Showing good takedown defenses and a sharp Muay Thai, Rafael “Feijão” Cavalcante saw his dream coming true as he became Strikeforce’s champion last Saturday, knocking out Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal on the third round. After the victory, Feijão talked to TATAME and spoke about the feeling of becoming a champion and the strategy he used for the fight, the wins of his training partners Ronaldo Jacaré and André Galvão and his future on the event.

What did you think of the fight?

Thanks God everything worked out just fine, we did exactly what we have trained to do. I thought it was excellent, because I used the game plan I have set. I used several positions I trained until 10 minutes before the fight began, so it was great.

You showed you have been training your takedown defenses…

We have a great team, there’s Corvo, André Galvão, Jacaré… All of them are good on the takedowns, so it was crucial to me, besides having Rodrigo and everyone from Team Nogueira at my side. I had to fell and try to catch him quickly, or to stand up and try to punish him. The takedown, even when you can’t make your opponent to stay down, wears out the athlete.

The stand-up game was to work on the clinch and knees, right?

The strategy on the first round was to be a little but faster and defend the takedowns, and on the other rounds I tight it up and he got tired. I defended the takedowns on a good way, and when he began to get tired, I punched him hard and fit a knee.

How was the feeling when you got the belt in hands?

It meant the world to me, I’m living a dream I’ve been seeking for a long time. A lot of people see that I’ve been working on it for a long time, I’m working on my professional career for over six years, I’m involved on the fighting business for a longtime. I dedicate it to God and my family, because they support me at any moment.

What did you think of the fights of Jacaré, beating Tim Kennedy, and Galvão, beating Jorge Patino Macaco?

It was excellent, the guys were very prepared. Galvão had a great win over an experienced guy. I remember of when I was a child and I watched this guy fighting and André beat him. Macaco is a legend. Jacaré got a hard one, but we got these wins.

What do you expect of your future in the event? Do you know anything about your next opponent?

No, no one said anything. I just want to rest now. There were three and a half months dedicated to trainings, diet, staying away from the family… I just want to rest now.