"I think that’s what life is all about. Being better tomorrow than what you were today."– Ricardo "Cachorrao" Almeida

Charming, intelligent, humble, a warm and friendly human being, this is how I would describe Ricardo Almeida after my first encounter with this world class Team Renzo Gracie MMA champion. A child of academia and a Pan Am Gold medallist by age 19, this still youthful 25 year old Brazilian Jiu-jitsu man with an even younger "ring life" in MMA, just recently captured one of the top MMA honors to be revered from the Land of the Samurai. Although he was born in the United States while his parents were in graduate school, this world-class athlete rode from the surfs of Rio de Janeiro to the urban mats of NYC, much in the tradition of his teacher and master Renzo Gracie. We were very fortunate to be granted an interview with "Big Dog" shortly after he captured the Middleweight King of Pancrase Belt. We hooked up at Renzo's gym in midtown Manhattan on a cool concrete Friday evening before classes got underway.

F:
First of all I wanted to congratulate you for becoming the new middleweight King of Pancrase. ¡Felicitaciones! (Hand shake)

Almeida:
Obrigado! Thank You!

F:
I'm sure it is quite an honor. I just wanted to know how it felt to be able to submit Nathan Marqhardt for the title? Did you know much about Nathan going into the fight?

Almeida:
Yeah, actually I saw Nathan fight when he won back the title from Kunioku. It was December 21rst of the year before, I was there to corner Rodrigo Gracie for Pride. So, I got the chance to go and see him, and he knocked the guy out with a flying knee. Ever since I was like wow, that kid's good, but I never thought that I would fight middleweight, I always fought heavier.

F:
Exactly, you were a light-heavy?

Almeida:
Yes, light heavyweight.

F:
The first time I ever saw you fight was against Matt Lindland in the UFC.

Almeida:
Yes.

F:
I wanted to get your thoughts about that fight, what happened exactly? You were on the bottom I believe and you threw a leg kick maybe, it was a technicality.

Almeida:
They changed the rules like the week of the fight, or at least I became aware of the rules the week of the fight. Not to put the blame on anyone else, it was just something, which was natural for me, to be able to kick somebody in the face. And not only that, they had a rule that once you touch your knee on the floor, you cannot knee either. So if you watch the tape again, Mat was going like this, (demonstrates - quickly touching knee on ground) and this, to avoid me from kicking. He was using the rules in his favor, nothing against him. He was smart and played a good strategy.

F:
Matt is "the" American wrestler, great clinch, he can ride and control the ground game, or lay and pray, but he's not always able to finish. How do you think you would do against Lindland now, if you had another opportunity?

Almeida:
I think it would be a completely different fight, and I think it would be a much more exciting fight. Matt has improved a lot. I see him every time he fights in the UFC and he's gotten a lot better. He was even using the guard in his last fight, playing from the bottom. I think I have improved a lot too, so it would be a good fight to watch.

F:
There was a split decision in your fight against Misaki, although I believe you controlled the fight, you also fought Sasaki in Pancrase in April. These were two tough battles against Grabaka fighters, which you won by decision. What do you think about this Grabaka pack?

Almedia:
They train with Sanae Kikuta, who is the former light heavyweight King of Pancrase. They all have very good groundwork, so it's not always the best match up for me. They can in many ways neutralize my best weapons, so I have to always come up with something new. If you saw the fight against Sasaki, I was kicking him "Chute Boxe" style. Against Misaki I was so beat up physically from having to drop weight, that my strategy was not to take too much punishment for the four minutes and then the last minute of every round beat him up as much as I could. So I used some Sakuraba Mongolian chops!

F:
That’s right, in that particular fight you looked more like a wrestler although you started out with low kicks. You eventually took him to the ground and did some ground and pound, where you ever a wrestler or are you working those skills?

Almeida:
No, although I have been working with a lot of wrestling lately. I have some students which are very good wrestlers and they are helping me out with that a lot. That fight with Misaki, I got cut very early in the third round and what happened was that the blood was going straight into my eye, so most of the third round I couldn't see anything.

F:
How did that cut happen?

Almeida:
I went to do one of the Mongolian chops like this (gesturing) and I hit my face on his knee on the way down.

F:
You got up exclaiming, "I'm okay, I'm okay" you must have been worried that they would stop it.

