Brazil's Fabricio 'Morango' Camoes is going to make his second Octagon appearance on March 27th against ultra-talented Kurt 'Batman' Pellegrino at UFC 111 in Newark, New Jersey. The lightweight match has the same implications for Camoes as when he arrived in the UFC last November to face Caol Uno, but without the nuances that he encountered on that day at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
The difference in experience between the Brazilian fighting out of San Diego and the Japanese battler from Kanagawa was extreme, as Uno had almost three times the number of matches that Camoes had. But it was no problem for the UFC rookie who, even though he was making a dream come true in his career, was ready to give a full hand to the gifted Uno.
But the sport of MMA isn't only made of glory, and determined wishes aren't always enough to secure success, so outcomes bounce between victory, defeat and the rare draw.
The draw was the issue that Camoes dealt with at his debut, opening a series of doubts into the fighter's mentality. Did I win the fight? Did I give it away? Or was the fight really close?
"I wasn't frustrated with the result, but I will say that it wasn't what I expected," said Camoes. "I tried to show my skills in the UFC, and since this was the first fight, I felt very comfortable and happy to be there. The draw's feeling is very weird, but it only motivated me to train like crazy for the next fight."
In Camoes' case, the draw was most likely inserted into the 'did I give it away?' category due to his good performance throughout the three rounds. If he was doing poorly, an illegal up-kick in second stanza would have cost much more than in fact it did, and the Brazilian would have come away with a defeat at the end of it all.
"To be honest with you, I didn't understand it. I think Mario Yamasaki acted a bit too quickly because I didn't commit any other fault and he deducted a point from me," says Camoes. "I watched the fight 500 times and I don't think that was an illegal up-kick. Uno has a good posture inside the guard and I wanted him to bend over more, so I used my heel that hit his shoulder. Anderson Silva did it against Travis Lutter and subbed him. I think the referee could have warned me first, because Uno said he was okay and didn't want to return to the feet; he had the opportunity to keep it going; that wasn't a straight up-kick to his face. But I learned a lesson, and things like that aren't going to happen anymore."
Another lesson that Camoes learned was that the reputation that Uno had for grace under pressure was well deserved. A high kick opened the round and slapped at the Japanese fighter’s face, and he didn't lose his composure. And even though he got rocked, more punches connected and Uno seemed to be unaffected by it.
"I've been training a lot on the feet, and I’ve showed improvement fight-after-fight," he says. "I think Uno felt a few of my strikes, and some landed right on his chin, but his experience covered any signal of dizziness. I connected combos, looked to his face and he was coming after me with low-kicks and I thought, 'Won't this guy show me any weakness?' (laughs). But I didn't feel lost because I had a B plan.”
The 'B plan' was a return to his Brazilian Jiu-jitsu background, a field that Camoes didn't necessarily want to turn to, but that was necessary when facing the relentless Uno. Taking the back after a scramble at the 2:10 mark of round one, Camoes had the chance to sink in a choke, and he pressured the jaw of Uno with his forearm and kept the force on for a submission. At this time, Uno's history of being a tough man to be tapped arose, as he escaped and left the impression with Camoes that he had no glitches.
"His more than 40 fights helped him to stay on calm mode and escape from that situation," Camoes says. "I didn't believe that he got free; the choke wasn't on his throat, but it was very tight. He turned and unbalanced me enough to get loose from the attempt. I studied his game enough that I knew sooner or later I'd take his back. This is stuff Japanese fighters usually do - they give their back and when you take it, they turn inside your guard to unload strikes. Overall, the experience was absolutely worth it, and if I have the same position against Pellegrino, this will be the end for him."
Pellegrino, Camoes' New Jersey adversary, has not been out of the win column since April of 2008 when he lost to Nate Diaz, and the hometown favorite has since scored three good wins over Rob Emerson, Thiago Tavares and Josh Neer. And while Camoes’ nickname “Morango” (Strawberry in English) may not link with toughness, he is more than ready for the continuous challenges fighting in the UFC will provide.
"I moved from Rio de Janeiro to San Diego because of it, and I'm here to clash against the best," he said. "I never wanted to fight with newcomers or average fighters. I'm in the UFC determined to surpass all obstacles and write my name in the 155-pound division. I know my job is harder because I'm not known here, but I know my potential, and a fight is only decided when the gate is closed, and not because on paper someone is more experienced or seems tougher."
Anxious and with his adrenaline more controlled than when he faced Uno, Camoes looks to show more confidence and will against Pellegrino, a veteran of 10 UFC matches, and he intends to take advantage of the time that he wasn't in the UFC, watching fights and dreaming that one day he'd be there.
"I enjoy watching fights, mainly at 155-lbs. I know details of each fighter and Pellegrino isn't different," he said. "I know it is a benefit for me, but the most important part is the training, because fighters improve and add tricks all the time. I know my qualities as a BJJer, but I see a fight with all possibilities for me and for him. He's an excellent grappler, complete, and our fight will be a candidate for the Fight of the Night bonus.
"I don't like to imagine what will happen after this fight, as the future is in God's hands. What I'm doing today is what I control, and I trained a lot. Kurt is a UFC veteran and I'm glad they chose me for this fight," Camoes said. "Only the victory matters for me; I sacrificed a lot to reach my UFC goal and I don't want to waste it, I'm going to be a hungry dog for anyone in front of me."
Brazil's Fabricio 'Morango' Camoes is going to make his second Octagon appearance on March 27th against ultra-talented Kurt 'Batman' Pellegrino at UFC 111 in Newark, New Jersey. The lightweight match has the same implications for Camoes as when he arrived in the UFC last November to face Caol Uno, but without the nuances that he encountered on that day at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
turn to, but that was necessary when facing the relentless Uno. Taking the back after a scramble at the 2:10 mark of round one, Camoes had the chance to sink in a choke, and he pressured the jaw of Uno with his forearm and kept the force on for a submission. At this time, Uno's history of being a tough man to be tapped arose, as he escaped and left the impression with Camoes that he had no glitches. 
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