Johnny displays his ground skills at Shooto Brazil. Photo: Carlos Ozório.

In his usual humble manner, Johnny Eduardo (25w, 8l) answered his cell phone for the umpteenth time on the day. “It’s never rung so much before… It even seems strange,” he joked over the phone to GRACIEMAG.com.

“Time has finally come. We’ve been negotiating with the UFC for a while now, and smack dab on UFC Rio we were approved and closed the deal. It’s a blessing. There’s no use getting ahead of ourselves, God picks the right moment and I feel I’m ready,” said the 32-year-old fighter, whose paused speech contrasts with his free-flowing and well-rounded fighting style, complete both standing and on the ground.

Johnny will be facing Raphael Assunção (16w, 4l), for which he will drop to bantamweight. On an 11-fight win streak, Johnny will be representing Dedé Pederneiras’s Nova União, with his master, Luiz Alvez, on his mind. Alvez was his “greatest mentor”, from whom he learned his everything he knows about Thai boxing, and who passed away in March 2010.

Being supersticious, Johnny doesn’t even know how many fights he’s had throughout his career (it’s bad luck to keep count, he says). But he does know his last loss was in 2007, and he wants to put even more distance between himself and it.

To do so, early in the year he packed his bags and traveled to Holland to train with José Aldo and Andy Souwer. “We trained with Andy in Amsterdam and with the Olympic boxing team in Rotterdam. I picked up my game a lot this season; every beating was a learning experience…” remembers Johnny, who also trains in the gi regularly and is a Nova União blue belt.

Early in his 33-fight career Johnny faced now-UFC fighter Takanori Gomi in Japan, but now he knows there’s a different baseline.

“You can’t make it to the UFC if you’re not really apt for it. I don’t want to go in there and have one fight and then leave. I want to be there to stay, like the great ones do, and now I feel I have the credentials. Nowadays lighter weight fighters are no longer overlooked, but by the same token they have to show they’re putting in the work. If these days we are more respected, we owe it to José Aldo, who opened the doors for us all, not just for Nova União but for the whole planet. He proved little guys can bring the crowd to their feet,” he says in analysis.

On Assunção, he is respectful and humble. “He’s really, really tough. Like me, he fought at 65kg (145lbs) and will drop down. Shoot, it’s an honor to fight him; he’s really versatile and quick. But we don’t pick opponents; I’m glad to be fighting in the UFC and I’m going to do my best, respecting everyone, not cutting in line on anybody…” he said.

Before signing off he provides some words of incentive for athletes hoping to participate in the UFC or another major event. “I’m from the Baixada Fluminense, was born in Duque de Caxias and lived there for years. Now I’m going to fight in Barra (upscale Rio de Janeiro neighborhood) and represent my tough and underprivileged people in the UFC. So the advice I have to give is, don’t get discouraged: persist, believe and be true to the very end; someday the stars will shine on you,” he said in closing.

UFC Rio 134

August 27, 2011

HSBC Arena, Barra da Tijuca, Brazil

Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami

Forrest Griffin vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Brendan Schaub

Edson Barboza vs. Ross Pearson

Erick Silva vs. Mike Swick

Luiz Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov

Spencer Fisher vs. Thiago Tavares

David Mitchell vs. Paulo Thiago

Yuri Alcântara vs. Antonio Carvalho

Yves Jabouin vs. Ian Loveland

Raphael Assunção vs. Johnny Eduardo

Stallone explains how at first he didn’t like the actors playing the role of soldiers, till he remembered it was a stable of Jiu-Jitsu and MMA fighters, much more convincing as warriors.

Check out the MMA event set up by the Nogueira brothers, Wallid Ismail and Anderson Silva in Rio, as well as Renatinho do Leblon, Gavião, Minotouro and other “hacks” in action, by clicking here.

This treasure further exhibits some of the final images of late Master Luiz Alves refereeing MMA. Check it out!

Against all odds, he left his hometown of Nova Russas, in the grasslands of Ceara in 1968 to become a fixture among the skyscrapers of Tokyo, the hotels of Las Vegas and the kickboxing gyms of Holland, where he first went to train in 1995. With him he took a talented young fighter named Pedro Rizzo for polish.

Luiz leaps, in a rare scene where he sports a gi. Photo: Personal archive.

After arriving from Ceara, Luiz Alves started practicing judo in Rio de Janeiro, and went on to find fame in muay thai after winning titles in taekwondo. Owner of an open mind, discipline and kick respected mainly for his aim, Luiz taught class scolding his students (“You got it all wrong”), phrases he would swap for words of encouragement when he was in a fighter’s corner. Things like, “Believe! Take his head off!”