Almeida:
I was worried that they would stop the fight because there was a lot of blood and it was a pretty close match, so you always wonder if they aren't going to try to do a hometown decision. But I have no complaints with Pancrase, they have always been fair with results. I saw Masaki's last fight with Jake Shields and it was a draw. It was a pretty close fight, and some people say one guy won or the other guy won, so I think they're pretty fair.

F:
It seems rare that a draw is called in the UFC and fights have a tendency to end much more quickly, I wanted your opinion on the ropes versus the octagon; compare the two environments and the difference in rules.

Almeida:
The cage is very big, especially the UFC cage. The area that you have to maneuver in is very large compared to the ring. So people can stay away from you, especially guys like Liddell, they're able to maneuver around the octagon a lot. As far as the cage, people use the fence a lot, and it usually makes for a much less technical fight in many ways. There is a technique to it, which is to put the guy against the fence, take him down, and pound him out. I'm not taking anything away from it as far as skills, but it takes away from the more fundamental skills, which we want to see. Arm bars, reversals, even the regular ground n pound, but not so much against the fence when the guy cannot really defend himself. One more thing that people don't realize, is the elbows, I'm totally against the elbows. I don't think elbows add anything to the game, all it does is enable you to cut the guy quickly, and it makes for a bloody and less technical fight. But in the UFC they choose to have that so they can have quicker fights, and they don't have "boring" decisions. It works for them, and of course they are targeting more the American public, whereas in Japan the fans are much more educated as far as what's going on in the fights. There, they are able to get away a lot more with fights, which are not as "dynamic," and the fans still like it because there are submission attempts. You don't necessarily need two bloody guys to make a good fight.

F:
Do you think that will eventually change? It seems that they are having a hard time pushing the octagon on the public here in the U.S.. Psychologically, people seem to be getting turned off by the cage. They see it and think, "this is brutal!" Do you think the UFC is adding or hindering to the advancement of MMA in this country?

Almeida:
I think they are definitely adding with the connections they have to different athletic commissions, and just as far aswhat they did with the sport since three years ago. They were able to bring it back to pay per view and have been on network channels and all kinds of shows. I think if I were the owner or the manager of the UFC or ZUFFA, I would just close it out and come out with a totally new event with a ring. They've got the knowledge, they know what to do, they've got all the resources. No more cage, that's that, that's the old. So then you come in with the ring, the same fighters, maybe change the rules a little bit to make it more dynamic, I think it could be great. I think the sport could only benefit from that, rather than keeping the cage. I don't see why they stay with the cage.

F:
I agree with you, and it’s interesting that you mention the octagon as being larger. When you fought in Pride, was that ring larger than in Pancrase?

Almeida:
I think it's more or less the same, maybe by a foot or half a meter, but it's more or less the same.

F:
Clarify for us the difference in rules in Pancrase.

Almeida:
There are no elbows whatsoever in Pancrase, in Pride you can use elbows to the body and limbs, but not to the face. In Pancrase you can't knee the opponent or kick when you have a chest to chest or chest to back position. You have to create separation before you can knee. You can't be head locking a guy and kneeing him at the same time, you have to create separation first. If the guy is grounded, once he stands up you can knee him, not if he's grounded.

F:
Out of Pride, UFC, or Pancrase, which rules do you prefer?

Almeida:
I like the Pancrase rules alot, I think it makes it a little safer creating separation before you can kick. But I like the elbows to the body in Pride as well. I would like them to add elbows to the body. It just gives you more options, it doesn't bring the bloody aspect, but it brings definitely a damage aspect. You can hurt the guy with them.

F:
In your debut in the Pride FC you completely dominated Akira Shoji and won by unanimous decision. Has Pride invited you back, perhaps to fight in Bushido, or are you too light for their weight categories?

Almeida:
I'm not really light, I just make weight for the 82 kilos, but up to 100 kilos I feel like I could fight anybody and be competitive. Now once it goes too much above that, it would have to be a one time only kind of thing. One huge challenge you know, we've all been waiting to get something like that. As far as Pride inviting me back, I'm waiting. That's where I did my very first match, it's the biggest event in the world, and it's the most prestigious. (Heavy sigh!) I was watching the grand prix on TV, and just that opening with the water and the drums, I was like, that's where I have to go back.

F:
Give us your impressions on that tournament. I thought it was one of the greatest MMA events ever. It showed the very superior level that these particular fighters are at. I wanted to know what you thought about Wanderlei Silva, and compare the level of Pancrase fighters to Pride.

