J. Orgulho (left) faces E. Silverio (right) for the belt of Jungle Fight
It has been almost three years since, in October 2010, Erick silva defeated two opponents on the same night, won the Jungle Fight among welterweights. After that, the man from Espírito Santo was hired by the UFC and the title was empty. Since then, new talents have emerged, and this Saturday (04/05), from 21pm, in the gymnasium of the State University of Pará (Uepa), in Belém, the Jungle Fight 52 will define the new owner of the belt. In the main fight, Elias Silvério and Junior Orgulho will face each other for the under-77kg title, in a fight between undefeated strikers in the organization.
This Friday, all 14 athletes overcame the scale challenge. Without any worries, Elias and Junior weighed the same 77,2kg each and are ready to enter the Jungle Arena. In the co-main fight, one of the three duels from Pará on the card: born in Castanhal, Douglas D'Silva, undefeated in 18 fights, weighed 65,2kg before facing off against the also undefeated Toninho Marajó (3-0), from Belém, which weighed in at the limit of 66,2kg. In total, there are nine athletes from Pará in the Jungle Fight 52, a fact that makes President Wallid Ismail very proud.
“Since Jungle arrived in Belém, it is clear how the level of MMA has grown here. We revealed great talents, such as Ildemar and Iuri Marajó, and now we are seeing other great fighters emerge and I am very happy to see this development here”, vibrates Wallid, eager to see who will be the successor to Erick silva with the belt up to 77kg. “Elias and Junior are going to fight, they are two exceptional fighters and no one can bet on a winner. I can only guarantee that it will be a great show and that whoever wants to be champion will have to work hard.”
Undefeated title contenders in Jungle Fight
Elias Silvério made his way through three fights in the Jungle Fight always in São Paulo, where he was accompanied by a large crowd that made him nationally known as “Xuxu”. The nickname, however, can deceive those who are less attentive: there were three victories by knockout, the last in 27 seconds, in the Jungle Fight 46, in December 2012. This Saturday, Silvério would face Michel Trator, who was hired by the UFC two weeks ago, giving way to Junior Orgulho and forcing the São Paulo native from Pirapora do Bom Jesus to change his strategy.
“Not much changes (changing opponents) because to be an MMA athlete you always need to be training everything. With Pride it will be a striking fight, because we are both stand-up fighters. I know he has great boxing, but I came from Muay Thai, and I'm not afraid,” he says.
Four years younger than his opponent, Junior Orgulho is 20 years old and is the younger brother of the light heavyweight champion of the Jungle Fight – and today among the midfielders -, Kleber Pride. An athlete from the Champion Team in boxing and Nordeste Jiu-Jitsu in the gentle art, he has a fight and a knockout victory in 55 seconds in the Jungle Fight 48, in January this year. Before debuting in the biggest MMA event in Latin America, he accumulated four victories, two by submission, one by technical knockout and the other by referee decision.
“I don’t feel any pressure to fight for this belt. A fight for me is nothing more than a fight, and this will be one the way the public likes it, because both he and I like striking. We’re going to get tangled up and fight until we decide the winner”, analyzes Junior Orgulho.
Check out the official card below Jungle Fight 52:
Elias Silvério vs. Junior Pride;
Douglas D'Silva vs. Toninho Marajó;
Reginaldo Fibrado vs. Guilherme Kyoto;
Bira Lima vs. Caio Alenca;
Gabriel Siqueira vs. Junior Suicide;
Fabrício Bill vs. Francisco “Mingau” Nazareno;
Rômulo Medeiros vs. Michel Psychopath;
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