Entrada da academia Fortfit vista de dentro: teto, bancada e equipamentos destruídos. Foto: Reprodução

Depois de ver sua disputa de cinturão adiada, a maré de azar de Vitor Belfort segue. Com as fortes chuvas que assolaram o Rio de Janeiro no último final de semana, a academia do faixa-preta, localizada no Recreio dos Bandeirantes, acabou com estrutura e equipamentos danificados pela água.

Joana Prado, esposa e empresária do atleta, divulgou foto e comentou o problema na academia. Joana falou do prejuízo na academia, inundada pela chuva, e ainda falou da situação do atleta no UFC, que gostaria de lutar com Yoel Romero pelo cinturão interino ou prefere aguardar o retorno de Chris Weidman, previsto para maio.

“Fazemos vários planos para construir nossas companhias com princípios e honestidade e de repente tudo muda. Minha academia de 400 alunos foi destruída pela tempestade nesse final de semana e não fechei a negociação que esperava, quando pedi o Romero pelo interino. Então decidimos esperar para lutar com o Weidman em maio.

“Eu sei que voltaremos mais fortes do que nunca, mesmo quando as situações são ruins. Já enfrentamos muitas coisas, mas com Deus conseguimos superar tudo! Estou ansiosa em reconstruir a Fortfit e ver o Vitor fazendo história e lutando pelo cinturão em maio”, desabafou Joana nas redes sociais.

A Fortfit, academia em questão, teve os forros do teto destruídos, juntamente dos computadores, tatames e equipamentos de ginástica.

Mas nem só de notícias ruins girou o último  final de semana de Belfort. O craque do UFC fechou parceria com a firma de Ronaldo Fenômeno, a 9ine.

A empresa já gerenciou a carreira de Anderson Silva, justamente na época que o Aranha enfrentaria Vitor. O anúncio da parceria foi feito um dia antes do combate entre Anderson com Nick Diaz.

Em ranking de reconhecimento brasileiro, Anderson ficou em quinto. Foto: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Pois bem, em uma pesquisa realizada pela Nielsen Sports, o atleta do Ultimate ficou na quinta posição dentre os atletas com maior admiração e lembrança do público brasileiro. Nomes como Pelé, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho Gaúcho e Neymar ficaram acima da estrela dos octógonos.

Porém, o resultado não é tão ruim para o Aranha: de acordo com a pesquisa, feita com 4.200 pessoas em seis grandes cidades brasileiras, Anderson foi o que teve o aumento mais exponencial todos, tendo conquistado um aumento de 222% na lista de mais admirados e de 138% na de mais lembrados.

Confira abaixo os cinco melhores de cada ranking:

Atletas mais admirados:

1. Neymar
2. Pelé
3. Ronaldo
4. Ronaldinho Gaúcho
5. Anderson Silva

Atletas mais lembrados:

1. Neymar
2. Ronaldinho Gaúcho
3. Ronaldo
4. Pelé
5. Anderson Silva

Gabrielle Garcia bursts with emotion after hard-fought win over Hannette at ADCC in England. Photo: Dan Rod.

The number-one placed team in the Brazilian soccer league this year, Corinthians didn’t mess around when signing a fighter for their ranks. Gabi Garcia, the absolute world champion of Jiu-Jitsu and over-60 kg ADCC winner, this Monday took a call from the São Paulo club and agreed to their offer.

“I just got a call from the directors at Corinthians,” she told her fans via Facebook. “Next Monday (24) I’ll be alongside Anderson Silva and Ronaldo to inaugurate the team’s martial arts training facilities. It will be an honor to be there with two big names of sport at the press conference! More news and projects to come.”

The MMA training center at the club will be open to anyone wishing to enroll, with Anderson teaching classes sporadically. Ramon Lemos, the champion’s Jiu-Jitsu coach, will head gentle art training.

“We’re finishing up the layout of the place. It will be behind the club’s workout facilities and will include the finest MMA equipment on the market, for Anderson and the other athletes to take advantage of,” said Corinthians Marketing Director Caio Campos in a recent interview with website IG, highlighting the fact that the club’s investment will also target an outreach project meant to teach martial arts to youths and children.

The training center’s dojo will be around 130 square meters and include a replica UFC octagon nine meters in diameter, according to information released by the club.

Anderson has already been seen publicly sporting the jersey of his beloved team – where he got his start in the martial arts as a boy –, following his swift win over Vitor Belfort, a self-proclaimed fan of team Flamengo, with which he dreams of signing a similar contract.

Cartoon by Felipe Elias posted on blog of commentator Milton Leite

The UFC middleweight champion and Corinthians have been courting each other ever since signing a contract with Ronaldo’s 9ine agency. Due to a crisis involving Brazilian soccer fans earlier in the year, Anderson was mentioned as a possible “solution” to pacify the club’s fans.

Now in times of peace, MMA is back on the tips of everyone’s tongues, but for a more serious reason. Parties close to Corinthians and the fighter have already started talks of opening an MMA and martial arts training center at the club, which Anderson would oversee and use for his own training when in São Paulo.

Ronaldo and Anderson meet up in São Paulo. Photo: publicity.

A laid back dinner party in honor of Anderson Silva at the house of Ronaldo “Phenomenon”, the former soccer star, ended in a fight… a fight in the courts.

The party held in the Brazilian city of São Paulo for Anderson, who is managed by Ronaldo’s talent management company 9ine, was lively, attended by the UFC champion, soccer star Roberto Carlos, actress Fernanda Paes Leme, business people and other notable figure.

The controversy arose just now, when a photographer for “O Estado de São Paulo” newspaper released photos of the soccer player smoking in his home.

Ronaldo accused the photographer of invading his privacy and said, over @ClaroRonaldo, his twitter account, that he will be suing.

“I always respected the photographers and always tried to help. But this time they went too far! Climbing the fence to take pictures inside my house… I will take legal measures…” said Ronaldo.

Filé invited Romano to aply Ginástica Natural in the goal-scoring ace’s treatment to help him gain flexibility and mobility, whereupon Ronaldo became acquainted with the method.

Now at the Corinthians, Ronaldo met Shih Chan, one of the head teachers on Alvaro Romano’s team.

In a joint effort between Chan, physiotherapist Bruno Mazziotti, and doctor in physical education Antonio Carlos Gomes, Ronaldo again used Ginástica Natural to help in his return to the soccer pitch. When he was in Brazil, in November, Alvaro Romano watched a Corinthians game and paid a visit to the World Cup star at the team’s training center.

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“Ronaldo is an idol and a model of will power and determination,” Romano tells GRACIEMAG.com.

“I always use the example of his ability to overcome obstacles when I train other athletes and I’m happy to see him again. The work we do together is geared entirely towards physiotherapy and rehabilitation, as we have been working over the years with big names in physiotherapy. In the United States, the work we have been doing was recognized and we certified a team of physiotherapists at an important hospital in Chicago. Thus the Ginástica Natural method went through the whole approval process of the Illinois Physical Therapy Association (IPTA) and several top athletes like Neco Padaratz, Minotauro and others have used this Ginástica Natural specific training,” explained the teacher.

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