Almeida:
I think that definitely the top ranked guys from Pancrase could do well in any organization. Kondo, Kikuta, and even Gono now is coming up. Kunioku, even the guys from lightweight I think would do well in any organization. As far as the level compared to Pride and UFC I think they're up there. Except, I haven't seen too many heavyweights and I think that's something that Pancrase is missing. I don't know why, because Japanese fans seem to enjoy a lot seeing big guys fighting, I think it adds a little bit to their Pro-wrestling mix. I think they should explore that a little bit more, they don't have too many heavyweights.

F:
Speaking of Pro-wrestling, I know that your teacher Renzo has flirted with it once before, he did one show in which he went up against Inoki right, Antonio Inoki?

Almeida:
Yeah, that's right.

F:
Have you ever considered that as an alternative to surviving as an MMA athlete? The life of a fighter must be very hard.

Almeida:
Uhm, I could do it maybe just as a one time special kind of thing. You know, it's the kind of thing you do more or less just to be able to brag about it. (Joking) I did it, I did some Pro-wrestling, it was a lot of fun, but there is also the dangerous aspect to it. As far as being a financial way outside of MMA, not at all. I love teaching, I have my own school, and once I stop MMA my focus will be on my students and my family. I don't like to be under the spotlight too much. You're there, but it's a very difficult build up for me emotionally. I'm a nice guy, it's very difficult to be up there and people come and take pictures and autographs, and things like that. That's not really who I am. So it's almost like I have to put on a mask to be able to do all these things.

F:
So do you feel that your true calling is to be a teacher, a man behind the scenes?

Almeida:
Yeah, so far, all my experiences as far as being a coach, have been trying to help Renzo out and Rodrigo and some of the guys that train here on the team as much as I possibly could. I've gotten some great reviews as far as my coaching ability. That's something that, I could and would like to explore. I have some good guys at my school who are coming up, some very very good guys that we are going to hear about in the future.

F:
I wanted to ask you how you got into MMA? I'm assuming you started with Jiu- jitsu, but where there any other sports before that?

Almeida:
Surfing, I'm a water person. I did a lot of swimming when I was young. My mom was actually Brazilian national champion many times. She had the South American record for a long time. She was an Olympic level swimmer.

F:
So you come from a family of athletes.

Almeida:
Oh yeah, my grandfather was a decathlon man, track and field, my father was a triathlete, all my family, we all did sports. It wasn't any different for my brother and me.

F:
How many brothers do you have?

Almeida:
I have two brothers, the young one he's still only like twelve or thirteen, and he's a very good soccer player. My other brother, Flavio, he's a world champion in Jiu-jitsu. He's one of the best black belts from Gracie Barra.

F:
Is he here in the United States or Brazil?

Almeida:
He's in Brazil.

F:
So when did you come to the U.S.?

Almeida:
97, March of 1997.

F:
So what made you make that move?

Almeida:
I was half way through college in Brazil, I wasn't really liking what I was doing, I needed a change. I always wanted to move here, because I was born here while my parents were going to graduate school at Manhattan College. We moved back to Brazil, but I always had the interest of coming here and seeing American culture. I had always admired a lot of the things in American culture, not the money or those things, but how American people in many ways are some of the hardest working people. I have my criticisms, but there's nothing like being here in this country.

F:
So did you already know Renzo before you came to New York?

Almeida:
I was a brown belt under Carlos Gracie Jr., Renzo's uncle. When I started training, Renzo was the only black belt at the school, it was a lot smaller then. He was the guy that we always looked up to. I used to go to tournaments just to watch him fight. And well uh, he's my brother-in-law.

F:
You used to do Jiu-jitsu tournaments, could you explain to us the rules of these tournaments?

Almeida:
They have different time limits for different levels, like blue belt, purple belt, and weight divisions much like many martial arts. The points are based on positioning; takedowns, reversals, passing the guard, knee on stomach, the mount, and hooks from the back. And of course if you are able to submit the guy the match is over.

F:
So it must have been an even greater feeling to win by submission and taking the King of Pancrase tile belt.

Almeida:
It was great. I felt that it was in many ways a Jiu-jitsu masterpiece, I more or less followed standard Jiu-jitsu strategy. Take the guy down, use Jiu-jitsu skills to control the match, of course using strikes and everything, now it's a completely different game but I was able to win the fight with Jiu-jitsu. It made me very happy.

