UFC stars the Nogueira brothers / GRACIEMAG archive photo

The twins Rodrigo “Minotauro” and Rogério “Minotouro” Nogueira will be starring in a new show on cable television, the theme of which will be the lifestyle and travels of the two Jiu-Jitsu black belts in the UFC. The announcement was made last Monday at a press conference held by Fox International Channels at Unique Hotel in São Paulo.

The program will involve travel, culture and martial arts, and it’s for precisely that reason that it will not show on Fox Sports channel in Brazil, but on Nat Geo, a channel that broadcast educational documentaries and programs.

“To study the martial arts, it’s wise to look at the culture of their country of origin. We travel to several countries and get to know a bit more about their culture through the martial arts. We study a bit of Buddhism in Thailand through Thai boxing, for example,” explained Minotauro. “We’re also going to show what our training camps are like, when we travel to get prepared for our fights. We’re far from our family, living in another country, speaking another language. The program will explore MMA’s cultural side,” he added.

In all, the Nogueira brothers should take eight trips during the second half of the year in shooting the show. The premiere date is so far undetermined.

If you think that would get him to give up, you’d be wrong. Ivan stayed out of training for a year and was advised to stop competing, but his love for Jiu-Jitsu inspired a miracle.

Ivan / Publicity photo

Ivan returned to training, and in September 2010 he took bronze at at the São Paulo Open tournament, competing in the ultraheavyweight division. This year, he was back even better, winning the event.

Before the ocular problem, Ivan Sasquatch, who now has an eight-month-old daughter, won numerous titles at São Paulo tournaments. Now, Ivan is seeking exposure for his achievements, so he can carry on competing and, mainly, to be able to help people who have been through similar trials and want to overcome them. Count on us, Ivan!

Arona watches fighter collapse. This Saturday, on Globo. / Publicity photo.

Little by little, Brazil’s Globo TV network is creeping into the realm of MMA. The latest show of the television giant’s interest in the sport comes in this Saturday’s episode of prime time telenovela “Fina Estampa,” as our collaborator Junior Samurai reports. Prior to the fictional showdown between characters Wallace and Jorge Muralha, UFC champion Anderson Silva is interviewed about his thoughts on the matchup, alongside Minotauro and Minotouro.

Then, the fighters in the Aguinaldo Silva-written screenplay face off in the cage at the Nogueira brothers’ training center, with former Pride FC star refereeing. As the bout plays out, Wallace collapses unconscious, having been in poor health during training. Swiftly attended to, Wallace recovers his senses and sees his opponent’s arm being raised by the former Pride FC fighter.

The episode of “Fina Estampa” airs on Globo starting at 9pm Brazilian time this Saturday.

Silva training for the fans, in photo by Gustavo Aragão

It may seem like an unfair fight, but today’s battle between Brazilian TV networks Rede TV! and Rede Globo is a promising one. With Vitor Belfort commentating for UFC Rio, the Osasco-based network television station looks in good stead to come up with its biggest win in its 11-year history over all-powerful Globo, with will need to rely on its main weapon: people’s habit of automatically tuning in to the channel.

Rede TV! will broadcast the UFC Rio main card across Brazil starting at 10pm, opening with Luiz Banha against Bulgarian wrestler Stanislav Nedkov, followed by Edson Barboza vs. Ross Peason, Rodrigo Minotauro vs. Brendan Schaub, Shogun vs. Forrest Griffin, and, last but not least, Anderson vs. Yushin Okami.