As a fighter, Alves would always believe. At a time when no one would train using pads, but shin on shin, he gained respect after knockouts like his win over the legendary Budi, a feared soccer hooligan. Alves beat Budi with a powerful kick to the abdomen, precisely where his adversary had been shot years earlier.

As a trainer, the grandmaster did not subscribe to rivalries or traditions, and in 1998 decided to teach muay thai to a Jiu-Jitsu black belt preparing for an MMA fight. The outcome? The debuting Andre Pederneiras knocked out Rumina Sato after an unforeseen kick, at Shooto Japan.

As president of the Muay Thai Confederation, working with kids for the future of the sport.

There was, however, a night when Luiz Alves could do nothing for his student. It was one of the coach from Ceara’s most enjoyable evenings. In November of 2003 in Japan, TV reporter Gloria Maria barged into the lobby of the hotel summoning everyone for breaking news to be shown on the Fantastico television program: a showdown between Wanderlei Silva and Rodrigo Minotauro, at a videogame arcade in Shinjuku. The next day, Wand would face Yoshida and Rampage, and Minotauro would fight Cro Cop.

His eyes glued to the videogame, Alves was one of those most excited. He advised Minotauro what to do, hollering throughout, but there was nothing he could do. The heavyweight was in dire straits, getting knocked out by the Chute Boxe star six times, to cackles from everyone present, especially Gloria Maria. “The Wand avatar is really strong, he only loses to Royce, who submits everyone in seconds,” said Rodrigo in resignation.

Guided by Minotauro, the Nogueira on the screen tries to escape the Wand's onslaught and close the distance, egged on by Alves. Photos: Marcelo Dunlop.

It was a sort of virtual revenge for Chute Boxe. Six years earlier in Sao Paulo, the Boxe Thai team Alves had founded in 1984 and Rudimar Fedrigo’s team had a memorable showdown. The two academies were born of the seeds left by Master Nelio Naja, one in Rio and the other in Curitiba, two teams that believed a fight, regardless of the will of those involved, would one way or another end on the ground. They differed only in their training philosophies.

“We always prized the combination of moves, while Chute Boxe would work the hands separate from the legs, etc…” said Artur Mariano, a student of Luiz’s since 10 years of age and a Jiu-Jitsu black belt, in an article in NOCAUTE magazine.

After 19 minutes of fighting, Artur Mariano overcame Wanderlei Silva by doctor’s intervention for a giant gash on the forehead, in the final of the IVC tournament.

A victim of brain hemorrhage this Friday, March 19, after a stroke suffered on January 26, Luiz Alves the winner returns to his hometown of Nova Russas for burial with his mission more than accomplished. He leaves a wife, his grown children and a legion of fans and followers.

Luiz Alves with the Pride trophy in 2003, after the epic bout between Minotauro and Cro cop, in a never-before-shown photo by GRACIEMAG.com. Master, you will be missed.

Born in the Brazilian state of Ceará, Luiz Alves moved to Rio de Janeiro at 12 years of age, when he began his training in judo at the old Saga Academy, in the Catete borough of the city, as reported on the Boxe Thai team website. Soon thereafter he was taken to train at Gama Filho, where he stayed until 1984. Taekwondo was one of the popular styles at the day, and Luiz Alves began practice in the art with his late friend Flavio Molina. With his quality in taekwondo becoming ever more apparent, he abandoned judo to dedicate himself entirely to the art. With discipline and natural knack for the style, he soon became state champion, Brazilian national champion and classified among the best in the sport at an event in Ecuador.

In 1979 pioneering master Nelio Naja called up some athletes in Rio to teach the then little-known-to-Brazilians practice of muay thai in other states. To stand out on the Rio team were Luiz Alves, Flávio Molina, Wellington Narany, Gueri, Roberto, Pelé, Cocada, among others. One year later Nelio Naja held his first muay thai championship: Rio de Janeiro vs Curitiba, where the team from Rio won by 4 to 2 with the help of Alves. After that Luiz began teaching alongside Molina and Narani, when they set up Naja Academy in the Largo do Machado neighborhood of Rio. In 1984 Alves founded Boxe Thai Academy. Through several international exchanges, he learned new techniques from the greatest heavyweights in Holland, and also traveled to Thailand to learn from the source by practicing at the greatest centers for the sport in the Asian nation.

He became president of the Brazilian Muay Thai Confederation, and coached, among others, Artur Mariano, Amaury Bitetti, Zé Mario, Vitor Belfort, Murilo Bustamante, Alex Gazé, Rodrigo Minotauro, Rogério Minotouro and Ricardão Moraes. Cordial and demanding of his students, Alves will be greatly missed, but his teachings and students remain.

