Anderson or Fedor? Which fighter do you feel is the greatest of all times? Photos: GRACIEMAG montage/publicity.

In 2002, ten years ago, the man considered the best MMA fighter of all times made his debut against the planet’s big boys, at the now historic Pride FC 21.

It was June 23, and both Anderson Silva and Fedor Emelianenko were making their (victorious) debuts at Japanese mega event Pride FC, in the Saitama Super Arena.

At the time, neither of them paid much attention to the other—despite the beatings they laid on the dreaded Alex Stiebling and Semmy Schilt, their respective opponents.

One decade later, the two aces are waging a battle for the hearts of the fans and minds of the pundits as to who the best of their generation is—with the exception of Dana White, of course, who turns a blind eye to the Russian.

A monster of the art of sambo, Fedor Emelianenko fought the burliest heavyweights around in Japan, and went unbeaten for ten years. A genius at Thai boxing and a Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Anderson has taken on the best the UFC middleweight division has to offer (and some light heavyweights), and he has spent the last seven years dazzling the masses and drubbing the competition.

Having had a full decade to think, now we ask our readers to put their two cents’ worth in: Who’s the best of all times in your opinion?

Watch the two fighters’ highlights and share your vote with us:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0lBpsaZBgk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PDhH-tF_OI

Sergio atop the octagon fence thanking fans in Belo Horizonte. Photo: Victor Gruzman/GRACIEMAG

An MMA fighter who stepped into the octagon on Saturday and is already loading up his backpack for Tuesday training can be considered a success when it comes to commitment. That’s the case with the TUF Brazil runner-up Sérgio Moraes after dropping a unanimous decision to also-black belt Cezar Mutante, a middleweight under Vitor Belfort’s tutelage, at UFC 147.

Even in defeat, Sérgio received a continuous flow of phone calls from family members and teammates at Alliance, like Professor Fabio Gurgel, pleased with his sure-fisted display standing after just a month and ten days of intensive Thai boxing training coached by André Dida in Curitiba. That was where, after spending two weeks evaluating offers and discussing considerations with the Alliance top brass, the Jiu-Jitsu world champion went after leaving the TUF house. And there he readied himself by trading leather with Mauricio Shogun, Wanderlei Silva and Fabricio Werdum, among other thick-skinned fighters. He couldn’t put his evolution on hold now, could he?

Before the prideful eyes of his kids, Bia and Riki, and his brown belt wife, Jaqueline (current Jiu-Jitsu champion of Brazil), late Saturday night Sérgio became the pride of Jiu-Jitsu fans. This time, though, it wasn’t because of his guard, but for the durability of his chin. He then spoke with GRACIEMAG.com about the defeat that tasted of victory.

Even the way you defended strikes, opening out your arms, is quite similar to Shogun’s way of fighting. Did training in Curitiba change you for UFC 147?

Can you believe that they didn’t even teach me that? I never spoke with Shogun about it, but I picked it up. It’s a way of repositioning your fists, making the opponent understand, “Look, the hand is here, the shield is in place again!” My training was overseen by [André] Dida, who knows plenty about Thai boxing. He’s the one most responsible for my technical evolution. He demanded a lot of me, made me do lots of repetitions, and on top of that there were hours and hours of sparring. I knew how hard Mutante hits. But being able to train with guys of the caliber of Shogun and Wand, who are also heavier than me, I can’t say enough about. And then there were the heavy hands of Werdum, another world champion, who I trained with on the ground. So we were all prepared for any situation that could arise.

Did any of the strikes you took actually daze you? Do you remember everything that went on in there?

The hardest hit I took was the first straight punch that opened a cut under my eye, good Lord. I just said to myself, “Don’t stop Sérgio, hustle! Get going, kid. The guy wants to kill you!” That’s MMA. I really took a lot of bombs, so many haymakers that hurt. And he was heavy. He’s a lot heavier than I am. He borders on 100 kg [220 lbs], and I compete in the gi at 78 kg. I really want to move divisions; I was only in this one to make it into TUF Brazil.

Have you heard official word from the UFC?

No, we TUF cast members have a contract until the end of 2012, but nothing official was said to me after the fight. Now I’ll just wait, but I’m not concerned. I really want to stay. But if this time it doesn’t happen, it won’t get in the way of my dream. I still harbor hopes of one day fighting for the UFC belt in my division [77 kg]. If it doesn’t happen now, then soon. I’ll wake up early, train and battle for it every day. Some day they’ll call on me. I’m sure of it.

You’ve said that you wanted to recover your confidence on your feet, especially after that knockout you took from Daniel Sarafian, that flying knee that was broadcast on Globo channel. But was there really no way to take the fight to the ground at any point?