F:
So you seem to be following in Renzo's footsteps in the sense that he was one of the first Gracie's to step into Pride with their rules, and time "limitations," he deviated, especially for a jiu- jitsu man. You've developed your striking game, kicking, etc…
I can tell from watching your last few Pancrase fights on tape that you have been working with a Boxing coach. Tell us how you train?

Almeida:
I do a lot of boxing, not so much the kicking, I feel boxing gives me very good distance and timing. When I'm supposed to grab the guy, and ways to grab without getting hit. It also gives me the footwork to be able to move around the guy if I need to, and especially the defense against strikers. I'm not too worried about punching the guy out on my feet, because I know that will take years to develop. If I'm around the game long enough, I think people will start to see the time and effort I'm putting in now, they will see me being able to knock people out. It'll take some time, but little by little I'm feeling more comfortable.

F:
What do you think about Minowa, whom you beat by a unanimous decision? This Japanese fighter has moved to Brazil to train with the Brazilian Top Team.

Almeida:
I respect that move a lot. Not too many people can honestly face their shortcomings, and then face their failures and be able to overcome them and improve. Minowa, he was like a huge up and coming guy and then for a year or two he lost a few matches. From watching his tapes, it looks like he stopped developing. He probably felt the same way after we fought, and he's young, he's the same age as me. There's no reason why he can't go out there and get better, I think that's what life is all about. Being better tomorrow than what you where today.

F:
How does it feel to have such a big title suddenly at such a young age? You are still developing but on an upward swing.

Almeida:
It's funny that we where talking about how Minowa lost and he said he needed some time off. I had a big loss too, a defeat in the UFC when I fought this Russian guy. After that fight I was emotionally devastated, because it was the first time I was defeated in a competition. Even when I lost in a Jiu-jitsu tournament, I always lost by an advantage or something like that, I had never been knocked out. It was weird because the fight could have gone either way. I was imposing my game as much as he, but he just kept hitting me and at one point the mouthpiece broke and chipped my tooth in half. So after the fight I had a black eye, my lip was split, I looked in the mirror, the tooth is broken in half and I think, what the hell! What happened in this fight? Then later you look at the tape, and you see your face after the fight. I still have a picture and I look at it often just to remember how low you can go. It was a pretty difficult thing to face and I think after that my mind set towards everything in life changed a lot, towards life itself. Actually the same day that I fought Seminov, that night my wife told me that we were going to have a baby. I think that day really changed my life.

F:
So how old is your baby now?

Almeida:
Fourteen months.

F:
Boy or girl?

Almeida:
Boy. Renzo.

F:
Oh wow. Congratulations. How long married?

Almeida:
Two years, two years today. I'm in trouble because I'm here today.

F:
Well, as long as you remember your anniversary, that's what's important. When is your next fight? Any New Years gigs?

Almeida:
I would love that, but we all know how obscure some of the organizations are, they only decide who's going to fight in the last couple days. I'm ready, I'm training, but it would be difficult for me to go down to 82 kilos with such short notice. It takes about two months for me to be able to get down there and be healthy and fight the way I fought Nathan. I want to fight, I'm ready

F:
Who do you feel are the top MMA fighters out there right now, or people that you would like to fight perhaps?

Almeida:
First of all, as far as who I think are the top guys, heavyweight, I think Nogueira is number one just because of what he has accomplished. Even though he lost to Fedor, I don't think Fedor has proven himself as much as Minotauro has. I think he's number one, followed by Fedor and Cro-cop.

F:
So you respect Cro-cops striking power?

Almeida:
Yes, I like watching his fights because he is so cold, he's like a predator. He doesn't see anything, but knocking that guy out. He has no feelings at all, I respect that a lot.

F:
Nogueira is somewhat more of a purist, in that he finishes with submissions, while you and Renzo seem to have departed more from Jiu-jitsu, are you concentrating on a different strategy now?

Almeida:
I think my main objective when I go in to a fight is to win. So I do what ever is necessary to win, whatever it is that I need to learn within the rules of course. If I have to knock the guy out, I'll knock him out, if I have to choke him out, I’ll choke him. Of course, Jiu-jitsu is always going to be natural for me, but there'll be guys that will bring me out of my own game, so I have to be able to fight in their game too.

F:
In that sense, do you think that’s why Cro-cop was beaten, he didn't respect or bother learning the ground game?

Almeida:
I think he overestimated his ability to fight on the ground, and when the fight went to the ground we just saw the difference. You know, they stayed five minutes on their feet, and he couldn’t knock him out, and they were five seconds almost on the ground and Nogueira took him out. Not five seconds, but 30 or 40 maybe, something like that.

