Event held in 2011 has its anniversary this Friday, and Curitiba recalls victory over Forrest Griffin in rematch: "20 years from now I will remember this moment".
On that August 27, 2011, the Ultimate was returning to Brazil for the first time since it held an event in the country in 1998. The star-studded card in Rio de Janeiro at UFC 134 featured Anderson Silva defeating Yushin Okami in the main fight and big names in Brazilian MMA. Responsible for the co-main event, Maurício Shogun rematched Forrest Griffin, his opponent in his debut in the organization, in 2007 and was one of the protagonists when he knocked out the American in 1m53s of the fight.
For Shogun, the holding of UFC Rio 1 was the cornerstone of the popularization of MMA in Brazil. The fighter recalled that, during the whole week of the event, many fans went to the hotel where the fighters were staying to ask for pictures and autographs.
- I have only good memories and, in my opinion, it was the great watershed of MMA in Brazil. This event made MMA explode and caught the big Brazilian media. There we conquered the great public and MMA in Brazil exploded for good. I already knew that it would certainly be an event to go down in history, it is in history, it transformed MMA in Brazil into what it is today, a super popular event - he recalled.
The context of the fight against Forrest Griffin was important for Shogun's career at that moment. Besides having lost to the American in his UFC debut, the Brazilian had just lost to Jon Jones five months earlier, when he lost the middleweight belt. The knockout over his rival, according to the athlete, is one of his five most important fights in his victorious career.
- I remember that I really wanted this rematch with Forrest, with all due respect to him, because I knew I could fight better with him. It worked out and I was happy to make the rematch, even more at home. It was a fight that people used to say: "Oh, you're going to fight at home, how nice. It is nice, it has a good side, but there is also a bad side. At home there is pressure from the team, friends, family, many people wanted to go to the event. There was the pressure of being a rematch with a tough guy, which is Forrest. I remember that I fought Jon Jones and soon after the fight I asked my manager Eduardo Alonso for an immediate fight because I was very upset with the defeat, I wanted to reverse this scenario. It worked out, to fight in Rio, in my country, at UFC Rio 1. Everything was perfect. I remember that the fight started and I managed to get an uppercut on Forrest, I saw that he was groggy and I finished him on the ground with some hammerfists. I was happy with the strategy and the punch that I landed on him. I know Forrest is looking for the fight, the knockout, the finish, I'm also like that. There, either side could finish the fight quickly.
Before entering the octagon, Shogun had already noticed that the atmosphere was different. The Brazilian crowd started to make a name for themselves as noisy MMA fans that day. And Rodrigo Minotauro's victory over Brendan Schaub served to motivate the Curitiba native, who saw the public explode with his compatriot's knockout.
- I watched some fights, I watched Minotauro's fight in the locker room. But not focused, we were just watching out of curiosity, to pass the time, but I didn't focus on concentrating and watching the fight. The one that called my attention was the Minotauro one. He beat a tough guy, Brendan Schaub is a very athletic guy, he really lifted the crowd. It moved me, it motivates me, but it could also be a weight against this pressure. You have to enter focused so as not to weigh against it. But during the fight this energy feeds us for sure - he said.
UFC Rio 1 institutionalized the cry of "uh, he's going to die" in the Brazilian MMA crowd to intimidate the Brazilians' opponents. But the apotheosis of victory to the sound of "the champion is back" coming from the fans also does not leave Mauricio Shogun's memory.
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