Physical trainer of names such as Demian Maia, Cris Cyborg and Junior dos Santos, Rafael Alejarra is now focused on the preparation of Rogério Minotouro Nogueira, who will come back to the cage next Saturday (29) against Jason Brilz, one of the fights of UFC 114. Following closely the preparation, Alejandro compliments the development of the athletes. “Rogério is doing a great job, we’re working on the preparation in San Diego with Minotauro, Cigano, everybody is helping… He’s on his best, strong, doing a lot of strength work… His strength surprised me, he’s doing great on the anaerobic training”, tells the coach, showing some confidence for the duel. “We’re very confident… He has been working on his Wrestling, the trade of punches… The expectations are of a good show and that he knocks this guy out”, bets Alejarra, who worked with Minotouro on his debut on UFC, when he knocked Luiz Banha out. Rogério has plenty conditions to become UFC’s champion and he’s pretty close to get it”, concluded Alejarra, who is launching his website: www.mmaconditioning.tv.

Two-times world champion of Jiu-Jitsu on the absolute division, Xande Ribeiro wants to became the first three-times champion on the absolute history, but it will not be an easy way. For a long time far from the Jiu-Jitsu competitions, Xande will make a comeback exactly on the World, and is excited for the personal dispute against Roger Gracie, another athlete that dreams about becoming three-time champion. But Xande guarantees they are not the only two guys in this dispute. On an exclusive chat with TATAME, the black belt explained why he took so much time off the competitions on the mat, talked about his frustration on MMA, the growth of the team he has on the United States and the expectations for the MMA fights of Roger Gracie, Bráulio Estima, Ronaldo Jacaré, this Saturday.

How are the trainings, now focused on the World?

It’s pretty cool… I gathered a very good crew, along with my brother and pupils, some black belts, Demian (Maia) is also training with us, and we are a focused team. The tough part is that I haven’t fight for the past two years. Since 2008 I don’t fight wearing a kimono, so I’m readapting myself, learning the new and modern positions of Jiu-Jitsu… We are training hard, the conditioning is good, and I just have to sharp my moves right now.

What do you think about these new positions that came up, like the guard 50-50?

Man, I think is valid as long as the fight doesn’t stay stuck for two minutes on the same position. I think Jiu-Jitsu has changed a little bit with BJJ’s rules. In fact, I make this distinction between Jiu-Jitsu and BJJ. BJJ’s rules are good for one side and bad on the other one, because it takes Jiu-Jitsu away from what it traditionally is, a Jiu-Jitsu that Roger, me and some people like to play. So it’s kind of tricky, you put the collar from here to there, hold the hand. In these two years I could notice a lot of changes on that aspect, but we are here, ready for these guard, the passages, the trickeries that are coming up. I hope I’m focused and precise at the time, that I don’t let my opponent bring me to a position which I’ll have difficulty on defending myself, also hope I can play my game and show how I am so I can pressure him, as everyone knows I do.

How is your conditioning trainings going with Rafael Alejarra? You were focusing a lot on MMA trainings, but now you have switch it to Jiu-Jitsu…

Exactly… we were doing a conditioning work and also a muscle fortification to prevent any injury. We were doing a long-term work, but now we got into the specific part of the trainings, which are explosion and preparation. When I decided I would go to the World, I was well physically and now we only changed the way we do it. The circuits got longer, the base work stronger and our isometric work too, mainly the explosion, cardiovascular and anaerobic. There are a lot of things involved; Jiu-Jitsu is much more complex in that sense. The conditioning, for sure, helps, but what will make a difference are the trainings and the fact that me and my brother are trying to figure out the heads of those Jiu-Jitsu fighters.

With a lot of names coming up during this time you were off, who do you think that may surprises on the World?

Man, there are a lot of good people. I will not start pointing names, but there is a huge expectation for my fight with Roger, but he’s on MMA, I was also on MMA and put my kimono only two weeks ago, so we are in the same boat. We cannot focus in just one guy. Of course I wonder if I can get to the finale and make a trickily championship, to use my strategy and test myself with this new athletes. Roger, Demente, Vella, Bráulio… To beat be, they will have to take my heart off me.

Was you surprised with Calasans wins over Bráulio on the World or did you expected he would be the champion both on weight and absolute divisions?