F:
Would you ever like to fight Wanderlei, or anyone from the Shoote Boxing academy?

Almeida:
I don't feel comfortable calling names out. He has done so much that I am a fan. If I ever become as praised, or if I ever do as much as him, and they ever wanted to match me against Wanderlai, I would be kind of sad because he is another Brazilian and he's someone I look up to, but I'm a professional. I feel that I need a few years to be able to bring my game up to the level were he is right now, in that way he is above me, and anyone else.

F:
What's you opinion on Yoshida? He is a controversial figure in MMA.

Almeida:
I've trained with a lot of Judo guys, people don't understand the level at which they are. They don't give out gold medals in the Olympics as they give out karate black belts. For him to be able to achieve such an honor is a whole life of dedication and training. I knew that he would give anyone trouble, but at the same time, the more he fights the more he's going to be exposed. Just like any of us, we are human, if we fight enough we're going to loose. It doesn't matter who it is, very few people will be able to go through their careers undefeated, especially if they are not choosing fights. So again, Yoshida, his ability to take people down, and he probably has that freak Judo strength. From watching tapes, I can imagine how strong he is, I respect him a lot. But I don't feel he is nearly at the level that Wanderlei is, even though he was able to give him a hard time. Right now, if they fought ten times this year, Wanderlei will win ten. But then, maybe three years from now, it’s going to be a different story.

F:
If you could choose a fight right now, whom would you like to fight? Maybe Dan Henderson, or some other middleweight from Pride?

Almeida:
I feel that I've done, not a lot, but enough to put myself in the position where I could challenge some guys at that weight, especially at the middle weight now that I have the King of Pancrase title, as people want to call it. But, I'll fight the best. Whoever they think is the best Japanese fighter out there, or whoever they think can give me the hardest fight, put me in there with that guy.

F:
What weight do you naturally carry ?

Almeida:
87 kilos, or like 195 or 196 lbs, that's my natural weight. If I'm lifting and eating, lifting and eating alot, I'm over 200 hundred all the time.

F:
So do you lift at all?

Almeida:
I did in the past to get myself to the point where I am right now, but I have this strength and conditioning coach at this place in North Jersey, which is called the Parisy School of Speed Strength and Quickness. It's for, football and baseball players, they all go there to get better at whatever skill or area they need for their own sport. So everything we lift is core, like abs, legs, and lower back. Not so much arms, chest, a little bit of pull ups just to keep some of the strength, and a lot of running.

F:
Because of the nature of this game, is this the most essential part, this type of conditioning?

Almeida:
I'm a very dynamic fighter, I like to impose my game and be fast and quick, I have to be in good shape for that. Plus, the training just beats you up so much, I feel that when I'm going to the conditioning place that I'm doing all my work. I don't get injured so consequently I can train a lot more and don't get hurt as much. I will always be improving, but injuries are always setbacks. My goal is not to be injured.

F:
But so far you're healthy?

Almeida:
So far yeah, I had a surgery in my hand, which put me out for 8 months almost in 2002. That's why it was such a long break between Seminov and Shibuya; it was almost a year.

F:
Shibuya is a very tough fighter; I've seen many tapes of him. I was very impressed by that victory.

Almeida:
Yes, he's very tough. The way I was able to win certainly doesn't show how tough he is.

F:
Right, you submitted him in the first round. How did you wind up going into Pancrase in the first place?

Almeida:
After I lost to Seminov the UFC wanted to bring me back right away, we had a great relationship and I wanted to stay there. They called me up and wanted me to fight Phil Baroni, I was driving to Florida, to spend time with my wife and my brothers who were visiting me. I said, yeah, put me down, and of course I wanted to be back as soon as possible. But I did a lot of thinking, and when I came back I thought to myself, maybe I should take time to improve myself. The level that I was at back then, emotionally, mentally and physically, it would've been one win one loss one win one loss. The hand injury gave me such a long break that I worked a lot on my weaknesses and many things I needed to work on. That’s why I was able to be successful, at least this past year. It's been exactly one year since I fought Shibuya to when I fought Nathan.

F:
You’ve had five victories in a row. Now that you’re on a roll have you considered at all stepping up to the light heavyweight category and perhaps claiming that belt?

