Pezão, Napão, Thales and Pitbull were unsuccessful in their first attempt to win the belt. Photo: SUPER FIGHTS Production (UFC/Disclosure)
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Having the opportunity to fight for the UFC belt is the dream of any mixed martial arts fighter. The possibility of winning the title of the largest MMA organization on the planet motivates the training of hundreds of athletes, as a victory would represent the definitive crowning of years of effort.
This Saturday (26), another Brazilian will have the chance to make his dream come true. Glover Teixeira will have the tough task of dethroning the light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, at UFC 172. And the expectation is that, by the end of the year, two more Brazilian athletes will have the same opportunity: Lyoto Machida will face Chris Weidman at UFC 175 for the middleweight title, and, among the heavyweights, Fabricio Werdum will have ahead Cain Velazquez, in a confrontation that should be held later this year.
However, things don't always go as expected. A defeat in a fight for the belt forces the athlete to deal with the frustration of getting very close to his goal, but not reaching it, having to start practically from scratch on his way to the top. Therefore, the SUPER FIGHTS talked to some characters who didn't win the UFC title in their first attempts. Check out!
Pezão: focus is on learning and getting back on top after defeats to Velasquez
Velasquez (left) defeated Pezão (right) and defended the heavyweight belt: Photo: UFC
the trajectory of Antonio Pezão in the UFC has the striking (and uncomfortable) presence of Cain Velazquez, current heavyweight champion of the category. After a successful career in Strikeforce, the Paraíba native arrived in Ultimate in May 2012, facing, straight away, the North American of Mexican descent, who had just lost the belt to junior gypsy.
The fight didn't go as Pezão planned. Right at the beginning, he threw a kick, which gave Velasquez an opening to get the takedown. Then, with a ground and pound Powerful, the American managed the technical knockout, giving Pezão a bitter defeat in his first fight in the UFC.
Shortly afterwards, the turnaround came. The Brazilian beat, by technical knockout, the previously undefeated Travis Browne; in the next fight, he achieved a spectacular knockout over the favorite alistair overeem. The fights were enough for Pezão to have another chance against Velasquez – this time, for the belt.
“It was a wonderful opportunity. It's every MMA athlete's dream to be in the UFC. Just being in the UFC was a huge honor, a dream come true. Then, I had the opportunity to fight for the belt, which wasn't the best because I didn't win. I reached almost the maximum point of personal and professional fulfillment, so it was all good”, analyzed Pezão, exclusively to SUPER FIGHTS.
If the first fight with Velasquez was longer, more painful and bloody, the same cannot be said about the rematch. After just over a minute of fighting, the champion connected with a strong direct hit on Pezão's chin, who fell to the ground. knockdown. A few blows later, the referee interrupted, giving Velasquez the victory after 1min21s of action.
“I was in very good shape physically. I knew that Velasquez could take me down, but he wouldn't have that facility, so much so that he tried two, three times, and didn't succeed”, analyzed the man from Paraíba.
Even though the dream of the belt ended quickly, Pezão learned valuable lessons from the situation. “I knew that Velasquez's game would be to put me down, because that's what he does. But he is a complete athlete. I was very focused on not going down, but he came with a straight shot that stuck and I felt it. We came to the conclusion that there is no point in focusing on just one part of the game, but on everything. It’s a complete sport,” he assessed.
Psychologically, however, Pezão's difficulty was less. “For me, it’s normal. I'm used to difficulties in life, as my life has always been full of obstacles. It was quiet. I talked a lot with my coach at the time, Katel Kubis, to see what was done wrong. I went back to training two weeks later and turned things around. I want to show that none of this has shaken me and that I deserve to be among the best in the category”, he commented.
Napão recognizes that he was “raw” when he faced Couture in 2007
Napão (right) broke his nose in a fight with Couture. Photo: Disclosure/UFC
Another Brazilian who had the chance to fight for the UFC heavyweight belt was Gabriel Napao. Arriving in the title fight was surprising and, in a way, sudden for the Rio native, as he had to win an elimination fight in which he was the absolute underdog.