Well, Calasans had shown on the last World that, despite being a light guy, he has a really strong Judo, I’ve heard he is very strong too. A pupil of mine, purple belt, fought against him and had a tough fight, so he told me about Calasans. But one championship comes and Bernardo wins. Then, on the next one, you are hoping that Rômulo and Bráulio wins and Calasans beat them. On another championship you are hoping that some guy wins and Demente wins. It’s hard. We have to learn with our hits and wrongs. It was his day, because fighting for six minutes is not easy, but, because he comes from Judo, I guess, it may have helped a little. About the results we can’t say much. Is not only because a guy is winning that he will win, nowadays everybody wins and losses. Nowadays there’s not a single guy unbeaten, everybody loses. I think that, at this point, the important thing is to analyze the different games and the mistakes, try to work on it and impose your own game. I’m far from Brazil for a while, but I always know things. I hide myself, but I keep watching.

Do you want to fight Roger again on the absolute’s finale to see who will become the three-time world champion or you do not think about that?

I leave that part for the fans to do, people who like Jiu-Jitsu. Of course it would be interesting fighting against Roger on this finale, but there are a lot of people we have to beat before. Of course I to fight against him and he also wants that and it would be a mark on Jiu-Jitsu’s history. Let’s go there and fight for this third absolute title and I’m also running after other titles as the fifth heavy weight, a thing no one has, only Fábio Gurgel has four, so that’s another goal of mine. I have to be well, focused, I have to worry about me and with what I can do.

How is your gym in San Diego? Do you intend to open another gym, who knows one here in Brazil?

In fact, I started my work here on Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu, which is an association of my brother and me, ten years ago. I moved here to the United Stated to start this work, but, to be honest, only now the results are beginning to show up, with my black belts. We have over fifteen associated gym in America, there is a gym on Canada. The biggest Jiu-Jitsu gym of Germany belongs to us, so it’s pretty nice. In fact, in Brazil we have a few representatives on Gracie Tijuca and Niterói, representatives of our Jiu-Jitsu style. We are still working on it, we are here in San Diego for three year. On the beginning we have to make good athletes, separates people who want to become a professor from who wants to be a fighter and who only likes to fight for fun… it’s a long-term work, we are not in the hush of expand the gym. We are moving slowly, choosing the right persons, making a good team, we always get to the championships and there’s always a world champion, national or regional champion, so it’s a very tight team. And the people who fight Muay Thai are also here, but each one with their own business. We are a team, but everyone does their part, their business. Everyone is fine and has gym with over a hundred students, it’s an evolved network. As for me and my brother, we are doing just fine, with a strong team and the results are beginning to show up.

You were focused on MMA, but did not manage to schedule a fight on that period. What happened?

It’s true. I had a contract with Japan, but when Japan when through a tough phase, the event was canceled and they did not continue with what they had to do. They had to give me two fights, but didn’t give me any. I would do another event here in America, but the contract wasn’t very good, the clauses weren’t nice. We work on our name within Jiu-Jitsu for a long time and a lot of MMA people start saying things about Jiu-Jitsu. I will keep on worshiping Jiu-Jitsu, so I’ll fight with who worships the sport and me. It didn’t happened, but in negotiation with another event, which I can’t speak right now, but let’s wait and see it goes on the right way so I can fight on September. As I said, my main focus in MMA was not fighting strong… Of course I wanted to fight, but my focus was on the lessons I could learn from it, the getting stronger part, my evolvement on Wrestling and Boxing, so I can be ready when I step on the ring. A lot of people train to fight and now I’m training to learn. When I step on the ring again, with God’s help, it will be on UFC’s, and I hope I’m in a good shape so that I can represent well our Jiu-Jitsu and show my evolvement in the last years.

Don’t you think that, with your name and Jiu-Jitsu history you could get into an event like UFC?

Yes, I could. But get in there is not the tough part; the thing is the conditions that it happens. Unfortunately, Jiu-Jitsu is not a thing everyone gets, our federation doesn’t invest on marketing at all, on the exposure of the athletes and there’s no commitment in this area. Everyone heard about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but no one really knows what it is. We have an organization where the championships are perfect, well organized, but in that championship matter, it’s still really weak in comparison with what we deserve. If you go to a Jiu-Jitsu championship, which is a number one championship, you can’t find a single company sponsor, there’s no marketing on that, no television, besides the one focused on Jiu-Jitsu… If you are hungry, you eat a nacho or a hot-dog, I can’t worship that. When you speak to the producers, they star pointing out things about Jiu-Jitsu, they say is has no value, no money. Unfortunately, nowadays, MMA is not about the athlete, is the event, so it doesn’t make much difference for the audience, you have to find a producer that wants to invest on you. I’m here, working on this project and after I become a world champion, we can talk about it all, search the MMA title and become the best on MMA too.

