Photo Marcelo Alonso

Invited to represent the American team at M-1 Challenge, Givanildo Santana accepted it and debuted with a victory at April 29, in Japan. The black belt of Jiu-Jitsu showed why he’s called the “arm collector” and got one more for his collection, Min Suk Heo’s arm, on the first round, just like he did on the ten fights he ended this way. Now, the Brazilian prepares himself to the next stage of the M-1 Challenge, that happens at Korea on July 4, and the expectation is to go to the semifinals. Check below the exclusive interview with the fighter.

How was your fight at M-1?

It was great, I won by submission on the first round. I had done a good physical preparation and everything was alright, not only for me, but the whole team, including Fabio (Negão), who fought for the first time in the welterweight division.

How did you like the event?

The event was good. I believe that, if it keeps this style, has chances to grow even more.

What are the chances of the American team to win this competition?

The chances are good, we’re the leaders of our group and we’re undefeated. If we win the next stage at Korea, we won’t depend on any result to go to the semifinals. I believe we have good chances.

How were you and Fabio invited to join the American team?

When I’m here at California, I train with Colin Oyama (Team Oyama), who’s the team of the American team, and he, knowing about our qualities, invited us, believing that team event will keep us active between another big events.

Why you and Fabio accepted to fight for another country?

Fabio is waiting for the confirmation of the another Affliction and I’m negotiating with another big organization, so we accepted it to don’t stay a long tie without fighting, and we actually went fighting in Japan, another great market.

Were you invited to the Brazilian team at M-1?

No, we didn’t received any invite at all, but there’s a lot of good fighters in Brazil to represent the team.

When will you be back to the rings for the event?

The next phase is on Korea, on July 4, in case I don’t receive any invite from a bigger organization. I’m negotiating with a bigger event and I’m waiting, if it happens I’ll tell you guys from TATAME.

How is the gym at the U.S, is there any changes?

Yes. Me and Colin Oyama left the gym where we used to work to do some projects. The team is called Team Oyama MMA and Jiu-Jitsu is Lotus Club. We wanted to put on a strong MMA team, to fight the events on levels A, B and C. There are some new kids that will do a lot of trouble in the future.

What are the projects?

The new projects are to keep working with the fighters from our another team and fight at events like Strikeforce, UFC, WEC, WBC Muay Thai, M-1 Afliction and King of the Cage, and support the new fighters in the smaller events. Our objective is to have fighters on every event, so that they can get experience. On the other hand, my project is to develop Lotus Club on the competitions here at California. He have some gyms in other states, like New York, Arizona and Washington, so the idea is to put a strong team here too, for the next Worlds and Pan-American competitions.