Rijetki su MMA fanovi koji nikada nisu čuli za Fabricija Werduma, a isto vrijedi i za ljubitelje brazilske jiu jitse, u kojoj je ovaj teškaš oko vrata stavljao značajne medalje i prije nego što je posvetio dio svog vremena slobodnoj borbi.

"Vai Cavalo" na borilačkoj sceni predstavlja puno više od borca koji je šokirao svijet i Fedora Emelianenka - on je u muay thaiju, BJJ-u i judu oko struka zavezao crni pojas, na čelu je Werdum Combat Teama, koji se razgranao po svijetu pa je tako došao i do Hrvatske, i ono što je u ovim trenucima najznačajnije - on proživljava najmoćnije trenutke u UFC-u, organizaciji za koju se borio i prije uspjeha u Strikeforceu.

Imali smo čast još jednom postaviti pitanja legendarnom "Vai Cavalu", i preletjeli smo preko mnogo zanimljivih tema - od kluba u Hrvatskoj kojeg vodi Bojan Mirković, vlasnik crnog pojasa pod Werdumom, do nedavnog TUF angažmana i protivnika koji ga čeka u lipnju.

Imao si ulogu trenera na TUF-u s Rodrigom Nogueirom. Kakvo je bilo to iskustvo?

"Iskustvo je bilo sjajno, zbilja volim prenositi svoje znanje na nadolazeće borce, znanje koje sam ja dobio od svojih učitelja."

Jesi li u tom periodu naučio nešto novo o sebi ili svome protivniku?

"Ništa novo, no svako iskustvo sigurno nas čini boljom osobom."

Naravno, nije ti dozvoljeno da otkrivaš detalje iz The Ultimate Fighter kuće, no možeš li nam nešto reći o talentima koji si trenirao? Jesi li vidio u nekome buduću UFC zvijezdu?

"Brazil je zemlja s brojnim talentima. Sigurno ćemo uskoro znati ove borce jer oni nesumnjivo imaju sve potrebne alate da bi postali velike zvijezde."

Nije tajna da si uvijek spreman na šalu. Jesi li se poigrao s "Minotaurom" i protivničkom ekipom?

(Smijeh) "Morat ćete pričekati show i vidjeti sami."

Vjerojatno znaš dobro Nogueiru, već ste se borili. Vaš meč pretvorio se u stand-up okršaj, što nije rijetkost kada se dva BJJ majstora susretnu u ringu. Smatraš li i da ćete revanš odraditi na sličan način?

"Ovo je MMA i meni je najvažnije da moja ruka bude podignuta na kraju borbe. Biti ću spreman za svaku situaciju, siguran sam da će spreman biti i on."

Ako se vas dvojica nađete u parteru, vjeruješ li da bi ga mogao prisiliti na predaju?

"Antonio je odličan parteraš no ja vjerujem u svoj jiu jitsu."

Oduševio si mnoge svojim posljednjim mečevima, u muay thaiju si opasan a tvoj stand up izgleda bolje no ikada. Napredak je očit svima. S druge strane, smatraš li da je Nogueira napredovao dovoljno?

"Sigurno. Obojica smo drugi borci. Borimo se pred svojom publikom i ovaj će meč biti drugačiji."

Vjeruješ li da će te trijumf odvesti do šanse za titulu?

"Vjerujem u to, tako mi je rekao Dana White."

Mnogi će reći da si upravo ti najbolji BJJ majstor među teškašima. Što ti kažeš?

"Jiu Jitsu je moj glavni stil, njime sam se upustio u borilačke vještine, no mnogo je dobrih parteraša."

Dopušta li ti UFC da se natječeš na grappling turnirima?

"UFC je moj prioritet no još uvijek se volim natjecati u Abu Dhabiju. Kada za to budem imao priliku, to ću i učiniti ako ne bude bilo konflikta. Nikada nisam imao problema s organizacijom oko toga."

Koliko često posjećuješ BJJ klub u Hrvatskoj?

"Imam odličnog predstavnika u Zagrebu. Bojan Mirković je sjajan crni pojas i biti ću ovdje kada god me on zatreba. No sada se moram fokusirati na svoju sljedeću borbu, a obično nakon mečeva obiđem Europu i škole. Bojan jako dobro predstavlja Werdum Combat Team."

Kada te onda možemo očekivati ovdje?

"Krajem godine"

Da se vratimo na tvoju šaljivu stranu, 2011. godine odlučio si pokazati Fedoru i njegovoj ekipi što si naučio od riječi za vrijeme boravka u Hrvatskoj. Posljednji izraz je zapeo za uho svima koji su razumjeli što si rekao, a nesumnjivo su tvoj "j**em ti mater" prepoznali i Rusi s kojima si se našao u liftu. Jesi li tada znao što točno govoriš?


