Back from the 2010 Worlds, Rio de Janeiro’s Bruno Malfacine arrived in São Paulo happy as a lark. The obvious reason being his conquest last Sunday of his third world title as a roosterweight, a record that will go a while before being beaten in the division. But perhaps Bruno was even more excited by Michael Langhi’s second title at lightweight, for having witnessed up close the drama his Alliance teammate and roommate in big-city São Paulo went through with his shoulder injury.
Bruno against Felipe Costa in Worlds 2010 semifinal
“It was an unforgettable Worlds for us, as we won our fifth team title. Langhi had a bad shoulder and we would do one sparring session so as not to lose rhythm. And his an exciting win he’ll carry with him for the rest of his life,” he recounts.
On his 3-2-advantage-point win, in yet another ever-more-hotly-disputed final with Caio Terra, Bruno was honest: “The World Championship is really important, and the final is the fight of the year for all of us. I had a perfect year, winning the European, Pan, Brazilian Nationals, and I was only missing one gold medal. That’s why I had to be real strategic in the final; I couldn’t expose myself; I couldn’t make mistakes. The match doesn’t always go the way we want it to – offensive and attacking.”
On his plans for the future, Bruno wants to have a talk with Fabio Gurgel about a possible move to the light featherweight division.
“We had a quick chat – just in jest – and he told me that after I win my fifth I can move up. But it’s something to think about because fighting at light feather would bring me some new challenges, greater visibility. It’s something we’ll talk about at Alliance. The problem would be to move up and then see the roosterweight winners; I’d get jealous!” Malfacine chuckles.
Bruno further remarked on Michel Langhi’s undesired defeat in the featherweight brown belt division, to another ace, Ary Farias.
“It happened on Friday and brought everyone down, but it came down to a detail, an advantage point, according to the judges’ interpretation of things. Everyone loses some time and Michel will mature with the result. He has a really good head on his shoulders,” he concludes, making a point of thanking God, his physical conditioning coach Edson Ramalho and team Alliance.
What about you, do you want Malfacine at roosterweight or light featherweight? Comment below to help the athlete make his decision.