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This is from In The Guard but I liked it thought yall mite ai here it is....
How long have you been training in Jiu-Jitsu?
I began when I was 15 years old, and now I am 25. I have 9 years of training. I came from Judo and I've trained in jiu-Jitsu for 9 years.
What instructors have you trained under?
I began in Manaus with a student of Royler, Monteiro, then when I came to Rio I continued training with Royler, where I train today.
I heard that you trained with Fábio Gurgel. Is this true? How long?
There was a period when I dated a girl in São Paulo, when almost every weekend I went to São Paulo during about 6 or 7 months, and when I went there, I always went to Fábio's academy, when I was a purple belt, and a brown belt, and I always trained with him, and I always trained there, and I learned a lot from him also.
You also train in Judo? What rank are you?
I continued training in Judo in Sion, with professor Jomar, and actually I am a brown belt. I have been a brown belt for 3 years.
When did you get your black belt in jiu-jitsu?
I got it after the Brasileiro '95, where I was Brazilian champion in the light weight (leve) division.
What is your height and weight?
I am 5'8 1/2" (1.74m) and 185lbs. (84kg).
What is your birth date?
July 2, 1974.
Tell us about your success in tournaments over the last year...
I think that my success is principally due to the humility that I have always for studiing with Royler, for studiing with my students, for fighting in the championship fights and being a student always of my adversaries. I think that to be a guy that doesn't have the humility to learn, he never becomes a great champion, so, I look to mirror the greatest champions and always when I can I draw information from them. For sure this was one of the greatest factors of my success, as well as my training that is very hard, my Judo that helps me a lot and the confidence that I have in myself when I am competing.
Fábio Gurgel said in an interview that you and he had a good relationship until the Mundial '98. Do you think that has changed?
For me, I don't think that has changed. But certainly I think that he was a little bothered because he was one of the instructors that got me to my peak and got me through the belts. So, for my part, I think that would be a natural thing since I fought with him mainly because I went up in the belts and went up in weight. But it is a situation that he looks at that way because I still continue to admire him in the same way and concider him a great champion regardless of whether he wins or looses. Champions aren't made inside the ring. They are made outside of the ring, with the attitudes and with what a person represents for jiu-jitsu. I think that if Fábio wins or looses, he won't stop being the great champion that he always was.
Why do you think that Fábio might feel it has changed?
Sincerely, he never said anything directly to me, but it is well known. I hear that he said this and that, and mainly by the fact that he suddenly moved Leozinho to the same division as Royler this year, it was a form of closure with a slap to my face, I don't know....
Are you going to compete in the Absolute this year?
I am going for sure. I will go to compete in my weight category which will be big, and I will go to compete in the absolute.
How is the training with Royler?
These days, we don't spar so much... as hard as we did before. Now it is more of an exchange of information, more a training of particular positions. It is not very focused on any championships, mainly because it is not in the best interest for me to spar with Royler nor Royler with me, because we are in different categories. So I prefer to get heavier people so I don't run the risk of hurting Royler, like what happened at Abu Dhabi. We were training a little hard and he ended up hurting himself, so I opt for sparring with heavier people, and with Royler I do technical training for positions and certain situations.
Who usually comes out better in the sparring with Royler?
As I said before, that isn't the case. I would say for sure that it would be him, certainly to strengthen the team.
I have heard that you have been spending some time with Relson in Hawaii. Are you planning to begin teaching and training with Relson?
Relson is a great friend of mine. He is one of the people that I respect the most in the family, and whenever I can I go there to help him in his academy, because he is by himself in Hawaii, and I go there, to do a seminar for his association, where I am very well received, then I always take a vacation, a form of relaxing, and of entertainment also. I give a jump in Hawaii, that is a marvelous place, and sometimes I get lucky and give some classes there, and make a little money.
In relation to training, my training for sure will always be here in Brazil, because the training in the US is not at the level that it is here in Brazil. As far as training, it is not my intention for going there, I go there only to see Relson and give a few classes in Relson's academy.
Why not move to the US and establich an academy in association with Gracie Humaitá, maybe on the east coast? We have Rickson in California...
Today, I continue to give classes in Gracie Humaitá. If tomorrow I am lucky, and I open my own academy, or begin another type of business, for sure I will continue fighting for Gracie Humaitá because this was who made me who I am, and I owe alot for my origins.
For sure it is a good idea, but it is something that would have to hapen in the future, because now I am very involved with the competitions here in Brazil and I am putting all of my time into my training here in Brazil. So I cannot be absent to open an academy in the US, but for sure for the future, this is a very probable idea.