"To je bila šala a ljudi šalu ponekad krivo shvate. Samo sam htio pokazati što sam naučio, no kada te netko uči njihovom jeziku, obično krenu s lošim riječima jer zvuči smiješno."

Fabricio nije htio komentirati potencijalni revanš s Juniorom dos Santosom jer glavni mu fokus predstavlja Nogueira, ali zato se na kratak i jasan način osvrnuo na nedavni poraz Alistaira Overeema.

Što misliš o Overeemovoj posljednjoj izvedbi?

"Auto bez goriva ne radi. Super-goriva, haha."

Nogueira i Werdum već su odradili sve svoje dužnosti u The Ultimate Fighter kući, što znači da je na redu okršaj trenera, a prije njih susret finalista. Sve će se to odvijati na desetom UFC on FUEL TV spektaklu.

UFC on FUEL TV 10 : Nogueira vs. Werdum 2
8. lipnja, Brazil (Fortaleza, Ceara)

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Fabricio Werdum
TUF Brazil 2 finalisti
Rafael Cavalcante vs. Thiago Silva
John Hathaway vs. Erick Silva

Još nepotvrđeni mečevi :

Rony Jason vs. Mike Wilkinson
Caio Magalhaes vs. Karlos Vemola
Derek Brunson vs. Ronny Markes
Ildemar Alcantara vs. Jason High
Rodrigo Damm vs. Mizuto Hirota
Eddie Mendez vs. Daniel Sarafian
Felipe Arantes vs. Godofredo Castro
Antonio Braga Neto vs. Anthony Smith

Ina Ferenčić

You were a TUF coach opposite Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. What was that experience like?

"The experience was great, I really like to pass my knowledge on new, upcoming guys, knowledge that I got from my teachers."

Did you find out something new about yourself or your future opponent Minotauro?

"Nothing new, but every experience we have make us a better person for sure."

Obviously, you cant talk about the details from TUF house but how deep the talent pool was? Did you see some future stars in that group of contestants?

"Brazil is a country with so many talents, for sure everyone will know about this guys soon and for sure they have all the tools to be big stars in the future."

You are known to be a joker, funny guy. Did you mess with Minotauro ad his team in any way on the set of The Ultimate Fighter?

(Laugh) "You guys will have to watch the show and see."

You probably know Nogueira pretty well as you fought once before. Your fight was a stand-up battle, which is not that uncommon when two guys with great BJJ enter the ring. Do you think this fight will be a stand-up war too?

"I will be ready for any situation and I am sure he will be too. This is an MMA fight and the most important thing for me is that I have my hand raised at the end."

If you two end up on the ground, do you think you could submit him?

"Nogueira is very good ground fighter but i believe im my Jiu Jitsu."

You pleasantly surprised many people with your latest run, winning over tough guys like Roy Nelson and Mike Russow. Your muay thai is sharp and dangerous, your stand up seems better than ever. Its obvious that you progressed as a fighter. Do you think Nogueira progressed enough?

"For sure, we are both different fighters right now, we have more experience, we will be fighting in Brazil, in our home country. It will be a different fight."

Do you wish Junior dos Santos wins that title back so you could go after revenge and belt at the same time?

"My focus is not on JDS, the only thing on my mind now is Nogueira."

Do you believe a win over Nogueira would earn you the opportunity for the belt?

"Yes, that's what Dana White said."

Many people consider you the best HW BJJ artist in the game. What is your stance on that?

"BJJ is my main style, that is how I started in martial arts. But there are many other good ground fighters too."

Does UFC allow you to compete in grappling tournaments? When was the last time you competed in BJJ?

"I still like to fight Abu Dhabi events. So when I will be able to do it, I will do it. If its not a conflict. I never had a problem with UFC about it. UFC is my priority."

How often do you visit your club in Croatia?

"I have a very good representative in Zagreb. Bojan Mirkovic is one amazing black belt and every time he needs me I will be there. Right now I have to focus on my next fight, but usually after my fights I go for a tour in Europe to visit all my affiliated schools. I am very confident in my team, Bojan in Zagreb represents Werdum Combat Team very well."

So when can we expect you to come here again?

"End of the year."

There was one really funny situation - when you entered the elevator with Fedor and his crew few years back,  you decided to show them what you learned in Croatian - so you told them ""Dobro jutro, dobar dan, laku noće, j...m ti mater". Of course, this last one is not a very nice word, and Im sure people from Russia were able to understand it. That funny YouTube video was a huge hit. At that time, did you know the meaning of that last two words?


"It was a joke, and sometimes people get it wrong. I just wanted to show that I know some words in Croatian. When people teach you new language they always start with bad words because it sounds funny."

What do you think about Overeem last performance, it was a battle of the guys you know well.

"Car without fuel doesn't work... Super-fuel haha."