José Aldo asks Chad Mendes to dance at UFC 142, in Rio. Sources claim he's also the man when it comes to the dance floor. Photo: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC
The Jiu-Jitsu gang likes Rodrigo Minotauro so much that, despite his lack of groove, the former interim UFC champ wormed his way into the Brazilian version of Dancing with the Stars and set off a barrage of Twitter posts from anonymous fans and renowned black belts gushing with praise for him on Twitter.
“I’m losing my shyness; I’m going to let loose this Sunday,” promised the Brazilian, who didn’t go as far as to embarrass his more-lithe-hipped compatriots, but did make it clear the dancer who’ll be his pair will have her work cut out for her in training.
(It’s no wonder she wrapped up their first appearance sinking a choke on Rodrigo, showing who the master in that venue is, as you can see for yourself in the following video.)
Just like the folks on Twitter, GRACIEMAG.com too admires and is fond of Minotauro, and that’s why we set out to discover who does indeed know how to dance in the fight world, should Rodrigo want some pointers, or a last-minute replacement.
In an informal chat with the gang at Nova União, we heard someone make an interesting wager, should it come to it. “We don’t just have the best dancer of Brazilian MMA, but of the whole UFC: José Aldo Junior, who’s an even better dancer than Anderson Silva. Our champion only loses to another fighter in the academy, his good friend Marlon Sandro,” said one source, who preferred not to be named.
The UFC champ a fleet-footed dancer? How about it, Faustão (presenter for the Brazilian version of the show), could a fighter assume the throne?
That, we can’t say. But we stand by our sources. And to not get caught off rhythm, we’ll leave it at that. After all, as Mino himself stated during rehearsal, “Real tough guys don’t shake their thing or go twirly-whirly…”
What do you think, who’s the best dancer in the Jiu-Jitsu and MMA world? Comment below and out your Jiu-Jitsu professor or teammate.
The post Minotauro’s not the only UFC star who’s got moves first appeared on Graciemag.