You were at the fight between Marcelo Tigre and Egan Inoue. People say that you talked to Enson after the fight to calm him. What did you say to him?
I said that he didn't need to yell with the others for them to hear him. I said for him to calm himself, and that if he wanted to resolve something in the ring, that he get in there for a fight with a representative of the family, that in this case would be me. But if he wanted to waist his time and keep talking nonsense there, it wouldn't get him anywhere. However if he would shut up it would only increase his brother's victory.
Tell us a little about the fight between Tigre and Inoue...
In the first round, Enoue had a clear advantage, giving the better punches, but near the end of the first and into the second round, he got tired, and Marcelo had total superiority until the KO, but unfortunately he kicked Enoue in the face causing himself to be disqualified.
When will you enter the ring of vale tudo?
For sure, I am waiting for a better offer. I don't want to fight for 3,000 or 4,000 nor 5,000 dollars. I think that if I do that, all of jiu-jitsu will lose and all of jiu-jitsu will be demoralized. I would like for everyone to win 50,000, 100,000, I don't want to see anyone enter the ring to win 2,000, 3,000, as everybody is doing here in Brazil. I am not behind promotion. If I say that I only want promotion, I am lying. Of course I want a financial return. That is what motivates the athlete. I think if I enter vale tudo only to be famous, it wouldn't do me as much good, as if I enter and make good money and a good reputation.
Some people say that you are using steroids. Is this true?
It is natural when you rise in weight, the people are quick to associate this to steroids. But what the people don't understand, is that if you hae a good diet, if you have the appropriate weight lifting routine, and supplements, you don't need to be on steroids. You can raise your weight naturally. You don't need to stoop to the level of using anabolics. So, I think a lot of people certainly are using these things, but I didn't particularly need them so far. I won't say that I would never take anabolics. If it was necessary in order to reach another goal, I don't have anything against it. Certainly I would take them.
People say that the athlete that uses steroids is "cheating". That this is not natural. What do you think?
For sure, if the guy is using steroids, he will have a strength advantage over the guy who is not using steroids. But the thing that will determine if he will win or lose, for sure is his jiu-jitsu, his desire to win, and his abilities. I think that the steroids are an element, but don't win the fight for sure.
After the fight between Royler and Zé Mário at the Brasileiro, Zé Mário left the tournament. Would you be the one that he would fight next?
I wasn't his next opponent because he had would have had to fight with Tatá (Octávio Duarte) before he fought with me. He would only be matched with me in the finals, so he left the competition before the semi-finals. He didn't fight in the semi-finals. He would have to beat Tatá before he had the cance to fight with me.
Did you make an announcement for him to come back and fight?
Yes, because Zé Mário is a great champion and I wanted very much to fight with him that day. I was prepared to beat him, so I made the announcement with the hopes of playing a little with his honor and pride, to see if he would return, and decide to fight the championship.
Do you think that Zé Mário is avoiding you?
No... in some form.... I think that Zé Mário is a great fighter, and so when he is ready to fight me, for sure he will come to fight me, because he is a fighter. He is a champion like me. I don't think there would be any problems if he lost to me.
What did you think about the fight between Royler and Zé Mário?
I thought that Royler lost the fight before they ever fought, because Royler went on a trip, was injured, couldn't train properly, and when Zé Mário talked about him in the magazine, he got very offended, and qanted to fight with Zé Mário. I think that he was a little innocent for wanting to fight with Zé Mário on his terms, which is a 10 minute fight, with points. Royler can only fight with Zé Mário if it is with no time and no points, until submission.
Is Zé Mário the one that you want to fight the most? If not, who?
For sure he is also on the list, but he is not the only one. I still want to fight this year with Amaury, I want to fight with Libório, I want to fight with Roleta, and for sure I want a taste of Wallid, who doesn't fight much with the gi, but I give him a little chance.
Do you want to make a rematch with Roleta?
For sure we will encounter each other again, because he fights in the same championships that I do, and it's not revenge, it's just another fight. Because each fight is a new fight and old fights are history. The one who wins is the one who is better prepared on the day of the fight and the one that wants it more.
Is he the only one to finish you as a black belt? So you should return the favor, right?
He is. It was the only time that I tapped, and it's not a question of returning the favor, it is a question of winning or loosing. If it goes to a submission or if it goes to 1x0, it is not important to me. What I want is to win. It is clear, that if I win, I will go to train again, and go to fight with him again. Because I think that the submission, it is a thing that everybody will have happen to them. Sooner or later it will happen. So, I don't worry about that. I have to worry about being in shape and prepared to fight him again.
