Maximus Interview

[JTS]

From Inside Fighting; Parts 1 & 2 combined

Marcus Aurelio - "This is my life." - 8/23/2007
by Elias Cepeda

Instantly he was hooked. Recounting how he got his start in martial arts former Pride lightweight and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt Marcus Aurelio, who is making his UFC debut this Saturday at UFC 74, remembers being brought into a Jiu Jitsu class for the first time by his father.

“I was a kid. I started when I was nine years old” says Aurelio.

“My dad took me to the school, the coach was his friend. And the first time I got there I loved it. I said, ‘I want to train this, I think this is going to be my life, I love it.’ Then I started to train, do competitions and I’m here today, a professional fighter.”

Well it didn’t happen quite so fast for the now 32 year old American Top Team member. As a matter of fact, when he began training in Jiu Jitsu, fighting in Vale Tudo or MMA competition was not even on his radar. It took years of high level Jiu Jitsu tournament competition and some inspiration from a couple of other famous Brazilian fighters to get Aurelio thinking about becoming a fighter.

“No” says Aurelio when asked if he always knew he would get into fighting. “I started to look at professional fighting like eight years ago because I was already a black belt. Back then…it was when Royce (Gracie) started to fight in the UFC and I saw Rickson (Gracie) fight in Japan and I started to think, ‘hey man, I can do that’. I wanted to be professional and then I started to think about that about eight to ten years ago.”

At that time, Marcus had already begun training with the legendary Ricardo Liborio and a couple years later the native of Fortaleza, Brazil made a move to the United States and a jump towards becoming a professional fighter.

“Like five years ago, Liborio invited me to come [to the US]. He was already coming here to open a gym and he was my coach and my friend. He said, “Hey, let’s go to try and open a gym and to start to fight like professionals. To start to learn boxing, Muay Thai and wrestling like a professional.’ I said, ok. This is my life and I want to do that and I can” says Aurelio.

Soon the American Top Team in Florida was formed and it is now made up of some of the very best mixed martial artists in the world. At the time of the move Aurelio had his dedication to becoming a world class fighter bolstered by teammates who became like a family to him. That support was and is crucial to Aurelio, as much of his actual family remains in Brazil.

“I came [to the US] and six months later I got married and I brought my wife at that time. All my family is still there [in Brazil]. My mom, my dad, my sister and my brother” says Aurelio.

“I always go when I have a chance to Brazil to see my family. I want to spend as much time as I can with my family, with my dad. Now my dad is not young, he’s 73 years old. My mom too so I want to be right there with them. Sometimes they come here and sometimes I go there” he says.

The separation has certainly not made Aurelio’s heart grow less fond of his family, nor theirs for him. When asked if his family his proud of all he has accomplished in his field, Marcus replies enthusiastically.

“Oh yes, yes. My dad is so proud of me. He keeps talking about me like twenty four hours a day” laughs Aurelio.

But the fighter they call “Maximus” does not let his parents watch his fights live or in person, for fear that they wouldn’t handle a tough loss very well.

“My mom and my dad, they cannot see [his fights] because they’re too old and sometimes they feel nervous, you know? And you never know what’s going to happen. The fights may go good but then they may not go good, we can get knocked out and it’s not good for them to see. They see the results later” Aurelio explains.

Aurelio has made an international name for himself as one of the best lightweights in the world, mostly through his fights in Japan first in the ZST organization and then in the Pride promotion, where he choked the reigning lightweight champion (Takanori Gomi) out in 2006. But he knows that this Saturday at UFC 74 will mark the first time that many American fans will see him in action.

The opportunity is not lost on him and as he turns his attention to his big debut, Aurelio’s thoughts are with those who have helped him get to where he is and the US fans that he hopes to impress. Liborio is a case in point for the former category and Aurelio emphasizes the coach’s influence on his and the whole team’s development.

“Man it’s an honor for me to have Liborio every day with me. He always comes with some fresh positions and new situations. He’s a really good coach, you know? He’s a really good guy and teacher. He’s a good strategy guy. He always makes good plans for fights. For me and all my teammates it’s an honor to have Liborio with us. He’s a legend, he really is” says Aurelio.

As for the American UFC fans, Aurelio is eager to show them what he can do.

“I just want to show the American fans…the best that I can do. I want to show my style, that I can be a great fighter in the Octagon. I want to show all my ground skills and my striking skills. I want to always do a good job, fight and make people happy to see my fight.”

Lightweight Marcus Aurelio was 2-1 in the Pride organization when he received some good news and some bad news. He would be facing the number one lightweight in the world, Pride champion Takanori Gomi, but it would also be a non-title bout.

Talk about a backhanded opportunity. That’s kind of like getting a free pull on a Vegas slot machine with the caveat that should you come up all lucky sevens you still won’t be allowed to keep the chips.

