To keep one's self highly-ranked in mixed martial arts isn't an easy task: hungry newcomers, big upsets and lackluster performances become part of the mix that you have to deal with when you're chasing better opportunities for your career. You have to care a thousand times more when you are part of the UFC’s cast of fighters.
Gabriel "Napão" Gonzaga, 29 years old and 6-2 in the Octagon, has tasted the mix of the aforementioned situations that can be part of glory or of a fall, depending on where you fit yourself.
He’s already had an opportunity to be a contender for the heavyweight title, and like a hungry newcomer, he wants to be in the same position once again. Gonzaga will face undefeated Shane Carwin next Saturday at UFC 96 for a virtual position of next challenger for the heavyweight belt. Why virtual? Because it's not determined, just speculated.
"I don't know whether it is even speculated, the UFC has its own criteria,” said Gonzaga. “What I know is that I fight against whoever they put in front of me. The atmosphere that surrounds the match doesn't worry me; my focus is exclusively on the fight.
If you compare the first path Gonzaga had to the belt with this second trip, we reach one similarity - to fight with someone who has never faced defeat. Before he stood in front of Randy Couture for the heavyweight belt at UFC 74 in August of 2007, he confronted Carmelo Marrero, who was undefeated at the time, at UFC 66. Of course Carwin's credentials speak louder than Marrero's, but Gonzaga speaks about how he maneuvers around this:
"To be part of UFC is the motivation for me,” he said. “My opponent’s record is an issue that I don't care about at all. Each fight is a different fight."
That’s certainly the case with Carwin. In 10 fights, he has won all before the clock reached 2:30 of first round. On the other hand, the doubts remains since his opponents' names are not considered to be on the level of Gonzaga. The match against Napao will also be Carwin's debut on a main card of the UFC.
Accustomed with the televised portion of the card, as well as experienced in battling some of the top heavyweights in the UFC, Gonzaga brings the knockouts, submissions and technical knockouts on his résumé to this duel, plus the fact of handling pressure situations during his eight UFC bouts.
"The experience I acquired during my UFC fights is an advantage point,” he said. “You see, I'm a very different fighter than that one that faced Randy [Couture].”
So which way will it go when Gonzaga's experience meets Carwin's explosiveness?
"Strategy!" says the Brazilian. "Who inserts the better game plan and implements it accurately will come across as the winner."
During the time Gonzaga spent in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in January - he voiced that he believes a lot in his Brazilian Jiu-jitsu for this fight at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. A grappling expert for nearly his whole life, with innumerable awards in the sport, to see him use his ground skills in his next struggle against the 1999 NCAA Division II heavyweight wrestling champion is expected. So we could assume that we will see that classic match that we don't see often nowadays, one pitting Brazilian Jiu-jitsu against wrestling. But we can not neglect Gonzaga's heavy strikes - ones that are responsible for several knockdowns, including the brutal knockout of Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 70, the victory that earned the Brazilian a shot at the heavyweight championship almost two years ago. And in that fight against Couture, which resulted in a defeat for Gonzaga, a powerful kick broke the champion's left arm and showed that the BJJ black-belt can maul opponents on the feet.
"I think the BJJ is very important and it's my main weapon in all of my fights, not only in this one [against Carwin],” said Gonzaga. “But people would wrongly guess if they think I can only win with Jiu-Jitsu. This [the striking] is something I've been training since I was living in Brazil. I had excellent Boxing and Muay Thai coaches that developed my punches and kicks. I compare striking and BJJ in my life to show you what I've in mind. I'm a BJJ black-belt since 2000 and I keep myself training it here with Team Link. My goal is always the improvements, mainly in my standup game - an aspect that I consider I started a bit late.”
The fact is that since his beginning in UFC, Gonzaga showed his foes can not be a motionless target or the ground is something they will be kissing unconsciously. Even when he had a lackluster performance against Kevin Jordan, Gonzaga used his heavy strikes and demolished Jordan with a superman punch.
"The small glove helps." he says. "The heavy guys that keep the fight standing keep it more dramatic too. A 'simple' kick or punch can be the end of the line."
That's true, a 'simple' kick, like the one in the Cro Cop vs. Gonzaga fight, was enough, and that UFC 70 contest was considered one of the top upsets (and KOs) in UFC history. It also opened a door for another good thing UFC has in the majority of its fights, the odds. If against Cro Cop Napao wasn't doing good in the odds, now - against Carwin - he foresees the following:
"I don't think in odds. We have real proof that the favorite can be ripped out of this position in any moment," said Gonzaga with no references to his fight against Cro Cop, but with a small smile.
Gonzaga's last two wins in the Octagon, a submission over Justin McCully at UFC 86 and a KO victory over Josh Hendricks at UFC 91, motivated the heavyweight contender, not just because the wins were quick, but because he imposed his game with fluidity and like a man who wants to become a champion has to - with versatility. He can stand and land big shots, and on the ground he can play from the bottom or from the top - reducing his opponent’s options.
"I'm improving in each fight I do, but the most important thing of all is that I'm focused only on him, without thinking what will happen after the fight or what it will mean for my future in this division," said Gonzaga. "Carwin is a big guy, with a good right hand and solid Wrestling. But I want to keep this good phase of my career going and overcome him."
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