Clementi vs Jucão at UFC Fight Night 9

“The Hawaiian fell of the board, now the target is Rich Clementi”

“Hot off the presses, first hand,” bellows the voice of Roan "Jucão" Carneiro from the other end of the line, in Rio de Janeiro. "My opponent has changed for my debut in the UFC, on the 5th of April. It will be Rich Clementi. The Hawaiian injured himself, seems to have fallen off his board," jokes the Brazilian Top Team fighter.



Despite the sudden substitution of Anthony Torres (5w, 0l) for the more experienced Rich Clementi (24w, 11l and 1d), Jucão bets on the change being for the better. “The guy is a more recognized name. I’m gonna go after him with all I’ve got, since I want to make an impression in my first fight in the octagon. His nickname is ‘No Love’, mine is ‘Make Love’", the 77kg fighter antagonizes.

The substitution did not provoke drastic changes in the Brazilian’s training: “The Hawaiian is good on the ground, Clementi is more of a standup guy. I will trade standing a little, of course, but I will not break from my Jiu-Jitsu. I am going to watch the American's fights over the coming days, but I know he is moving up in weight, and he has fought well-known competition, among them Caol Uno, Marcus Aurélio… I am training hard, yesterday I sparred at Nobre Art gym with instructor Cláudio Coelho, who is helping me a lot. And, like some athletes, I still train some with Master Paulo Nikolai,” the ADCC 2005 qualifying champion tells GRACIEMAG.com, with no illusions about the invites to the submission grappling tournament this year.

“I am very focused on the UFC and I think, honestly, they will not invite me. If they call me up I’ll go. After Ultimate Fight Night 9 I will go to Europe to spend some time with my students. Either way, the BTT will always be well-represented in the ADCC: Toquinho, for example, in the 87kg division, is a monster. You ain’t seen nothing yet, he will give you all a lot to talk about, take it from me,” he closes.

Check out the UFC calendar for the first semester:
April 5 – UFC – Fight Night 9 – Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
April 7 – UFC 69 – Shootout – Toyota Center, Houston, Texas, USA
April 21 – UFC 70 – MEN Arena, Manchester, England
June 23 – UFC – TUF 5 Final – Location not yet defined

(Source)