Tá Danado with another finish in photo by Sebastian Kappes.
A black belt making his UFC debut next Saturday, Carlos Eduardo “Tá Danado” Rocha is a well known entity in Germany, where the 122nd promotional event will take place.
Following a poor upbringing in the Brazilian state of Paraíba, Jiu-Jitsu entered his life later in the state of Ceará, at the team of Darcio Lira. The gentle art took the fighter to Hamburg, Germany, where he amassed a record of eight wins, seven by way of submission, as well as a knockout, nearly all in the first round. Better still, in the lead-up to his fight against Kris McCray, “Tá Danado”, with the approval of his master, fulfilled a dream: he went to train under Coach Roberto Gordo.
“He inspired my Jiu-Jitsu game and he has some of the best fighters on his team (Gracie Fusion-Evolve). What I experienced while training in Rio was a dream come true. I’d seen the guys on TV and then I trained with them. That motivated me more than ever,” he told the UFC website.
His debut will be against McCray, runner-up of season eleven of the TUF reality show, who holds a record of five wins (one loss) with four submissions. Is it likely there will be some lively ground action in the fight?
“For the fans who see my fights and only see submissions, I have a warning: ‘My life is a continuous learning process. I don’t focus on feet, necks or arms in training. I’m going into the octagon to show the best of what a martial arts practitioner has: wisdom.’”
Check out the card for the event headlined by Nate Marquardt against Yushin Okami, also featuring the promotional debut of Alexandre Cacareco:
UFC 122
Oberhausen, Germany
November 13, 2010
Nate Marquardt vs. Yushin Okami
Jorge Rivera vs. Alessio Sakara
Dennis Siver vs. Andre Winner
Amir Sadollah vs. Peter Sobotta
Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Goran Reljic
Rob Kimmons vs. Kyle Noke
Alexandre “Cacareco” Ferreira vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Pascal Krauss vs. Mark Scanlon
Duane “Bang” Ludwig vs. Nick Osipczak
Seth Petruzelli vs. Karlos Vemola
Kris McCray vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha