Teixeira spoke with Sherdog.com this week about his training camp, fighting “Rampage” and what he believes happened to a rumored matchup with countryman Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
Sherdog.com: How did you take the news that would face
Rampage?
Teixeira: I knew more or less what would happen. They had offered
me this fight and I accepted right away, as I accepted Shogun. It
wasn’t confirmed, but I saw it on Twitter and some sites. I haven’t
talked to my manager about this confirmation, but if it came from
the UFC, it must be right.
Sherdog.com: And how do you view this matchup against
Rampage?
Teixeira: I’m going out with him in the standup. I have to be smart
and not stand still, move, fight the right fight. But, I’ll work on
the strategy with my coaches.
Sherdog.com: Do you think you should consider taking the fight
to the ground, since Rampage is admittedly weak in this
area?
Teixeira: Look, it’s MMA. I’m prepared for everything. The ground
will be part of the game, yes, but I have to train everything for
him, even takedown defense.
Sherdog.com: And that increased confidence in the striking comes
after training in Holland?
Teixeira: Of course. The training there was more for Pedro [Rizzo],
who was fighting Fedor. But I also did some training with guys like
Peter
Aerts and some very good kids there, where muay Thai is really
strong.
Sherdog.com: About the fact that Shogun denied a fight against
you...
Teixeira: I don’t think it’s something from Shogun. He’s not
guilty. It should be something from the manager. Shogun has fought
the best and wouldn’t have any reason to deny a fight against me.
Leave that alone.
Sherdog.com: First Shogun, now Rampage -- the UFC has shown that
they liked your fight, haven’t they?
Teixeira: It’s true, they wanted to put a tough guy, a good name
against me, and that’s cool. It shows that they liked my fight and
trust me to put on a good show.
Sherdog.com: Where will your camp be for the Rampage
fight?
Teixeira: I’m living here in the U.S., in Danbury, Conn. I’m also
in Las Vegas, and now I’m going to help Lyoto
Machida in his camp to fight against Ryan Bader.
My camp will be here. I just got a green card and I have to stay
here in the country for six months. I was in Brazil for a long
time; now, I have to stay here and comply with this rule.
Sherdog.com: Will Pedro Rizzo
participate in the camp?
Teixeira: I want Pedro here, yes, of course. We have yet to talk
about it. He has to take care of the kids at Manguinhos Training
Center.
Sherdog.com: After living in Rio for so long, you’re coming back
to fight in a UFC event there. How happy are you with that?
Teixeira: Wow, it’s the best thing! I went to both UFCs in Rio and
was very happy with what I saw, the crowd. Now, I imagine the crowd
thrilled that way again, but this time for my fight. But I can’t
get too excited. You know how a fight is. You have to train and get
ready.
Alan Oliveira contributed to this report.
view original article >>