Roan Carneiro – Atlanta’s Newest Resident Looks to Thrill Fans on Sept. 6

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By Thomas Gerbasi

Throughout the ups and downs of his mixed martial arts career, welterweight Roan Carneiro has kept a pretty positive outlook on things, choosing to look at the bright side where others would just search for negatives.

Take his thoughts on his time in the fight game and its high and low points.

“For me right now is the greatest moment in my career,” Carneiro told UFC.com. “Every fight I get in the UFC is a blessing and I’m making sure I give my best every time out there for myself and the fans. I don’t believe I have had a lowest point in my career; I believe that I have learned from every loss and it’s only made me a better fighter.”

It’s nice to hear, and it just reinforces Carneiro’s reputation as one of the sport’s good guys. But mention his first fight with the man he will be facing at UFC 88 on September 6th, Ryo Chonan, and the mood changes a bit.

“I’m not going to lie, it still bothers me very much,” said Carneiro of the 2005 DEEP organization bout with the Japanese standout, won by Chonan via cuts in the third round. “I was very unhappy with the DEEP referee and the way he officiated our first bout. They constantly stood me up from dominant positions on the ground and tried to make it as difficult as possible to beat Chonan. I feel I completely dominated the first two rounds and the cut stoppage with two minutes left in the third round was bulls**t. I am glad our rematch will be in the UFC and I’m looking forward to having a fair fight.”

The loss to Chonan broke a five fight winning streak for the Rio De Janeiro native, and though he would get back on his feet and win five of his next seven bouts to earn a spot in the UFC, that defeat still ate at him. So when it was announced that the two would meet again at UFC 85 this past June, Carneiro was ecstatic. But then an injury suffered by Chonan shelved the bout.

“I was really disappointed when I found out he was injured and couldn’t fight me at UFC 85,” said Carneiro. “But I understand that this is a fight business and people do get hurt.”

Luckily, Carneiro didn’t lose the June payday, but in late replacement Kevin Burns, he was facing a virtual unknown who made his presence in the Octagon known immediately when he submitted the heavily favored Brazilian in the second round in one of the biggest upsets of the year thus far.

“I didn’t underestimate him,” said Carneiro of Burns. “Any fight in the UFC is going to be a hard one and I am always ready for that. Not to take anything away from Kevin, but I had a really hard time cutting weight for that fight and I think that might have played a factor in the outcome. But I have learned from my mistakes and moved on. However I would like to have a rematch with Kevin somewhere down the line; he is a very tough fighter and I think it would be a good rematch.”

First though, there’s another rematch to contend with – against Chonan.

“I’m just glad the UFC decided to put this fight back together,” said Carneiro, but with a 2-2 UFC record (12-7 overall), he knows that another loss won’t be a good thing for him.

“Definitely (this is a must win), losing this fight is not an option for me.”

Fighting under pressure is nothing new for the 30-year old though. Part of a fighting family that includes a brother with a black belt in jiu-jitsu, Carneiro began training 12 years ago, attracted to the sport by – who else – the Gracie family.

By 2000, he had entered the world of professional mixed martial arts and he went on to lose his first two fights. Loss number two came to a familiar face to UFC fans – middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

“It was the second fight of my career and he was the Shooto champion at the time,” recalled Carneiro of Silva, who was coming off a huge win over Hayato ‘Mach’ Sakurai five months earlier. “Nobody really wanted to fight him, but I decided I had nothing to lose so I stepped up and I’m glad I did. I learned a lot from this fight. And now Anderson and I are close friends, and I hope he continues to dominate his division and entertain the fans. He is a true champion.”

The submission (due to strikes) loss to Silva propelled Carneiro into a winning streak that was only snapped by the controversial defeat to Chonan. Seven fights later, ‘Jucao’ was getting the call from the UFC, and in his Octagon debut in April of 2007, he was impressive in outpointing Rich Clementi. It was after that fight that he decided that he needed to focus all his time and energy on the sport if he wanted to make it to the top.

“After my first fight in UFC is when I decided I had to become a full time fighter,” said Carneiro, previously an office worker back in Brazil. “I saw that MMA was the fastest growing sport here in the USA and I knew moving here and training with American Top Team would make me a champion.”

“Really, I had no choice,” he continues. “This is where the best training and the biggest opportunities were. I couldn’t pass up the chance to train at American Top Team and fight in the UFC; it’s a dream come true for me.”

Atlanta eventually became Carneiro’s home base in the States, and though he enjoys life here, relocating does take some getting used to.

“Honestly the food and culture are totally different, but I have grown to love it,” said Carneiro. “I miss my family and friends the most though. It’s hard not being able to see them whenever I want.”

Carneiro’s wife has joined him in Atlanta though, and the couple is expecting a son. Plus, he has also been named head instructor for ATT Atlanta, a job that allows him to learn as much from his students as they do from him.

“The biggest thing I learn from my students is my English and how the American system works,” he said. “I teach them Jiu-Jitsu and MMA and they teach me English; it’s a pretty fair system.”

Plus, when he steps into the Octagon on September 6th, Carneiro will be the hometown fighter.

“It is going to be awesome,” said Carneiro of fighting in Atlanta. “I am proud to say that Atlanta is my new hometown and I am really excited.”

He’s also excited about his future in the UFC, where big things are in store if he gets by Carneiro a week from Saturday.

“My goals right now are to stay on top of my weight division and hopefully one day contend for the title,” he said. “I believe there are a lot of great matchups for me out there in the UFC. I want to fight the best and that is why I am here. I wouldn’t mind fighting Karo (Parisyan) or (Josh) Koscheck next. I have a lot of respect for those guys and I think we could have some good fights.”

First things first though, and that’s a date with ‘The Piranha’.

“It (a win over Chonan) does a lot for me,” said Carneiro. “It avenges a past loss that should have never happened and it also moves me up the UFC rankings. I am very thankful for this opportunity.”

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