The submission Tito Ortiz applied over Ryan Bader, in UFC 132, may have surprised many, but not the Brazilian Ricardo Demente. Owner of a powerful Jiu-Jitsu, the BJJ black belt was the responsible for the ground game trainings of the UFC former champion, and was more than glad about the fight’s outcome.
“It couldn’t have been better… A win by submission, a Jiu-Jitsu coup, and really well trained by us… I’ve picked the positions that would fit his game, positions that he’d get quickly and could be effective when the time comes”, celebrates Ricardo, on an exclusive chat with TATAME. “You can’t predict a MMA fight, but I was hoping he’d try to use he’d go for the submission. I wasn’t that surprised because we’ve trained a lot, so anything could happen”.
On the interview that you check below, Ricardo talks about his experience along with Ortiz during his idol’s prep for UFC 132, and how it’ll help him on his MMA debut, which happens next Saturday (9), in Sao Jose do Rio Preto, against Marcos da Silva. “Everything was rewarding and enriched much to me”. Check it:
What are your thoughts about the fight between Tito Ortiz and Ryan Bader?
It couldn’t have been better… A win by submission, a Jiu-Jitsu coup, and really well trained by us.
 Did you hope it’d come that fast?
It’s hard to guess in MMA, because anything can happen at any time. I was pretty confident and positive about it, but I wasn’t hoping it’d be that fast.
Did you trained a lot that position or was it a surprise for you that he finished the fight with a guillotine choke?
Yeah, we’re trained a lot this and another two positions. I’ve picked the positions that would fit his game, positions that he’d get quickly and could be effective when the time comes. You can’t predict a MMA fight, but I was hoping he’d try to use he’d go for the submission. I wasn’t that surprised because we’ve trained a lot, so anything could happen.
How were the trainings with Ortiz on the US? Did you only focused in Jiu-Jitsu or did you guys trained all modalities together?
Most of the time we did sparrings for MMA, combined with Jiu-Jitsu and Grappling trainings.
He didn’t win since 2006. How was he coming to this fight? Did he seem nervous or anxious?
He was cool, a little bit anxious but it’s normal, but it didn’t felt like he was under a lot of pressure. Many people talked to him, pushed him, making him on the right track and not putting much pressure about this fight. Me, Jason Parillo (Boxing coach) and Michael Giovanni (physical trainer), always tell him good things.
He said that the camp had five people on it. How was this work like?
That was exactly it, five people. Jason Parillo (Boxing), Michael Giovanni (physical trainer), me (Jiu-Jitsu, Grappling and sparring), and two other guys who helped him on sparring trainings. It was a small crew, but we brought a great technical level to the trainings.
Did you celebrate a lot?
It was pretty good, mainly because of the way he got the win. It was good for everybody, because now we feel so much better, lighter, without that heavy weight in our backs, mainly Tito. He’s really happy, he thanked us many times (laughs). But (the night) was short to me, because I had to leave early to spare myself for my fight next Saturday.
You’ll have your MMA debut this Saturday. Are you ready for this new challenge?
Yes, I am… I’m so excited to debut, I can’t wait! By the way, I’m already late (laughs).
What do you know about your opponent? What are his strong points?
I don’t know much about him, I know he’s a Muay Thai guy and he’s very experienced.
What did you learn with this experience along with Tito on the United States?
I’ve learned a lot from him, just by being at his side, living all the moments of the fight, since the preparation until the fight itself, the way of thinking, the professionalism... Everything was rewarding and enriched much to me.
Do you consider stop fighting Jiu-Jitsu and become a MMA fighter in the future or will you keep fighting both?
I guess it’s hard to do both things, because you must have distinct conditioning, but I’ll always fight Jiu-Jitsu when I’m not fighting MMA.
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