Pedro Galiza with Melvin Manhoef. Photo: Personal Archive
At 33 years of age, black belt from Brasilia Pedro Galiza would often say how he doesn’t expect much in his MMA career. But with an important win at an event linked to StrikeForce, he may just end up in the eye of the hurricane.
On Saturday Galiza beat TUF winner Vinicius “Pezão ” Magalhaes,at Shark Fights 9 in Texas, where veteran Don Frye also put in an appearance. Having won, Pedrão now returns to Brazil, where he will prepare for his next outing.
“I was training for a fight in Slovakia when the opportunity to fight Vinny arose. So I wasn’t quite prepared since, you know, in Europe it’s a different level. Specifically for this fight, I really only trained three days, “he tells GRACIEMAG.com.
“I knew the kid was strong on the ground; I watched ADCC 2009 and everything else. But MMA is different, right? Since the time I spent in the Netherlands I’ve been doing a lot of muay thai training, but the goal is always to take it to the ground. I was very confident in my game and didn’t have too many problems. The fight played out mostly standing; he tried to take me down a few times and failed. I pulled guard and he tried to spin, but I defended well and got back to my feet, “he adds.
In the end, Galiza admits he felt a bit of a lack of gas because of the pace early on, but managed to hold out for the unanimous decision. “Now I’m going back to Brazil because I have one more fight in the U.S. on May 15. I’m focusing on MMA now with all my strength, “he says, with his MMA ambitions resurrected.
Check out the full results below:
Shark Fights 9
Civic Center Coliseum, Amarillo, Texas
March 20, 2010
Jason Sampson submitted Jeremy Valderaz via armbar at 2:50min
Cody Pfister defeated Severo Padilla via technical knockout at 2:52min
Isaias Martinez submitted Don Frye via armbar at 4:55 min of R2
Tony Castillo submitted Edwyn Jones via rear naked choke at 3:09min
Kenny Trevino submitted Eric Rodriguez at 2:18 min of R2
Josh King defeated John Luna via technical knockout at 1:11min
Pedro Galiza defeated Vinny Magalhaes via unanimous decision
Douglas Evans submitted Dustin Phillips via heelhook at 2:25min