Describe to us what happened with your fights at Abu Dhabi...
The first fight I beat a russian sambo champion. He weighed 100kg (220lbs.). I fought in the category up to 100kg so that I wouldn't face Renzo, at the request of Royler. Because my weight class was up to 87kg and I fought in the category up to 100kg. And this russian, I took him to guard, swept, took his back, and finished hem in 2 and a half minutes. The second fight I fought with a fighter who has been in the Ultimate, Vernon White. I got his arm several times, got a triangle, foot lock, and he didn't tap. I dominated 18x0. On the second day, I was in the semi finals against Murilo Bustamante, where I won by 7x0, with a takedown, a guard pass, and a sweep. And in the finals, I fought with Jeff Monsen, who had beaten Traven and Rigan, where I fought the full 40 minutes, no points, no advantages. He won by decision, and I opted to wear the gi because with the gi I would have a chance to hold onto him better, and I went to his arm two times, and he intelligently carried me out of the ring, which is permitted by the rules of Abu Dhabi. I was satisfied with the second place, but I was disappointed not to fight in the Absolute, because I was very tired and I left after my fight with Jeff Monsen.
What are your expectations for the Mundial?
This is who I think will win the divisions:
Galo: Omar Salum
Pluma: Robson Moura
Pena: Royler Gracie
Leve: Márcio Feitosa
Médio: Jamelão
Meio Pesado: Amaury, Roleta or me
Pesado: Fábio, Paulão or Murilo
Super Pesado: Daniel, Cláudio, Leo Leite, or Zé Mário
Pesadíssimo: Traven or Castello Branco
Absoluto: Zé Mário, Amaury, me, Roleta, or Traven
Do you have any last words that you would like to share with the readers of In The Guard?
Everybody wants to know what they have to do to beat Saulo. The first thing, you have to train like I train, you have to suffer like I suffer, you have to love and respect your opponents like I do, and along with all of this, you have to be a person of character. A person that has humility for learning and doesn't belittle anybody and that is always prepared to fight. If you have all of these ingredients, for sure you will have a chance. And I hope that I am a good example for this whole generation that is coming up, and that if some of you are looking up to me and my jiu-jitsu, for sure it will be one of the things that makes me happy and it is for this that I work long and hard, to be an inpiration to the new generation that is coming up. Valeu!!!
How long have you been training in Jiu-Jitsu?
I began when I was 15 years old, and now I am 25. I have 9 years of training. I came from Judo and I've trained in jiu-Jitsu for 9 years.
What instructors have you trained under?
I began in Manaus with a student of Royler, Monteiro, then when I came to Rio I continued training with Royler, where I train today.
I heard that you trained with Fábio Gurgel. Is this true? How long?
There was a period when I dated a girl in São Paulo, when almost every weekend I went to São Paulo during about 6 or 7 months, and when I went there, I always went to Fábio's academy, when I was a purple belt, and a brown belt, and I always trained with him, and I always trained there, and I learned a lot from him also.
You also train in Judo? What rank are you?
I continued training in Judo in Sion, with professor Jomar, and actually I am a brown belt. I have been a brown belt for 3 years.
When did you get your black belt in jiu-jitsu?
I got it after the Brasileiro '95, where I was Brazilian champion in the light weight (leve) division.
What is your height and weight?
I am 5'8 1/2" (1.74m) and 185lbs. (84kg).
What is your birth date?
July 2, 1974.
Tell us about your success in tournaments over the last year...
I think that my success is principally due to the humility that I have always for studiing with Royler, for studiing with my students, for fighting in the championship fights and being a student always of my adversaries. I think that to be a guy that doesn't have the humility to learn, he never becomes a great champion, so, I look to mirror the greatest champions and always when I can I draw information from them. For sure this was one of the greatest factors of my success, as well as my training that is very hard, my Judo that helps me a lot and the confidence that I have in myself when I am competing.
Fábio Gurgel said in an interview that you and he had a good relationship until the Mundial '98. Do you think that has changed?
For me, I don't think that has changed. But certainly I think that he was a little bothered because he was one of the instructors that got me to my peak and got me through the belts. So, for my part, I think that would be a natural thing since I fought with him mainly because I went up in the belts and went up in weight. But it is a situation that he looks at that way because I still continue to admire him in the same way and concider him a great champion regardless of whether he wins or looses. Champions aren't made inside the ring. They are made outside of the ring, with the attitudes and with what a person represents for jiu-jitsu. I think that if Fábio wins or looses, he won't stop being the great champion that he always was.
Why do you think that Fábio might feel it has changed?
