Enjoi
In a visit yesterday (July 12th) to the Brazilian Top Team in Lagoa, south zone of Rio de Janeiro, TATAME team talked with Rodrigo Minotauro about his training to face Josh Barnett. Even not being able to divulge before the official announcement of the DSE, company who produces the Pride, the TATAME team made an exclusive interview with Minotauro about his fight against Barnett and we separated it especially for when the announcement was already made. Surprising everyone, the DSE today (13) closed the fights of the final of the GP Open Weight, which will be held on September 10th, in Japan. Check out below what Minotauro though about the Pride's choice of Barnett as his adversary, how will be his preparation, what he thinks of the fight between Wanderlei Silva and Mirko Cro Cop and everything that he is waiting of the finals of the match.
What you are doing differently in your trainings?
I am training more Muay Thai, since of the other fights I was training more Boxing. Wanderlei I know he kicks, then I am training this to be able to be well prepared to the finals.
You were expecting to fight Wanderlei and now they set you up against Josh Barnett. What did you think?
Doesn't matter for me Wand or Barnett. They are both really tough. I will do my best against anyone of them I believe that against Josh it will be a hard fight to arrive in the finals, as well as against Wanderlei. In the finals day, the person that will be better physically will lead the belt.
Do you think that he will exchange punches with you or he will try to put you down?
I think he will try to put me down. He has a good Boxing, he exchange punches really well. But he always says in interviews about his wrestling, then he must be training sufficient the take downs. Moreover, all of his fights he puts down, so I will believe the statistics.
You are training Wrestling to make the stand up fight or you will let him put you down as he probably wants?
I am also training Wrestling. I won't leave him put down easily, but if it happens I will use the ground game of Fabrício Werdum, who is the best one of the world for me. It is a chess game there, but I trust the game that I made against Werdum.
And what do you think of the fight between Wanderlei and Mirko Cro Cop?
It will be a big fight. It was a great fight of the other time and at that time the Pride was making some wrong things, leaving Cro Cop with some advantages, but I think that of this time it will be different. If Wanderlei be in the same position that he was that day, it will be a difficult fight for Cro Cop. But Cro Cop also improved a lot his game, he is with a better Boxing and he is more confident. It will be a really hard bout again.
The Pride always puts what people voted in their official website. And in the website, the poll pointed you against Wanderlei. Why do you think that of this time they had not followed the public opinion?
Because I think that Josh Barnett already fought with Cro Cop three times and I think that they don't wanted to make this fight one more time. And I also think that a fight between Brazilians would not be advantage financially to them. The Brazilian people does not attend as much Vale-Tudo, they would not buy pay-per-view in such a way as Americans and Europeans. I think that they could put me and Wanderlei soon, because they would put a Brazilian fighter out of the competition. I do not understand it, because it even has possibilities to be a Brazilian final.
This is a world-wide fight in the truth, something that everybody wants to see.
Sincerely, I did not understand. But now I will continue training to face Barnett.
What you are doing of different now, since you admitted that you were with a little gas in your last fight?
I am training sufficient my exercise part, I am making muscular reinforcement part, training my gas part, running on the beach, going up in mountains. There will be two fights in the same day, then I have to think about this, I need to be faster. I will be with 108kg, I need to lose some weight, I am with 113kg now. In that fight with Werdum he made a fight with some strategies, he is very hard on the ground; we even don't need total about his ground part. He is top, he fights really well, I got tired because I tried everything, I tried American, guillotine.
Did Josh Barnett impresse you with Mark Hunt?
He take down was great, but he was in the fight as we knew. Everybody already knew that result.
Do you prefer Cro Cop or Wanderlei in the final?
Doesn't matter, both of them. I will be prepared for anyone. I already fought with Cro Cop, I know his fight. If it will be Wanderlei, would be also a great fight. I will always do my best.
Which advice would you give to Wanderlei in his fight against Cro Cop?
As well as I made when I fought with him, Wanderlei also can hold his kicks, it is easy to support his kicks. If he keeps this rhythm with Cro Cop in the fight, it will be a good tactics.
http://www.tatame.com.br/ingles/
Rodrigo Minotauro interview on Open Weight GP 