Roger has a scheduled fight for this weekend on Strikeforce against Kevin Randelman. What do you expect from this fight?

I’m hoping he comes off it without injuries, that he can win the fight just as he did on the couple last fights, without getting hurt, beating the opponent. I’m a fan of his Jiu-Jitsu. In fact, I’m a fan of any Jiu-Jitsu fighter that represents our sport. It will be a good fight, Randelmand is not the same guy he used to be, but is dangerous, explosive, has a strong left-handed hook. Roger will be prepared for this fight, will keep his hands pretty closed in order to protect himself. If the fight goes to the ground, it’s done. I’m only hoping he doesn’t get hurt. That’s my concern about Bráulio (Estima) as well, because both of them will fight on this weekend. I think the three of us are not updated with our Jiu-Jitsu, because Bráulio fought the World Pro and will debut on MMA. Roger only fights the World and MMA, so everyone is on the same boat and everyone has naphthalene in their kimono. For sure none of us has stopped training and we keep n going. I’m really hoping that Roger doesn’t get hurt and we can battle on June 5 with all our strength.

Besides Roger and Bráulio, Ronaldo Jacaré will also fight on this weekend. How do you think each of them will go?

I think Roger will have to be careful about Randelman’s left-handed hook and his explosion. Roger can try to beat him both standing and on the ground game, there no bug mystery. Jaca is Jaca, righ? A very explosive guy, a guy that on his last fight, against Matt Lindland, showed a huge evolvement… he hit standing and submitted on the ground. Jacaré is Jacaré, there’s not much to say about him. His rhythm, on the same Jiu-Jitsu style, always looking forward, always trying to catch his opponent, it was never a stuck Jiu-Jitsu. Equally there is Bráulio, a guy that proved, in Abu Dhabi, he is with his without-kimono game sharp. Let’s see his debut. He will fight a very tough guy, experienced. A debut is always a debut. Just like Roger, I hope he does a good fight, that he can feel what is going on inside the ring, take his opponent down and submit him. I’m hoping everyone is on their best for the World, recover the fight and make a good Jiu-Jitsu show. Jacaré has already fought against these guys and will win the title of Strikeforce, for sure.

As for Bráulio, do you expect a rematch with him on the World to give him back your defeat on ADCC?

Of course. Me and Bráulio has fought six times, he is the second guy I have more fights against, the first one is Roger. I fought eight times against Roger and six against Bráulio. Unfortunately, things happen, I had injuries on my knee and arm, he beat me three times and then I paid it back, so we are tied. Besides him, there’s a lot of guy I have to worry about. For now I’m thinking about him in a positive way, I want him to go there, have a good MMA fight and win it. After he had won there and had done his job, I’ll think of him as my opponent. He is always a good guy to fight with, but there is one against the other and things can get pretty bad. Roger, Bráulio…

I can’t forget that there are a lot of guy with a really strong competition rhythm. On World Pro we could see (Cláudio) Calasans, (Alexandro) Ceconi… That guys are all around, you can’t joke with them. On the lasts years, me and Roger have fought one championship per year and having good results, but there are a lot of athletes that are working hard and Jiu-Jitsu level is renewing really fast and that’s a good thing for the sport. As I said, the sport has to become professional, the federation has to look for some professionalism so that people don’t have to look for other things. Unfortunately, we try different things because Jiu-Jitsu is still considered an amateur sport, I don’t know why it’s not considered professional. Everyone is professional, but the federation. That’s a constructive critic which I do. As long as we can feel the smell of popcorn and nacho on a world championship, we are not going anywhere and we have to fight MMA. On my case, I had to get off, had to do that.

For example, on World I think the number of black belts should be restricted, it must be an exclusive event for us with beginning, middle and an end. The absolute must be an exclusive absolute event, promoted, with all links from television, radio, paper following it. My fight is not only for winning for the third time the world title, but it is to make people think about Jiu-Jitsu on a good way and to draw the attention of the organizers. The event is great, organized… is that aspect, the event is perfect. But the event itself could be more worship as well as us, the black belt athletes, a more professional thing. There’s no mat for us to stretch up before the fight on the World. But we leave that aside, for now. Let’s go there and win and try to keep on evolving with the sport and the federation.