Almeida:
Yes, that’s my natural weight, but as far as the middleweight, I think every champion has to defend their belt to be a true champion. Anybody can win a belt, so I don't worry about the title. If I lose the belt tomorrow it doesn't matter so much, it'll be a lesson that I have to go through. I want to defend the title first and then challenge, I think it's going to be Kondo, he's not losing that title for awhile. He should have been King of Pancrase at the weight I'm at already.

F:
It was quite a shock to me that he was able to knock out Kikuta. Kikuta had beaten him previously by decision.

Almeida:
Yeah, I only saw the end, the last punch, and Kondo is just so tough. From what I heard he dominated the fight. So we could be looking at Ricardo vs. Kondo some time late next year or something like that.

F:
That would be great. You are both very dynamic fighters and Kondo is a force having given a much larger Josh Barnett quite a battle for the heavyweight belt.

Almeida:
My dream would be if they had a welterweight division, because middleweight in Pride is 200 lbs, so if they had a 180 lbs Grand Prix I would love to participate in it. That's my dream.

F:
This Pride Grand Prix only had eight fighters in this tournament, but there is so much talent at this weight division, who else do you think deserved to be in the tournament?

Almeida:
Renzo, Dan Henderson, Arona, who was in the tournament. Some people even talked about me being there, I don't think, but as far as skills, maybe yeah, I'll always be able to put on a good fight. But as far as what people have accomplished, I know what I have done, I know what other people have done and I respect that. I think other people would be ahead of me in line, such as Arona, Henderson, Sakuraba was there. I thought for sure Kondo should have been there.

F:
What’s your opinion of Tamura, he's quite a fighter? Fought Bob Sapp, Patrick Smith, once upon a time. Did it surprise you that he lost to Yoshida?

Almeida:
He is very, very, very tough. He probably never trained with the Gi, so he probably never saw that coming, never felt that kind of pressure. Any choke, in which you have the use of the Gi, is a lot tighter than just arm chokes and things like that. So people don't realize the difference, but yes Tamura is tough. I think he is one of the best guys in that weight, he lost to Wanderlei and Bob Sapp. And who's beat those two guys, not too many people out there. Then he lost to Yoshida, but we saw what a tough fight he gave Wanderlei. People tend to talk too much about the losses, this guy lost to this guy so he’s no good.

F:
You're right, this is a sport were anything can happen, and it's hard to stay on top. How tough is the life of a champion, holding onto that tile in MMA? This seems to be the most competitive sport in the world right now; one can be toppled at any moment.

Almeida:
I don't ever want it to have the same politics such as in boxing, were you have ten belt holders for each weight division. I don't think that's the way to go. They should have a standard ranking, by people who really know and accept who is the number one guy. It’s going to be difficult. I think it should be like tennis. If you watch tennis, the rankings change every week. If MMA gets to be that popular in the future, I think it should be like that.

F:
So you would like to unify the rankings? Right now the UFC has their own rakings, everybody has their own rankings.

Almeida:
I think so, if you look at some of the American rankings, they totally favor American fighters. Probably the Brazilian rankings would favor Brazilian guys, while the Japanese might favor Japanese fighters. Sometimes people don't even know what's going on. They just came out with a ranking this week were I was listed at 170 lbs. I could try, but I would have to chop a leg off. That alone shows that people sometimes don’t know what they are talking about.

F:
Sometimes I'm very shocked to look at certain rankings, especially by American fans. They rarely mention Royce Gracie, Rickson Gracie; even Sakuraba ranks low for some. Instead they'll have some live wire from the U.S. who is not nearly at the same level. How do you feel about this?

Almeida:
Those rankings, especially the ones we have access to are more like UFC rankings. The guy goes and wins one fight in the UFC and he is automatically in the top ten, but that's not always the case. I can see them not listing Royce or Rickson, just because they haven't fought, lately. (Interview before Royce -Yoshida) I think you would need an all time kind of ranking, best fight ever pound for pound, or something like that. Like they would have Muhammad Ali, and all these other guys there, current guys. I could see rankings were they don’t have Royce or Rickson, you know Shamrock or Tagtarov, which were guys who did a lot for this sport.

F:
Have you ever had the honor of grappling with Royce or Rickson?

Almeida:
Yes, both it was an enlightening experience! They weren't trying to beat me up. Royce's defense is amazing, there's no…
I like samurai movies; did you ever see or read the book Musashi? There is a moment when he is at this geisha house, when he sees the geisha dance, and the only thing he is able to say is, "I see no weakness in your defense." Because he thought the dance was so perfect. And that's how it is with Royce, there is no weakness. You can get positioning and things like that, but you can't get a hold of him. And Rickson is Rickson, what can I say.

