Hi Sergio, first I want to start with your history, you were formerly with Chute Box Brazil?
“I was with Chute Box for 17 years and have 23 years of MMA experience”
I know that Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos trained with Chute Box Brazil before coming to the US; did you ever work with her?
“I work with her a little bit, not much”
As far as female fighters go, when you were with Chute Box did you train any female fighters?
“I always had a lot of females training in my gym; none of them were really good enough to be a fighter.”
How did you feel about training Shana when she first came to you?
“When Shana first came to me she was determined, she believed in herself but she didn’t know where she could go. After a few months I saw she had talent and spirit, I saw that Shana was a hard worker. When she had the fight with Kaitlin young she had a challenge, everybody thought she couldn’t beat Kaitlin but she did. When I saw her fight Kaitlin I was motivated to coach Shana. I saw her spirit and thought seriously about big stuff, bigger things for her.”
A few months ago Shana was contacted by Strikeforce about fighting Erin Toughill but that fight never happened. Do you feel that invitation was more of a “feeler” fight that Strikeforce was trying to put together for Erin who was supposed to have an upcoming match against Cyborg or that it was a valid invitation?
“I have many plans for Shana and she has many invitations, she has been invited to fight in Brazil. As for Strikeforce Shana is a younger fighter who is just starting out, why make a big jump now to fight Erin when there are so many small steps to take? I won’t let her make that jump until I think she is ready, she will be a more experienced fighter next year, and Shana gets better every day.”
I’ve watched you train Shana and I can definitely see a good connection between the two of you as a team. I can tell that you care about her not only as a fighter but as a person too and this extends to not only Shana but all of your fighters beyond the mat. Is this part of your philosophy as a coach?
“I care about my fighters also as people. You train people but it is not just punch, kick I need to know about how they are mentally and how is their family and how is their job. When I work with a fighter they are my family, their family is my family and their teammates are also family. This is especially true and even more important with female fighters. Women are different and I need to know what is going on with Shana at home, at work, I need to know where her mind is. Women cut weight differently because physically there are times when cutting weight is not possible. Shana needs a strong group of people behind her to support her and she has that with her team mates and her family. She has her boyfriend Dan who is there for her, he has to help to take care of things so that she can focus on what she needs to focus on - training and her mind can be in the right place to do what she needs to do. This will all help her to have a good performance.”
How do you feel about Shana’s matchup with Yoko? “She is ready. She works hard everyday, she trains with her teammates and they help her prepare. She trains with Travis Reddinger and Nik Kirk but when she trains with them they are not themselves. For example when she train with Nik Kirk he is not Nik he is Yoko.”
Have you and Shana found holes in Yoko’s game? “Oh yes. And my fighters don’t have to watch their opponents past fights, I watch and I make the strategy for my fighters. Every time there is a new fight, I make a new strategy; different opponents mean different strategy, different workout and different plan. It is never the same.”
Yoko has a good ground game; she is strong in her jiu jitsu but also a good striker. Are you comfortable with all the places this fight could go? “Yes, Shana will be fine anywhere, Shana is good in three different places. MMA fighter needs to be ready to fight in three different places to be successful fighter. They are stand up, ground and transitions. If everything works the way I think, Shana is going to have a good performance.”
By Christina Garcia
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