Sincerely, he never said anything directly to me, but it is well known. I hear that he said this and that, and mainly by the fact that he suddenly moved Leozinho to the same division as Royler this year, it was a form of closure with a slap to my face, I don't know....
Are you going to compete in the Absolute this year?
I am going for sure. I will go to compete in my weight category which will be big, and I will go to compete in the absolute.
How is the training with Royler?
These days, we don't spar so much... as hard as we did before. Now it is more of an exchange of information, more a training of particular positions. It is not very focused on any championships, mainly because it is not in the best interest for me to spar with Royler nor Royler with me, because we are in different categories. So I prefer to get heavier people so I don't run the risk of hurting Royler, like what happened at Abu Dhabi. We were training a little hard and he ended up hurting himself, so I opt for sparring with heavier people, and with Royler I do technical training for positions and certain situations.
Who usually comes out better in the sparring with Royler?
As I said before, that isn't the case. I would say for sure that it would be him, certainly to strengthen the team.
I have heard that you have been spending some time with Relson in Hawaii. Are you planning to begin teaching and training with Relson?
Relson is a great friend of mine. He is one of the people that I respect the most in the family, and whenever I can I go there to help him in his academy, because he is by himself in Hawaii, and I go there, to do a seminar for his association, where I am very well received, then I always take a vacation, a form of relaxing, and of entertainment also. I give a jump in Hawaii, that is a marvelous place, and sometimes I get lucky and give some classes there, and make a little money.
In relation to training, my training for sure will always be here in Brazil, because the training in the US is not at the level that it is here in Brazil. As far as training, it is not my intention for going there, I go there only to see Relson and give a few classes in Relson's academy.
Why not move to the US and establich an academy in association with Gracie Humaitá, maybe on the east coast? We have Rickson in California...
Today, I continue to give classes in Gracie Humaitá. If tomorrow I am lucky, and I open my own academy, or begin another type of business, for sure I will continue fighting for Gracie Humaitá because this was who made me who I am, and I owe alot for my origins.
For sure it is a good idea, but it is something that would have to hapen in the future, because now I am very involved with the competitions here in Brazil and I am putting all of my time into my training here in Brazil. So I cannot be absent to open an academy in the US, but for sure for the future, this is a very probable idea.
You were at the fight between Marcelo Tigre and Egan Inoue. People say that you talked to Enson after the fight to calm him. What did you say to him?
I said that he didn't need to yell with the others for them to hear him. I said for him to calm himself, and that if he wanted to resolve something in the ring, that he get in there for a fight with a representative of the family, that in this case would be me. But if he wanted to waist his time and keep talking nonsense there, it wouldn't get him anywhere. However if he would shut up it would only increase his brother's victory.
Tell us a little about the fight between Tigre and Inoue...
In the first round, Enoue had a clear advantage, giving the better punches, but near the end of the first and into the second round, he got tired, and Marcelo had total superiority until the KO, but unfortunately he kicked Enoue in the face causing himself to be disqualified.
When will you enter the ring of vale tudo?
For sure, I am waiting for a better offer. I don't want to fight for 3,000 or 4,000 nor 5,000 dollars. I think that if I do that, all of jiu-jitsu will lose and all of jiu-jitsu will be demoralized. I would like for everyone to win 50,000, 100,000, I don't want to see anyone enter the ring to win 2,000, 3,000, as everybody is doing here in Brazil. I am not behind promotion. If I say that I only want promotion, I am lying. Of course I want a financial return. That is what motivates the athlete. I think if I enter vale tudo only to be famous, it wouldn't do me as much good, as if I enter and make good money and a good reputation.
Some people say that you are using steroids. Is this true?
It is natural when you rise in weight, the people are quick to associate this to steroids. But what the people don't understand, is that if you hae a good diet, if you have the appropriate weight lifting routine, and supplements, you don't need to be on steroids. You can raise your weight naturally. You don't need to stoop to the level of using anabolics. So, I think a lot of people certainly are using these things, but I didn't particularly need them so far. I won't say that I would never take anabolics. If it was necessary in order to reach another goal, I don't have anything against it. Certainly I would take them.
People say that the athlete that uses steroids is "cheating". That this is not natural. What do you think?
For sure, if the guy is using steroids, he will have a strength advantage over the guy who is not using steroids. But the thing that will determine if he will win or lose, for sure is his jiu-jitsu, his desire to win, and his abilities. I think that the steroids are an element, but don't win the fight for sure.
After the fight between Royler and Zé Mário at the Brasileiro, Zé Mário left the tournament. Would you be the one that he would fight next?