F:
It seems many fighters make references to that book, Musashi?

Almeida:
Yeah, I like Samurai movies, Akira Kurosawa movies. Seven Samurai, I read The Code of the Samurai.

F:
How old were you when you started in Jiu-jitsu?

Almeida:
Fourteen, not too young, not as young as when some of these guys started.

F:.
Before that did you compete at all professionally in surfing?

Almeida:
No, not professionally. My father competed professionally a lot, long boarding. About five years ago they had one of the legs for the professional long boarding circuit in Rio. He made it all the way to the semi finals with these guys that made a living off of it. He was forty-five years old at the time.

F:
You have to have great balance to be a surfer, does that help you out a lot in this sport?

Almeida:
A lot of conditioning, balance, quickness, the early fundamentals that I had for Jiu-jitsu came from surfing. The breathing, everything helps.

F:
Did you play Futbol, soccer?

Almeida:
I played, but you always get hurt or you get into fights, so it's no fun. I like surfing more, plus it was too hot, you would be sweating, so I always liked it better in the water.

F:
If you had to chose any other sport besides MMA to be a professional in, what would it be?

Almeida:
I think it would be big wave surfing. They tow you in with a jet ski; you can't paddle because the waves move much faster than you can. They measure the waves, and at the end of the season they measure digitally, with a computer who surfed the biggest wave. For the whole winter you have to tape.

F:
Wow, it sounds like a really risky sport.

Almeida:
It would have to be an extreme sport. Nothing with too much speed, like cars or bikes; that I am afraid of.

F:
As a kid, did you grow up fighting?

Almeida:
A little bit, Brazil is a different country, you have to fight sometimes. Its not always that you call the cops, you blow the whistle and there's ten cops around you. So you have to be able to fight. I never liked fighting, when I got into lots of fights. It's the just the nature of the country, sometimes you have to defend yourself, defend what you believe in, your values. You fight, because you can't wait for someone else to do it for you, such as a cop or a parent. This is a very litigious society; there is a law suite for everything. If you have a choice of resolving it yourself, why go through a court?

F:
Any preference between Pride, Dynamite or the Inoki Bom Ba Ye?

Almeida:
(Without hesitation) Pride!
I don't care whose name is behind any event, Pride is the traditional one. But the most traditional, I believe is Pancrase. It has more tradition than Pride, but as far as being a top event in the world, Pride is it. Welterweight World Grand Prix, that's where I want to be.

F:
Would you like to fight Chuck Liddell, or someone like that?

Almeida:
There is a very big difference in size, but I would fight just about anybody. But, many people that I would fight, my objective would not be to win, as much as to finish the fight. Finish the fight safely, use my defense to not get knocked out or beat up. I think I would have to fight smaller fighters, I'm not as big as Chuck or some of those guys, but maybe in the future, if I can get a little bit bigger and feel comfortable at that weight. Some of them cut too much weight to get down there.
I'll fight just about anybody, and 100% I’ll trust my skills. But you have to stay more or less within your own weight to be competitive.

F:
Who do you feel is the number one light heavyweight and the number one middleweight in the world? You told us Nogueira was the top heavyweight.

Almeida:
The number one light heavy is Wanderlei, and also Couture. It could be a good grudge match between the UFC and Pride to see those two go at it. But I still think Wanderlei has the edge, especially in the ring.

F:
What did you think of the Couture Tito Ortiz fight?

Almeida:
Perfect. Perfect drive of goodness versus evil. Not that Tito is an evil person, but he has the image of the flames and the bad boy. Couture is this forty-year-old guy you know, a father. The next guy who comes in there he just dominates. It was very inspiring, I was very inspired by that.

F:
Perhaps it was the fact that Couture is an Olympic level wrestler.

Almeida:
Same thing going back to Yoshida, they don't give away Olympic medals to just anyone, and you don't get into the Olympics just by jumping a fence.

F:
What did you think of Pride Bushido?

Almeida:
I think the team format is great.

F:
Even though your last name is not Gracie, do you feel a part of the family; would you like to represent team Gracie in an event?

Almeida:
To me it would be an honor to be able to fight under such a format representing team Gracie. As far as being a family member and representing the family, it's something that is really deep. But to represent team Gracie or whatever it is that the Gracie family stands for and whatever it is that the people all around believe in, it would be an honor. It would be the same as being at the welterweight grand prix.

