Fabio Gurgel at Alliance São Paulo (photo by Ivan Trindade/GRACIEMAG)

About a month out from the Jiu-Jitsu Pan, team Alliance doesn’t want to hear about slowing down.

To not go soft from all the excesses of Brazilian carnival, team leader Fabio Gurgel gathered his troops for a special physical-conditioning session.

“Training was held normally at the academy up until Carnival Saturday. At the São Paulo headquarters we took a break on Monday and Tuesday and picked back up again on Wednesday. No partying here… The Pan is just around the corner, and we’re raring to go,” said Fabio Gurgel, one of the coaches on Fabricio Werdum’s team for the upcoming season of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil”, which is currently in the filming phase.

To prove that the holidays can’t shake the focus of those bent on progressing in Jiu-Jitsu, Fabio made the most of Carnival Monday to lead his students in some “light training” on the staircases of Sumaré, São Paulo. See how they suffered:

Look back at the days when some MMA stars got into character, and draw your own conclusions.

1. Anderson “Michael Jackson” Silva

A declared Michael Jackson fan, the “Spider” unleashed his dancer side back when he was fighting in Japan at Pride FC. As he walked out to the ring, Silva dressed the part and was just as deft with his step as he is with his fists. Does he or doesn’t he take the throne?

2. “Brave” Ronaldo Jacaré and “Chief” FabrícioWerdum

Native outfits are standard fare at carnival festivities across Brazil. In the picture below, taken in 2003, Manaus native Ronaldo Jacaré and the Porto Alegre-born Fabrício Werdum made the most of their free time before Jungle Fight 1 to let their warrior sides show through.

Jacaré and Werdum sporting native garb (photo by Marcelo Dunlop/GRACIEMAG)

3. “Frankantônio-Hulk” Silva

Team Nogueira representative Antônio “Bigfoot” showed he’s got no problem with get-ups that are extensions of his physical characteristics. In the image below, we have two distinct situations where the giant from the Brazilian State of Paraíba’s costume fit like a glove.

“Bigfoot” dressed as Hulk and Frankenstein (photo taken from Twitter)

What about you, have you crossed paths with a UFC star in costume in Brazil? Send the Facebook link in to us so we can see!

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Minotauro catches Bob Sapp's arm in Japan in 2002. The Brazilian is synonymous with overcoming adversity. Photo: Susumu Nagao.

Former UFC and Pride FC champion Rodrigo Minotauro will face another challenge: showing his twinkle toes dancing samba. The MMA fighter will make his debut at the carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro in 2012, when tribute will be paid to him by Grande Rio samba school, which has chosen overcoming hardship as its theme for its carnival song.

This Wednesday at 5pm the official invitation will be made. The Brazilian heavyweight will be one of the five current or former athletes with a touching life story of overcoming hardships to feature. At 11 years of age he suffered a life-threatening accident in his hometown of Vitório da Conquista, Bahia state, when he was run over by a truck.

Rodrigo says he is honored to be invited. “And the song by Grande Rio about overcoming hardship has everything to do with the history of the Brazilian people,” said Mino, who has been to the Sapucaí parade venue three times in the past but never left the VIP box. “I don’t know how to dance samba (lauhgs). But I’ll take some lessons after my fight in December. I can’t make a fool of myself – but it’ll be hard.”

While he mulls over learning some steps from training partner Anderson Silva, Rodrigo is already acquainted with some of the others to accompany him on the parade float. Soccer star Ronaldo “Phenomenon”, sail boat racer Lars Grael, gymnast Georgete Vidor, and paraolympic swimmer Clodoaldo Silva will be there too.

A hapless photographer from gossip website Ego.com.br tried to take a picture of the great champion from UFC 7, Marco Ruas, when a wealthy blond got in the way.

The shot was taken on Sunday at the Marques de Sapucaí, where Rio de Janeiro’s carnival parade was in full effect.

Either way, the resulting picture peaked curiosity, and GRACIEMAG.com figured it would share it with readers. We investigated tirelessly and found out that the attention seeker is named Paris Hilton, and she was loaded with tequila.