News
18/03/10 - Shogun brings in K-1 karateka to prepare for Machida
Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua has brought in one of the world’s most successful karate fighters to help him train for his second match with Lyoto Machida, himself a karate stylist. Glaube Feitosa is a Kyukoshin Karate stylist and in 2005 was a runner-up in the K-1 World Grand Prix, the world’s most prestigious kickboxing tournament.
Feitosa, who has wins over Cheick Kongo, Alistair Overeem and Ruslan Karaev in kickboxing bouts, has been in Curitiba, the same Brazilian city that is home to the Rua brothers, Mauricio ‘Shogun’ and Murilo ‘Ninja’, for two months. Tatame Magazine spoke to Shogun about the training.
"Glaube is a guy who comes from Karate and I am very honored to have him in our academy. It is a privilege, I think he is the best in Brazil. At heavyweight, he was the guy who most represented Brazil abroad. Everyone here at the academy is a fan of his.
"Glaube is living in Curitiba and is with us for two months. We already was a fan of the guy before this… The guy is an extraordinary person, super humble. He has a lot to help the people there in the gym. It's an asset to the academy."
Machida is an exponent of his own family style of karate (Machida Karate), as learned from his father from a young age. He was a karate champion in his native Brazil before switching to mixed martial arts, where his elusive style has caused endless problems for his opponents.
Rua is the fighter who has most figured Machida out however and he looked close to being the first person to ever defeat the karateka when they fought at UFC 104. But Machida won the fight and retained his UFC light-heavyweight belt after the judges awarded him a unanimous decision win. The result was controversial and UFC president Dana White ordered an immediate rematch, which takes place at UFC 114 in May.
Attachments:
- There are no attachments for this article
