Wanderlei Silva Protégé Vitor Vianna Talks Working With Wanderlei, His Next Fight, More
Posted by Chris Lansdell on 07.29.2010
He fights Saturday for MMA Xplosion...
Vitor Vianna and his manager Rob Cardenas spoke recently about Vianna's move to Las Vegas, his upcoming fight for MMA Xplosion this Saturday and his training with Wanderlei Silva. Some highlights:
Cardenas on finding opponents for Vianna: "It's been difficult for us. It's been ... I don't want to say people are afraid to fight him because that's not exactly true, but it's been difficult."
Vianna on his fight with B.J. Lacy for MMA Xplosion: "I feel very different from my last fight. I feel more strong, I feel more confident, and (Silva) helps me in hours of training of using your hands. It makes me feel very good."
Vianna on working in Wanderlei Silva's gym: "He had seen me fight, maybe three or four times. He remembered me, and he asked me to come help him here."
Vianna on fighting in Brazil: "In Brazil, you can fight every weekend in a tournament. You can fight six, seven, eight times in one day. The more you compete, you train your body, your mind and you get comfortable. That helps me a lot."
Cardenas on Vianna's broken arm:
"It was a head kick from Thiago, and Vitor blocked it. It just broke his arm."
Vianna on his preparations: "I've been training in the gym hard. I've been sparring hard, I have great training partners. Now I have the opportunity to show America who I am, and I'm ready to do it."
Cardenas on Vianna: "He's a great jiu-jitsu guy, obviously, but he's also become phenomenal in the standup game. He has that Wanderlei style, very aggressive. It doesn't matter where the fight goes, he can do whatever he needs to do."