Photo: Carlos Ozorio

When André Pederneiras announced the death of Luiz Alves, during Shooto Brazil this Friday, the number of people crushed by the news wasn’t few. The medical outlook of the grandmaster, one of the precursors of muay thai in Brazil, had been improving. Alves’s student, the fighter Johnny Eduardo was inconsolable. Luiz’s funeral will take place in Ceara, where family members will bury the coach. On Sunday, at 3pm, there will be a ceremony in Luiz’s honor at the Carmo memorial in Caju, Rio de Janeiro. Some of those at Shooto who knew the grandmaster personally, commented on the great loss.

Will Ribeiro

“I was rooting for him to leave the hospital. I really wanted to visit him and provide him incentive. I was so sad to know that he died and I hope he is resting in peace. ”

Paula Sack

“I have to say that my feelings are the same as everyone’s. I’m very sad. I was talking about him with Johnny Eduardo 30 minutes ago and we spoke of his recovery, as we were happy he was improving. It took everyone by surprise, because the news we received was that he was recovering. It’s hard to explain the feeling of loss the fight world is suffering with this news, the impact of this. Master Luiz Alves represented many things but, on the other hand, he left a lot behind. His technique is beyond question and he will live on in every athlete he has worked with. He also leaves much of his happiness. Anyone who has been around Luiz knows it. He always had funny remark, a joke that raised everybody’s spirits and that’s what remains. That’s how we will remember him. ”

Thales Leites

“I can only lament, because it’s a tremendous loss to the world. Luiz Alves was a very beloved person and I’ve never heard anyone speak ill of him or say he was this or that. He was one of the first muay thai teachers in Brazil, a legend. I must take my hat off to him. He was the teacher of my muay thai coach, Marcelo Aguiar . I just heard the news and I was really shocked, because I thought he going to recover. In the end, it is God’s will and we have to accept it. ”

Marlon Sandro

“I just found out, I was terribly saddened and cried a lot. I was going to pay homage him at my last fight, but didn’t have time to make the ribbon for him I wanted to. But I will honor him at my next fight, because he deserves it. He helped so many people in the world of MMA and I am one of them. Today my standup is much better and he was always there, giving me lots of pointers on how I could improve. I’m saddened, so sad, with a heavy heart here. ”

Ronys Torres

The guy was very beloved. I never had the opportunity to be trained by him, but he had a huge heart. We talked and he gave me guidance that I use every day. Unfortunately this happened and I can only ask that he be with God and that the people closest to him have the strength to overcome it.

Luiz (right) with Artur Mariano. Photo: Carlos Ozorio

Luiz Alves remains hospitalized in Rio de Janeiro. Luiz suffered a stroke while driving on January 26th.

The trainer underwent surgery shortly thereafter and remains in an induced coma, under the effect of powerful sedatives. He is in stable condition, but precise information regarding the outlook will only be available after he is brought to consciousness, which should happen within the next 10 days.

An MMA coach, muay thai grandmaster and president of the Brazilian Muay Thai Confederation, Luiz Alves has produced such standout athletes as Rodrigo Minotauro and Rogerio Minotouro. He has also released two books in partnership with also-muay thai master Artur Mariano, one on MMA and the other muay thai.

Artur Mariano is watching his friend’s condition closely and asks everyone to continue praying.

Luiz Alves in the final of the Brazilian Muay Thai Nationals. Photo: Carlos Ozório

Luiz Alves remains hospitalized in Rio de Janeiro, in the city’s northern zone. The coach had a stroke (CVA) while driving on the26th of this month.

“He will remain under sedation for four days. Thereafter, the procedure is to reduce the sedation and see how he will react, “explains muay thai master Atur Mariano, accompanying Luiz Alves in the hospital.

“I also spoke with the teachers at Boxe Thai (Luiz’s gym) as to how they should adapt training while he recovers,” he remarked.

As GRACIEMAG.com previously reported, the leader of Boxe Thai Academy was immediately hospitalized in the north of the city. In fragile but stable condition, Luiz remains unconcious in the ICU and under medical care.

The family and friends of the coach await the outcome of the scan, which should be out later today.

Luiz Alves, in glasses. Photo: CBMT/publicity

Grandmaster Luiz Alves. Photo: Carlos Ozorio

Trainer of stars like brothers Rodrigo and Rogerio Nogueira, president of the Brazilian Muay Thai Confederation and grandmaster Luiz Alves suffered a car accident this Tuesday, in Rio de Janeiro.

According to the wife of the coah, Luiz is still unconcious, and at a hospital in the city. Further details as to how grave the trainer’s condition is have not been made available. GRACIEMAG.com also contacted muay thai master Artur Mariano.

“I’m in contact with the doctor and let’s hope everything goes well,” said mariano, who was unable to elaborate.

The entire GRACIEMAG.com team extends get-well wishes to the grandmaster. We will return shortly with greater information.