G. Tibau (photo) was assaulted just three weeks into his fight at UFC FN 59. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
About to complete 24 fights in the most famous octagon on the planet, Brazilian Gleison Tibau experienced difficult days on the eve of his fight against Norman Parke at UFC Fight Night 59, an event that takes place next Sunday (18) in Boston (USA). Tibau, who lives in the city of Coconut Creek, in the state of Florida, had his house robbed while training at the American Top Team gym, preparing for the duel against Parke, and suffered a loss of almost R$100.
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“It was something unprecedented in my life. Where I live, in Coconut, it's next to the gym, a family place, quiet, nothing like this has ever happened. I always leave the garage open, it's very quiet. I had a training session in the afternoon and when I came back the door was broken and the house was in a mess. When I went to see, someone entered the house and took everything. Documents from Brazil and here, checks, jewelry, watches, sneakers, glasses, electronics... The police estimated a loss of around 32 thousand dollars (around R$ 84 thousand) in objects. That was the car. They took my second car key on Monday, and early Friday morning the car disappeared. I called the police and they saw it was the same gang. That's what happens here. They take everything, then they take the car”, said the fighter, in an interview with the “Lance!” newspaper website.
Despite the great scare and the enormous damage, Tibau said that the criminals responsible for the crime have already been captured and assured that he remains focused for next Sunday's fight. “I was training for the fight, it was a shock, I didn't expect it, but it made me stronger, made me more attentive to life, to always be more careful. (…) I didn’t think about giving up the fight, but I was scared. Who are these guys? Do they know me? They came back here... So I was scared, I didn't know what was happening. But the police called me and said they already caught the guys, they've been investigating them for a long time. Unfortunately, they weren't able to recover anything, they had already sent my car to be dismantled. But it put me at ease. They discovered other robberies there. All of this kept me focused on training. I will win well, God willing,” he concluded.
At 31 years old, Gleison Tibau has a professional record of 30 wins and ten losses. In the UFC since November 2006, Tibau has 23 fights in the octagon and is the Brazilian with the most fights for the main MMA organization on the planet, ranking fourth overall in this category, tied with names like Chuck Liddell, Josh koscheck, Frank mir e B.J. Penn. The record holder for performances in Ultimate remains second Tito Ortiz, with 27 fights. Then appear Matt hugs (25) and Randy Couture (24), with whom Tibau should draw next Sunday.
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