Napão was scheduled to fight, in England, the most important fight of his life so far. His opponent would be star Mirko Cro Cop, who arrived in the UFC with good spirits after his PRIDE GP Absolute title, with impressive knockouts over Wanderlei Silva and Josh Barnett. At the time, it was expected that, with a victory over the unknown Napão, the Croatian would have the chance to fight for the title. That's not what happened. The Brazilian achieved a shocking knockout against Cro Cop, with a memorable high kick, giving him the fight against the then champion of the category, Randy Couture.
In August 2007, Napão lost by technical knockout to the North American in the third round. In a fall, Couture gave Napão an unintentional headbutt, which caused the Brazilian to suffer a broken nose. “I broke my nose at the beginning of the fight due to an accident, and it was very difficult to breathe”, explained the fighter to SUPER FIGHTS. “But it was a very important fight for my career. I fought the legend Randy Couture and lost, but I did my best. I left the fight very happy, as I've had victories where I wasn't so happy.”
Although Napão had legitimately qualified to face Couture, he believes he was not yet fully prepared for the opportunity. “I was certainly still very raw, immature in the fight. But that's part of it. Opportunities like this are very rare”, he assessed. “After the fight is over, we think about other options to get a better result, but we will never know if this other strategy would be better. I would do the same strategy, but with a little more caution.”
However, the Brazilian handled the defeat naturally. “For me it wasn’t very difficult. I went back to training and I'm still there, trying for another opportunity. The difficult part is dealing with any defeat, but when you fight well and do your best, it becomes much easier. Of course, many people will criticize your work, but this is the world we live in and we have to know how to deal with it”, he argued.
Thales leites: "I didn't fight thinking about winning. I fought thinking about not losing"
Thales (left) was defeated by Anderson (right). Photo: Disclosure/UFC
Napão's situation is similar to what happened with Thales leites two years later. After five consecutive victories in the UFC, three by submission, the fighter from the Nova União academy was able to face Anderson Silva for the middleweight belt at UFC 97, in April 2009.
After the decision defeat in a lukewarm fight, Leites found that the psychological side was his biggest problem. “I think, at that moment, I was not psychologically prepared for that. I wasn't mature enough and I didn't think with the head of a champion. I think I fought very apathetically, thinking about not losing, and that's not good. What I would do differently would be to fight to win, and not think about not losing”, commented the fighter to SUPER FIGHTS.
The Rio native, who was fired from the UFC shortly after the fight, only returning in 2013, adds: "Fighting for the title is part of a dream come true, but the dream is only complete with the title. Losing is difficult, but life goes on. You need to believe in yourself and know that you can move forward. It's like that in life. We are constantly evolving and, if you accept defeat, you are already defeated”, he said.
“I’m happy I didn’t win the title,” he says Thiago Pitbull
St. Pierre dominated Pitbull at the historic UFC 100. Photo: Disclosure/UFC
While some of the fighters who lose title fights are shaken, others see what happened with some relief. This is the case of Thiago Pitbull, who looks favorably on his defeat to Georges St Pierre in 2009, for the UFC welterweight belt.
The Ceará native says that his personal life is currently very different from what it was a few years ago. “I wasn’t ready for the title at that point. I'm glad I didn't win him over. Maybe I wouldn’t even be alive if I had been champion at the time, because I was on the wrong path,” he said, in an interview with the broadcaster’s website “ESPN”.
Still young, at 30 years old, the fighter is still looking for a new chance to fight for the belt. “The category has always been competitive, but the biggest threat has always been St. Pierre, because he is a very smart fighter. I don't see other guys doing that. The category is open, so I see a great opportunity,” he commented.
The UFC belt is an object of desire for fighters. Photo: Disclosure/UFC
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