Caio Monstro (right) is looking for his first UFC win, when he fights in his home country on Jan. 19. Photo by Josh Hedges, courtesy of Zuffa LCC via Getty Images.
Caio Magalhães is yet another of the Brazilians set to do battle in the octagon at the Jan. 19 UFC on FX 7 show at Ginásio do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, Brazil.
Magalhães was preparing to face the likes of Rodolfo Vieira, Xande Ribeiro, Alexandre Ceconi and Léo Nogueira in the gi at Jiu-Jitsu championship Copa Pódio when he got the call-up to replace his injured countryman, Thiago Bodão, on the UFC card.
Riding the wake of his training for the gi championship, Magalhães said he’s ready to put on a Jiu-Jitsu clinic against the Dutchman Michael Kuiper. Check out what else he had to tell GRACIEMAG.com during a conversation at Nova União headquarters in Rio de Janeiro.
GRACIEMAG.com: What was your reaction to the news that you were on the card for the UFC in São Paulo?
CAIO MAGALHÃES: The UFC contacted Dedé [André Pederneiras], and he called my master Guilherme Santos to let me know about the fight. I was already full-on training for Copa Pódio but my priority has always been the UFC. I was helping my friends out in Ceará State and was doing my training. So I wouldn’t say I was taken by surprise, exactly, I just wasn’t expecting to fight so soon. I thought I’d be fighting in February or March at the latest. I was really happy with the news. This way I could do my training camp here at Nova União, in Rio de Janeiro. I’ve been doing a good job of preparing here. The camp’s been going great. I’ll be ready to put on a show at home on the 19th.
How’s your weight cut going? You were set to compete at 215 pounds at Copa Pódio, and now you have to hit 185 pounds?
I’ve always weighed around [227, 229 pounds]. But I’ll lose it, no problem. My weight cut’s going fine. It’s happening naturally with the MMA training. Training here is going strong. We go three, four times a day in physical conditioning, wrestling and boxing. So I’ll keep up the pace, and I intend to make weight and be real strong.
What’s your take on your opponent, Michael Kuiper? How do you plan to deal with his game?
He’s a striker, likes to bang. He’s also a black belt in judo but doesn’t use it much. He’s going to strike with me. I’m going to do my game: close the distance through striking, take him down and put my Jiu-Jitsu to use.
UFC on FX7
Ginásio do Ibirapuera, São Paulo, SP
19 de janeiro de 2013
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