F:
Renzo and Carlos Newton had a phenomenal match, which was too close to call. Renzo attempted more submissions but got tired, does this weigh heavy in the judges card?

Almeida:
Yeah, I think Renzo got kind of tired at the end, and that's what may influence the judges more than whatever happened in the fight. I think the judges remember whatever they saw at the beginning and the end of the round; what you see first and what you see last. If you start out getting a huge takedown at the beginning and you finish by punching the guy out at the end, it doesn't matter what happened in the middle. You take the initiative at the beginning, and you finish with the initiative, that’s the way I try to fight.

F:
I know that you have been in Abu Dhabi various times and finished 2nd and third repeatedly; can you tell us about those matches?

Almeida:
Runner-up the first year, 1998, I fought Mario Sperry. I was only a brown belt at the time.

F:
So he had a lot of weight on you?

Almeida:
He was about 100 kilos and I was 83k or something like that. I remember I reversed him once but they didn't score the points, I think he passed my guard, I think it was an advantage. I don’t think there were any points scored, or maybe he got the side control? In Abu Dhabi, the first ten minutes or the first half of the match they don't score points.

F:
In 1999 you got third place.

Almeida:
Yeah, that's when I choked out Regan Machado. Then in 2000 I took third place at the open weight. That's when I fought Mark Kerr and Josh Barnett.

F:
What happened against Kerr?

Almeida:
I got him with a flying arm bar. His arm popped a couple times but I don’t think he felt it too much. It was the semi-finals and I lost by decision. I had fought Josh Barnett and a Brazilian guy, then Kerr and then another Brazilian for third place.

F:
Do you prefer the grappling rules rather than the striking game?

Almeida:
Right now MMA is a bigger challenge for me. Not to take anything away from Abu Dhabi. We go in steps, and that was what really got me started as far as international competition. I'm sure I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the Abu Dhabi competition. It gave me the background to be able to do some of the things I’ve done. I knocked at the door a couple times as a runner up, of course third place, but every time I fought I made it to the semi finals. This last year was the first time that I was not going to win a trophy. I have a trophy from each time I went there, but I ended up in fourth this year. I fought two American guys and then Jacque Carre, which was the best match of the competition, and then the third match I lost to David Terrell from Cesar Place. Watching them go up to the podium I was like, man I'm not going to bring a trophy
This time, but then they wound up calling me for the best match

F:
So you were redeemed after all.
What do you do to relax on your time off?

Almeida:
Surfing, I go out when there is snow on the beach its like thirty degrees out, I get my seven millimeter and a hood, go out and everything. It takes me abut half an hour to get into my Samurai armor and I just get out there and stay out as long as I can.

F:
That's a different breed, the surfer.

Almeida:
Yeah, but most of the time I want to stay with my son.
Even if there are great waves and I've been out all week, I look at the little guy and I don't want to go anywhere.

F:
Are you going to bring him up with Jiu-jitsu?

Almeida:
I think I'll definitely bring him up around Jiu-jitsu and teach him, because right now I cant separate Jiu jitsu from what I am. So he'll definitely be around that, but as far as being a fighter, that's his option. The discipline is good for self-control, self-reliance and all these things which are very necessary to be, not wealthy, but successful. Jiu jitsu and the martial arts teach you a lot of that.

F:
Did you ever expect to have this level of success at such a young age?

Almeida:
Not at all, I never thought that I would be fighting and reach this level. People used to ask me if I was gong to fight, and I would say no, I don't like Vale Tudo. I was already helping Renzo out and it gave me such a bad feeling when I was in his corner. I was worried about the outcome, concerned for his welfare, but as I started to get into it, I started to be able to let go those things and understand that these are things that we choose to do, and its all a part of it. But I definitely never thought that first I would be fighting, and then become one of the top guys in Pancrase, which is one of the biggest organizations out there.

F:
Any words for the fans, any final thoughts?

Almeida:
I guess you have only seen the tip of the iceberg. I hope I have enough time around to show everything that I have. I haven't shown enough yet so be patient, I'm working hard and soon the results will show.

F:
I hope for the American fans that we will see you in the UFC again.

Almeida:
I would love to.

F:
Thank you very much, and once again congratulations on your King of Pancrase title. Ricardo, obrigado.

Almeida:
¡Gracias hermano!

(Handshake) (Flash!)