What was going through Aurelio’s mind when he was given that fight?

“Man, I got sad because I said ‘I have a chance and I don’t know why I am not fighting Gomi for the title’. They couldn’t explain to me, they couldn’t say why not, you know?” says Aurelio.

The situation must have seemed unbelievable to the American Top Team (ATT) member but he still chose to take the fight. Why?

“I knew I could beat him. I wanted to show I wanted to prove that” he says.

And to the surprise of just about everyone outside of his own team, Aurelio did just that. He took down and choked out Gomi in the first round. Belt or no belt, Marcus had a well deserved feeling of satisfaction.

“Man, I felt so good, you know? I felt like I did my job. I trained hard for that fight and I was looking for his weakness and I made a strategy, I made a plan. I thought ‘if I can take him to the ground I can beat him.’ He had never gone to the ground, he always knocked people out and when he gets on the ground he don’t know what to do” says Aurelio.

That part about Gomi not wanting any part of the ground with Aurelio may sound a bit brash but Gomi did little to disprove such a statement when he had a rematch with Aurelio, this time for the title, a couple fights later. The champion pulled out a close split decision win by scoring on the feet and avoiding ground fighting like the plague.

Aurelio felt like he won the second fight and asked Pride officials for a third “rubber match” with Gomi. That fight has yet to happen and instead ownership of the UFC soon stepped in and purchased the Pride organization, leaving just about everything concerning the popular Japanese promotion and its fighters like Aurelio up in the air. But Aurelio will get his career back on the ground and his hands on another opponent Saturday at UFC 74.

Having proven himself to be among the very best, if not the best, lightweights in the world in 2006, the UFC signed Aurelio to a four fight deal that begins with an under card battle against Clay Guida. Aurelio respects Guida and feels a win against him will prove a lot.

“He’s a good guy for me to start fighting in the UFC because, man, he’s really tough. He’s fought good against some other guys. If I beat him I’m going to show my skills because he’s a really tough guy” he says.

Aurelio has many ATT teammates who have and do fight in the UFC, as well as his student and friend Jorge Gurgel, and he says he’s relied on them a lot to learn about fighting in the UFC. Aurelio also says he looks forward to fighting under the new-to-him UFC rules.

“Yes, I’m always asking about the UFC to my friends because they have been there. I always ask about the rules about what the fans think” he says.

“In Pride there is a difference because you can do kicking to the head [of a downed opponent] and in the UFC you can use elbows and you can catch the guy on the fence. I like the elbows.”

Don’t count on Octagon jitters from Aurelio. He’s confident he can do what it takes to beat Guida.

“He’s a good wrestler he’s got good gas and he always keep going and going and he never gives up and it makes him a tough guy” says Aurelio.

But as knowledgeable fans understand, “tough guys” don’t typically give top notch Jiu Jitsu practitioners like Aurelio any pause. Aurelio doesn’t believe Guida will show him anything he hasn’t already seen and dealt with.

“I don’t think he is going to show me nothing different. The only thing he’s going to show me is his conditioning and his wrestling, no more than that. He’s not a grappling guy and he’s not a striker. Maybe he can throw a good punch, but he’s still not a striker, you know what I mean?” says Aurelio.

But Aurelio feels he’ll personally be fine wherever the fight goes.

“I can do some good punches too, I can kick. I’m not going to be afraid if he takes me down. If he takes me down he might be afraid, you know? Because he got to keep me down and he got to keep fighting on the ground. My wrestling is getting is good too, and my striking is getting good and my ground is already good, I feel comfortable on the ground” he assures.

A good deal of Aurelio’s confidence comes simply from the stable he trains with. In addition to what he calls a “dream team” of fighters, he has also been drawing on the specific knowledge of Din Thomas, a teammate that fought and won a close decision over Guida last January.

“Yes, Din has helped me a lot. He knows because he fought three rounds against Guida, the weaknesses he has. He’s helped me a lot” Marcus says.

Some say fights are won in the off season and if so there’s little wonder why Aurelio feels prepared. He’s had about nine months off since his last fight (Guida last fought in June) and he’s spent that time training with some of the best fighters in the world.

“All my training is in the headquarters - American Top Team in Coconut Creek (Florida) with all my teammates. Man, you know we have a dream team here. We have all the tough guys. We have “JZ” Cavalcante, the “Pit-bull” (Thiago Alves), Wilson Gouveia, Denis Kang, Din Thomas…a bunch of tough guys with me every day. That’s why I’m not afraid to fight anyone, because I train everyday hard with the best guys” he says.

And on Saturday Marcus Aurelio will have the opportunity to show a whole new audience that he’s one of the “best guys” in the world as well.