Cigano (photo) spoke exclusively to SUPER LUTAS. Photo: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
On December 13th, the former heavyweight champion Junior Gypsy returns to the octagon after more than a year away, due to a mix of physical and calendar problems. On the date, the Brazilian faces the North American of Croatian descent Stipe Miocic in the main fight of UFC on FOX 13. In an exclusive interview with SUPER FIGHTS, Cigano evaluated the duel in Phoenix and predicted an exciting fight that will please the public.
“Certainly, if the duel stays on, it will be a beautiful fight to watch. Two good boxing heavyweights exchanging there... This will really please the audience present and those who will watch on TV”, assured the Santa Catarina native, who also highly praised the quality of his opponent's boxing. “Miocic is a guy who has very good boxing. That amateur boxing, Olympic boxing, which is very effective. He has excellent straight strikes, he is a very fast guy and has a very good wingspan”, he analyzed.
Still chatting with SUPER FIGHTS, Cigano, like the other athletes interviewed in this special series for the site's anniversary, was also asked about his changes and the transformations of MMA in the last seven years. In this case, the heavyweight had no doubts, and pointed to the growth in the sport's notoriety as the main evolution. “I think the biggest change is the popularity, which ended up reaching the whole world. In fact, it spread in a very good way (…) and consequently the opportunities that ended up opening up for many athletes”, he stated.
Check out the full interview with Junior Gypsy:
You've never stood still for more than a year and are experiencing the biggest hiatus of your career. How have you dealt with this situation over the last few months?
Obviously, all this time, I wasn't dealing very well with this time off, it's the first time this has happened to me, and it's frustrating, we spend all this time depending on improving so we can train and improve to seek victories. So, it's very difficult. But from the moment I started training again and had this situation of having the rhythm of the competition back, things got better.
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And after all this time off, you will return against Miocic, who you were going to face in May and the fight ended up being rescheduled. How do you evaluate your opponent and what is your prediction for this fight?
Miocic is a guy who has very good boxing. That amateur boxing, Olympic boxing, which is very effective. He has excellent straight shots, he's a very fast guy and has a very good wingspan. But despite boxing, he comes from wrestling also. He has good takedowns and everything, but I think for me, my main art today is boxing, and I'm very confident in my abilities, regardless of who my opponent is. In an MMA fight we never know what will happen and I'm looking to become a more complete fighter, but if this fight develops further I will definitely try to use my boxing. And certainly, if the duel stays on, it will be a beautiful fight to watch. Two good boxing heavyweights exchanging there... This will really please the audience present and those who will watch on TV.
Recently, Cigano included training with the Nova União team in his preparation. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook
Have you recently changed your camp training and has been preparing at Nova União. How have these training sessions been and what have you been doing there with a view to the fight against Miocic?
Miocic is a dangerous guy. We did a lot of research into his strengths and weaknesses to put together our strategy and seek victory in an intelligent way. I think this is a bit what is going on, we have to come up with a very good strategy. The difference between great champions has been this: a good strategy, a good fighting tactic and imposing it at the time of the fight, because proposing a strategy is one thing, but imposing it is quite another thing. So, this training here at Nova União is helping a lot and I'm having the chance to learn from great athletes, as in the case of the guy who I consider to be the best pound for pound in the world: José Aldo. Besides him, the Renan Barao, Formiga, Hacran Dias and many other athletes who train and I can observe every day. Furthermore, Professor Dedé (Pederneiras) is also a very intelligent guy and a very good person. It's no wonder they say he's a big daddy, because that's just how he is. I've been experiencing this a bit and I've really enjoyed it. I think that now I have seen the world of fighting in a different way and with that I have become a different fighter.
How do you see the changes in MMA since the launch of SUPER LUTAS, seven years ago, to now?
I think the biggest change was the popularity, which ended up reaching the whole world. In fact, it spread in a very good way. Nowadays people follow it, even those who criticized it and didn't follow it have started to like it. These people were really prejudiced, but they learned a little more about the sport and ended up liking it. I think the biggest change was the popularity that the sport achieved and consequently the opportunities that ended up opening up for many athletes, because nowadays the demand is very high – everyone is training hard and dreams of becoming a great athlete who can reach to the UFC. This was already a dream in the past, but for a minority, nowadays it is more comprehensive.
Cigano was heavyweight champion between November 2011 and December 2012. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
And in your case? What changed in Junior Gypsy in the last seven years?
I have changed a lot in these seven years, and for the better. I think I learned more and became a more professional athlete and also a better person, more experienced and involved with what I love to do. And I was able to achieve important things, like the highlight of my career, which was winning the belt, becoming world champion, and being able to defend that belt once too. I think everything happened in a very good way for me and I hope it continues like this, with more and more opportunities.
Since we've talked about the past, now it's the future's turn. How do you imagine MMA in seven years?
I believe that MMA will continue to change. The sport is growing, people are falling more and more in love with it and I think it will end up changing even more, becoming a sport that people increasingly follow – which will also bring new opportunities for athletes. I also believe that we have to prepare ourselves to be good athletes in the future, because I think there are much better athletes coming out than we have today, with a different level of learning than we have and better support. I believe that we will have other events besides the UFC, and as big as the UFC, and I think this can also be an important part of spreading the sport around the world.
Lastly, what about your future? How do you see yourself in seven years?
I love doing what I do and I feel really good. In fact, it's a lifestyle, we can't do without it. So much so that you see several athletes who retire and end up coming back, because they can't do without competition and without testing themselves. So my intention is to continue fighting as long as I can in a healthy way, I don't want to force anything and I don't want things to reach a point that isn't pleasurable for me, but if I can I want to reach 40.
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