Rafael Cordeiro

Considered one of the best MMA coaches of the world, Rafael Cordeiro is running the Chute Boxe branch in USA, and celebrates the good moments of the team. With more than 70 athletes and training in it’s own training center, Rafael believes that now Chute Boxe will show her work in America. In an exclusive chat with TATAME, Cordeiro revealed that one of the biggest opponents of the team in the past, Quinton Jackson, that fought Wanderlei Silva, Maurício Shogun and Murilo Ninja, wanted to train with him to face Wanderlei again, at UFC 92. On the exclusive interview, Cordeiro commented Cris Cyborg’s victory, his probable fight with Gina Carano, the new Chute Boxe USA training center and revealed that Marlon Mathias and Fernando Bettega will fight at November’s ShoXC edition.

What do you think about Cris Cyborg performance at her last fight?

I wasn’t at her corner in this fight, because her coaches from Brazil, Cristiano Marcello, Cyborg and Rudimar (Fedrigo) came here and helped her a lot. Thanks God he left there with the victory. Everything was right and now we’re going after the title. I think she’ll fight Gina Carano… There’s nowhere to run, EliteXC may put them to fight in February.

Which details do you think she still has to develop to face Gina Carano?

I think every athlete always has something to develop. In every fight you do, you can win well, but always you’ll have a detail do fix… She can’t stop working hard, it’s on the victory and losses that you learn, and we have a lot of thing to fix. Even if one day she gets this belt, something that would be historical in the MMA and for Brazil, to have a fighter there fighting for it, she has to develop even more and I think she’s doing fine, going even more and I’m glad to being following her since the beginning, showing a good athlete and now known in whole world.

How do you think would be a fight between Cyborg and Carano?

I think I’d be a great fight for both, they deserve that and they’re record speak for them. It’ll be awesome, everybody will be excited, and we believe she has all conditions to win and will do it with the same will she fought all her opponents. If she puts her pace in the fight, she’ll bring this title.

How is the training at Chute Boxe USA?

Everything is fine. We have a great team here, Fernando Bettega recently won at ShoXC and will fight again at California Xtreme Fight (CXF) by the end of the month with other two fighters from Chute Boxe USA. Marlon Mathias is training here with us and will be at next EliteXC, in November 8th, and if Bettega don’t get hurt in his next fight he will be there too.

Who’ll Marlon fight at EliteXC now?

We don’t know yet, but he’ll be at 150lbs division… He’s well, and our team is very strong here. We have 70 athletes and we’re training in our own training center. When we came here we were using other gym, and today we have our gym own Chute Boxe, our team.

You were at Wandelei Silva’s corner when he defeated Quinton Jackson twice at Pride… What are your predictions for this fight, now in UFC?

I’m sure it’ll be another knockout. If Wanderlei shows the same game he always showed, he’ll bring to Brazil another victory. He knows Quinton’s game, but unfortunately Quinton knows his too, but he may had bad memories of that… In fact, when I was here I heard some rumors that Quinton wanted to train with me, and when I knew that it was his preparation to fight with Wanderlei I didn’t accept. Everybody is professional, but there are things that money can’t buy. I heard this rumors, I have nothing against him, I’m a professional, but not that much, train someone to fight someone that already trained with me.

You also were at Shogun’s corner when he fought Coleman at Pride… How do you think it’ll be this fight now?

I think Coleman came down (in divisions) for this fight, but I think it won’t be a mystery for Shogun. He’s more versatile, he always showed that, and if he fights him like he did in his best times, this fight won’t pass the first round.

When they fight each other in Pride, everybody in Chute Boxe wanted a rematch because of what happened there… Today, out of Chute Boxe, Shogun will face him again. If he wins the fight, will he revenge Chute Boxe or only for himself?

No, I don’t think it’ll have that revenge taste. What happened there at the ring is that Coleman and his team wanted to come fight with us, and we went there. It was very emotional, but I don’t think it’ll be a revenge for Chute Boxe… If we start waiting to get a revenge against everybody that beat us we’ll live out whole life with enemies, we and who we defeat. It’s past. Coleman is a great athlete, still fighting with more than 40 years old and I pray God bless them, but I believe Shogun may win. And I believe it’ll be on the first round.