Napão dreams of another chance at the UFC title. Photo: Disclosure
One of the most experienced Brazilian fighters in the UFC, Gabriel Napao has been through several moments of ups and downs within the organization. In 2007, he shocked the world by knocking out the feared Croatian Mirko Cro Cop with a beautiful head kick, and had the chance to challenge for the heavyweight title, being defeated by Randy Couture.
Between 2009 and 2010, however, he accumulated three defeats in four fights, which caused him to be cut from the UFC. Disillusioned, the jiu-jitsu world champion even announced that he would retire from MMA, but the future held a new comeback for him.
After a fight at the Reality Fighting event, in which the North American submitted parker porter in the third round, Napão was invited to return to the UFC, in edition number 142, the second held in Rio de Janeiro. Since then, he has had five fights and won four, all of them before the judges' decision.
Fueled by his latest performances, Napão seeks to have another chance to compete for the belt, which currently belongs to Cain Velazquez. “The belt is certainly every fighter’s goal, and I’m no different. I'm having a good campaign and I hope to compete for the title again”, said the Brazilian, in an exclusive interview with SUPER FIGHTS.
In his last performance, against Shawn Jordan, Napão scored a knockout right at the beginning of the fight. Before, he sent Dave Herman to the canvas just a few seconds into the fight. This retrospective led him to be selected to face the dangerous Stipe Miocic at UFC on Fox 10, which will take place on January 25th.
For Napão, the fact of holding the second most important fight of an event that will be broadcast on open television in the United States is an indication that the UFC is satisfied with its work. "For sure. In my last fight, the knockout happened in less than three minutes. Before, it was 17 seconds,” he comments.
However, Napão recognizes that it will not be easy to reach another title fight, considering the good moment the heavyweight category is going through. Asked if he saw the division as stronger in 2014 than in 2007, he replied: “Nowadays it is much more balanced, with a lot of good people”. And that includes his next opponent, Miocic. “He is a very strong guy. Me and my team, Team Link, are making a plan for the fight, but we cannot reveal it.”
The Brazilian also said that he has already left behind his only defeat since returning to the UFC, in the controversial fight against Travis Browne. On that occasion, Napão was knocked out with elbows, and he himself believed that one of them hit him in the back of the head – which is not allowed under UFC rules. “I think there was an illegal strike that triggered a sequence and ended with some legal strikes. That's why the referee was confused. But that's part of the sport. We've seen many football games being decided by prevented goals, and that doesn't change the result. Ball forward. Now let’s move on to the next fight,” he stated.
The fight between Napão and Miocic will be the co-main event of UFC on Fox 10, which will highlight the lightweight clash Ben henderson e Josh thomson. The event will be in Chicago, in the United States.
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