Brazilian Top Team members. FCF will keep a close eye on the developments.
• Ruas Vale Tudo fighter Pedro Rizzo will have surgery on his broken nose next Tuesday because of the severe damage suffered in his fight against Gan McGee at UFC 39. "The Rock" will remove the bone in his nose on the surgery, because the bone wasn’t merely broken, it actually detached itself from the skull, and was also fractured in several points. The doctors gave Rizzo the option of gluing the bone back, but since fighting is his career it was better to remove it to avoid future problems. Pedro will leave the hospital the day after the surgery and will spend the month of October recovering. In November he will resume his physical training, and December and January will feature his intense fight training once again, to get ready for a fight in the February UFC. Pedro Rizzo told FCF today that this unfortunate incident didn’t take his will away, and he will train as hard as ever as soon as he gets better to face whomever the UFC wants in February. FCF wishes a speedy recovery for "The Rock" and we will keep you posted on his progress.
• Brazil will have a new NHB event still in 2002! With the success of the last editions of MECA World Vale Tudo, promoters Rudimar Fedrigo and Jorge Guimaraes are already working on the final details to release a new event that promises to shake the NHB community in Brazil upside down. The event’s first edition will be held in Curitiba before the end of the year, and will be sort of a partner event for MECA. According to Rudimar, the most important thing about the event is that it is going to be broadcast on National TV — not on cable, but on a regular network! The name of the network couldn’t be revealed yet since the contract is still being discussed, but this promises to give the sport even more exposure, giving the general public a chance to watch and get to know NHB better and creating a bigger market to attract sponsors. Several fighters who were originally scheduled to appear at a MECA event this year, but couldn’t find a place on the card will have their chance in the new event. We wish the best for the new promotion and hope to have good news soon.
• Speaking of MECA, the seventh edition of the event is confirmed for November 8th, once again in the city of Curitiba, with the headline being Ruas Vale Tudo team member and WEF veteran Alexandre Cacareco against Chute Boxe fighter, IVC and K-1 veteran Nilson de Castro. On the undercard for the event, the fight between Mauricio "Shogun" (Murilo Ninja’s brother), against Barra Gracie fighter "Capoeira" is also confirmed. The rest of the card will be released this weekend. The event will be broadcast live for Brazil on Pay-Per-View, and promoters are working non-stop on the final details for the event. Additionally, the next edition of the Storm Muay Thai has been moved to December 8th, due to all the events happening this year in Curitiba, and will still be a National Muay Thai tournament to determine a Brazilian Champion.

RITC 39 – Bring It!!!
Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona
Saturday, October 19, 2002
Doors Open: 6 PM, Fight Time: 8 PM

Edwin Dewees vs Sam Adkins (UFC Veteran)
Joseph Riggs vs Allan "A-Dawg" Sullivan
Kenneth Alexander vs Adam Durant

RITC 40 – Road Trip
Beaudry RV Resort, Tucson, Arizona
Saturday, November 2, 2002
Doors Open: 6 PM, Fight Time: 8 PM

RITC 41
Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona
Saturday, November 23, 2002
Doors Open: 6 PM, Fight Time: 8 PM

RITC 42 – Let’s Get It On !!!
Pinal County – Parks, Recreation & Fairgrounds
Casa Grande, Arizona
Saturday, December 7, 2002
Doors Open: 6 PM, Fight Time: 7:30 PM

Earlier this year we brought you these memorable shows which had an average attendance of 2,300 fans.

• RITC 33 – The "Big" Show (Feb 2, 2002)
• RITC 34 – Unfinished Business (Mar 15, 2002)
• RITC 35 – This Time It’s Personal (May 3, 2002)
• RITC 36 – The Rematch (Jun 22, 2002)
• RITC 37 – When Countries Collide (Jul 27, 2002)
• RITC 38 – "Let’s Roll" (Sept 7, 2002)

With our loyal fan base, RITC will continue to get bigger and better. We’re already busy planning more "surprises" for next year in an effort to improve on our winning "formula".

Here’s our preliminary schedule for our Celebrity Theatre shows for next year.

• RITC 43 Jan 25, 2003
• RITC 44 Mar 1, 2003
• RITC 45 Apr 19, 2003
• RITC 46 Jun 7, 2003
• RITC 47 Jul 19, 2003
• RITC 48 Sep 6, 2003
• RITC 49 Oct 18, 2003
• RITC 50 Dec 6, 2003