I wasn't his next opponent because he had would have had to fight with Tatá (Octávio Duarte) before he fought with me. He would only be matched with me in the finals, so he left the competition before the semi-finals. He didn't fight in the semi-finals. He would have to beat Tatá before he had the cance to fight with me.
Did you make an announcement for him to come back and fight?
Yes, because Zé Mário is a great champion and I wanted very much to fight with him that day. I was prepared to beat him, so I made the announcement with the hopes of playing a little with his honor and pride, to see if he would return, and decide to fight the championship.
Do you think that Zé Mário is avoiding you?
No... in some form.... I think that Zé Mário is a great fighter, and so when he is ready to fight me, for sure he will come to fight me, because he is a fighter. He is a champion like me. I don't think there would be any problems if he lost to me.
What did you think about the fight between Royler and Zé Mário?
I thought that Royler lost the fight before they ever fought, because Royler went on a trip, was injured, couldn't train properly, and when Zé Mário talked about him in the magazine, he got very offended, and qanted to fight with Zé Mário. I think that he was a little innocent for wanting to fight with Zé Mário on his terms, which is a 10 minute fight, with points. Royler can only fight with Zé Mário if it is with no time and no points, until submission.
Is Zé Mário the one that you want to fight the most? If not, who?
For sure he is also on the list, but he is not the only one. I still want to fight this year with Amaury, I want to fight with Libório, I want to fight with Roleta, and for sure I want a taste of Wallid, who doesn't fight much with the gi, but I give him a little chance.
Do you want to make a rematch with Roleta?
For sure we will encounter each other again, because he fights in the same championships that I do, and it's not revenge, it's just another fight. Because each fight is a new fight and old fights are history. The one who wins is the one who is better prepared on the day of the fight and the one that wants it more.
Is he the only one to finish you as a black belt? So you should return the favor, right?
He is. It was the only time that I tapped, and it's not a question of returning the favor, it is a question of winning or loosing. If it goes to a submission or if it goes to 1x0, it is not important to me. What I want is to win. It is clear, that if I win, I will go to train again, and go to fight with him again. Because I think that the submission, it is a thing that everybody will have happen to them. Sooner or later it will happen. So, I don't worry about that. I have to worry about being in shape and prepared to fight him again.
Describe to us what happened with your fights at Abu Dhabi...
The first fight I beat a russian sambo champion. He weighed 100kg (220lbs.). I fought in the category up to 100kg so that I wouldn't face Renzo, at the request of Royler. Because my weight class was up to 87kg and I fought in the category up to 100kg. And this russian, I took him to guard, swept, took his back, and finished hem in 2 and a half minutes. The second fight I fought with a fighter who has been in the Ultimate, Vernon White. I got his arm several times, got a triangle, foot lock, and he didn't tap. I dominated 18x0. On the second day, I was in the semi finals against Murilo Bustamante, where I won by 7x0, with a takedown, a guard pass, and a sweep. And in the finals, I fought with Jeff Monsen, who had beaten Traven and Rigan, where I fought the full 40 minutes, no points, no advantages. He won by decision, and I opted to wear the gi because with the gi I would have a chance to hold onto him better, and I went to his arm two times, and he intelligently carried me out of the ring, which is permitted by the rules of Abu Dhabi. I was satisfied with the second place, but I was disappointed not to fight in the Absolute, because I was very tired and I left after my fight with Jeff Monsen.
What are your expectations for the Mundial?
This is who I think will win the divisions:
Galo: Omar Salum
Pluma: Robson Moura
Pena: Royler Gracie
Leve: Márcio Feitosa
Médio: Jamelão
Meio Pesado: Amaury, Roleta or me
Pesado: Fábio, Paulão or Murilo
Super Pesado: Daniel, Cláudio, Leo Leite, or Zé Mário
Pesadíssimo: Traven or Castello Branco
Absoluto: Zé Mário, Amaury, me, Roleta, or Traven
Do you have any last words that you would like to share with the readers of In The Guard?
Everybody wants to know what they have to do to beat Saulo. The first thing, you have to train like I train, you have to suffer like I suffer, you have to love and respect your opponents like I do, and along with all of this, you have to be a person of character. A person that has humility for learning and doesn't belittle anybody and that is always prepared to fight. If you have all of these ingredients, for sure you will have a chance. And I hope that I am a good example for this whole generation that is coming up, and that if some of you are looking up to me and my jiu-jitsu, for sure it will be one of the things that makes me happy and it is for this that I work long and hard, to be an inpiration to the new generation that is coming up. Valeu!!!
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