Mar-17-2010

Gabriel Gonzaga – Energized for Another Title Run

By Martins Denis

Seconds prior to Gabriel 'Napao' Gonzaga's most recent fight against Chris 'The Crowbar' Tuchscherer last August at UFC 102, blow-by-blow commentator Mike Goldberg asked the question that everybody wanted to know before the two touched gloves.

"Which Gonzaga will we see tonight? Will we see the one who defeated Mirko Cro Cop, who busted Randy Couture's arm, who rolled through Josh Hendricks, or the one that was defeated by (Fabricio) Werdum and Shane Carwin?"

The question was a valid one, linked to the up and down career that Gonzaga has had since his first fight inside the Octagon back in 2005, a career that has left fans wondering how he’ll react or how each fight will unfold.

However, this inconsistency has little to do with a lack of capability on the side of the Brazilian, who will meet fellow countryman Junior 'Cigano' dos Santos this Sunday in Colorado, absolutely not. ‘Napao’ (one of the ways to name a Big Nose in Brazil) knocked out or submitted seven of his 10 UFC foes, and he has never gone the distance in 15 pro fights. The man packs a lot of power, is aggressive, and he puts all his efforts towards one specific goal: finishing the man who is in the opposite corner.

"That is really my characteristic," he says. "I like to go with the intention of reaching outcomes by submission or KO. With that said of course you open gaps for a defeat, but when you stall a fight, the chances are reduced for a great win."

As Gonzaga said, when you have this type of style, the options are 50-50 for either a glorious victory or a spectacular defeat. Of course, he also knows that there were plenty of questions after his bout against Carwin at UFC 96, where he connected with three early right hands yet opted for a clinch and a takedown instead of following up with more strikes. The end result? Carwin got back to his feet and knocked Gonzaga out at 1:09 of the first round.

"I wouldn’t do anything different,” he said. “In a fight, there's a moment when you need to make instantaneous decisions - left or right, wrong or certain. I’ve had examples of it all the time. When I faced Couture, I put him wobbly with a kick and I went after him for a punch, but he noticed and clinched. If I looked for the takedown it could have been one more chance for a victory for me. Was this a mistake to punch? No, this was only one of several options. Against Carwin I put him dizzy and took him down, he tried to get back to his feet and I opted for not keeping the fight on the ground, because I was doing well on the feet. What happened was that he was better and finished the fight, but was it wrong? I don't think so either - my punch could be better, so I’m not saying that I did something wrong; it was just that Carwin executed better than me."

With a third UFC defeat on his shoulders and with the pressure to not repeat the end of 2007-early 2008 period, when he lost to Couture and Werdum in back to back bouts, Gonzaga took on Tuchscherer last August and didn't disappoint. Despite the pressure to win, he kept his attitude of ‘now or never’ and dismantled the native of North Dakota in one, showing that he was not influenced by a negative result to switch his game around.

"The pressure always exists and there's no special formula,” he said. “One day you win, the other you lose - nobody is unbeatable. With time you control more these feelings. I had a good preparation for the fight and I did what we trained."

Whoever watched that fight will remember the inadvertent low kick that dropped Tuchscherer early. Gonzaga knows that the accidental foul affected his opponent, but that he never wanted to hurt him that way. And of course, once Tuchscherer said that it was okay to re-start the fight, ‘Napao’ moved in for the finish. His renowned high kick connected on the nose of his foe and this was beginning of the end for ‘The Crowbar.’

"I went to the fight with a lot of will-power to finish by submission or knockout; this is in my blood," he said. "If a fight ends by decision, be sure this is wasn't because I wanted it that way. We're professional and we're being paid to provide great fights, and this is what I try to do when I enter the Octagon."

Sidelined for almost seven months due to bursitis in his elbow, Gonzaga couldn't face his next opponent, dos Santos, at their initial meeting, scheduled for UFC 108 in January. Even though he made an extra effort to get healthy three weeks prior to the fight, at this high level of competition, to step in the Octagon at less than 100% isn't a good decision, and the bout was postponed for UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones this weekend.

With more time to prepare, Gonzaga could push a hard pace while training at Team Link headquarters in Ludlow, MA to stop the rising star, dos Santos. And while people may think that top fighters already have defined games and that changes and improvements are not as attainable as for a young prospect, Gonzaga shows that progression is still a part of his routine.

"We always need to search for improvement in all kinds of work, my job isn't different," he said. "Getting better in physical conditioning, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, boxing, wrestling, Muay Thai and all that can enhance my performance and contribute to my victory. These are small details that day-after-day we add to our game and that can make a big difference at fight time. So I learn from my students, friends and coaches. Once Marco Alvan (Team Link head coach) said. 'there is nobody so intelligent who doesn't have anything to learn and nobody so stupid who doesn't have anything to teach,' so we're always in constant evolution."

It’s a good point by Alvan, Gonzaga's coach, who - despite all the buzz that the fight of his pupil against dos Santos has generated - has what he says to be the real analysis.

"To pick dos Santos as the favorite is stuff for fans or people who don't follow the sport," said Alvan. "Gonzaga is the better athlete overall. Who will win? Inside the Octagon we'll know. For Gonzaga, being doubted is one more motivation for him to give his best performance ever. We're training in the mountains of Utah and he's going to knock dos Santos out."

With all that said, there is still the key motivation for Napao, and he knows that defeating dos Santos is a way to get what he already had once before. A title shot. If the journey was great until that day in 2007 against Couture, repeating it is Gonzaga’s real motivation.

"My victory would be the ideal move towards what I want, the title shot,” he said. “Getting close to it pumps me up. I've been training since 2001 and I'm not afraid of trading strikes with anyone on this planet. Although I have much more experience on the ground, I don't underestimate him there. Man, let's play and see who hits harder and has the best submissions."