That was the strategy. My objective was to win, and the game plan put together by Dida and Shogun was to try and take him down and land on top. I’ll take this opportunity to ask forgiveness of Fabio [Gurgel] for not having taken it to the ground. Sorry, guys! But the first time I tried, in the first round, I realized it was going to be really hard to do. He was really well prepared to defend and withdraw if I’d kept trying. So Dida and Shogun calmed me down during the first-round break, saying I was in good shape and safe on my feet, if I wasn’t able to get the takedown. So I fought on calmly. I really wanted to rain on Vitor Belfort’s parade, but victory escaped me (laughs).

What will your first training session after the UFC be like? In the gi perhaps?

It’ll be what we call “recovery” training. To check the pains and injuries, and work on movement, walking on the treadmill, doing some light standup work. I put the gi aside some last month. But now I’m going to inaugurate the Alliance Curitiba academy here and start teaching gi classes next week, the week after at the latest. Class will be awesome; I’ll be teaching Jiu-Jitsu at the academy of the swimmer Gustavo Borges, in the Barigui neighborhood, I think—I’m still new here, from the Cohab low-income housing tract to Curitiba (laughs). I’d like to take the chance to send my best to the guys over in São Paulo—and the family of the S: my parents, Sidney and Sônio, and my siblings, Simone and Sandro.

* What do you say, gentle reader, does Sérgio have a future in the under-77 kg division?

Chiquerim in his only fight in the octagon, in January 2011 / Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC

Holding 24 wins in his 30-fight career, Willamy “Chiquerim” returned to MMA last May 17 at the event BKF, held in Fortaleza, the capital of the Brazilian state of Ceará. And it was with his favorite move, the guillotine, that he achieved victory over his opponent, Junior “Suicida”.

In the following video, the Jiu-Jitsu and Thai boxing black belt, who formerly fought in the UFC, teaches his most lethal attack and a variation. Only practice Jiu-Jitsu with the guidance of a qualified instructor, and enjoy your training.

Gregor Gracie in NY / Photo: Lucas Noon/publicity

With six wins in his seven-fight MMA career, five of which came via submission, Gregor Gracie already has his next challenge coming up. A member of the new generation of one of the most revered families in the martial arts world, the athlete has a June 23 engagement in the cage against hometown fighter Adam Kayoom at ONE FC in the Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s Negara stadium.

Gregor competes in the welterweight division and trains with his uncle Renzo Gracie, one of the biggest names in MMA, in New York. “My preparations are 100% focused on my opponent’s characteristics and my game plan for the fight. As Adam’s good at Thai boxing, I’m doing a lot of wrestling training to brush up on my takedowns and take the fight to the ground, even though he too is a Jiu-Jitsu black belt,” the Gracie assured.

Gregor will try to land on top and gun for the finish. “It’ll be a tough fight, since he’s really experienced and I can find any weaknesses in him. But I think that if I take him down and manage to land on top I’ll have the advantage,” he added.

For his eighth fight the Gracie, for the first time, will do battle in his opponent’s homeland. “That’s an advantage for him, since he won’t need to make any changes to his routine nor deal with jet lag. Besides having the crowd on his side. I’m going in there already prepared for that. I’m going to maintain my focus on my opponent and try to forget the crowd,” he said in closing.

Eduardo Herdy, wearing blue gloves, at Bitetti Combat Rocinha last May 4 / Photo: Allen Silva/Publicity

The Jiu-Jitsu and boxing instructor at CORE, an elite police force in Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Herdy has been turning heads for his performances in MMA. Schooled in Jiu-Jitsu by Osiris Maia and taught boxing by Ricardo Tinha, Herdy is unbeaten in MMA so far, notching his second win last May 4 at Bitetti Combat Rocinha, where he took on Paraná Fight Team’s Ronaldo Arada Milan.

So does doing Jiu-Jitsu and MMA make Herdy any better of an elite police trooper? GRACIEMAG.com was curious to find out, so we had the following conversation with the upbeat welterweight.

Why do you fight?

I fight for glory. As it goes in the Brazilian national anthem, I want “future peace and past glory.” When I’m older, I want to be able to look back and enjoy all this. Fighting also entails evolving much quicker. By being in contact with fighters from different schools, your technical level improves and, as a consequence, it reflects in your training partners and your academy as a whole. In my opinion it all starts with training. Training lasts for months, years; the fight itself may last but a few minutes. My goal in MMA is to reach the top. I want lots of belts. It wasn’t without reason that I was in reserve fights at the Bitetti Combat 10 GP and BC 11 under-70 kg GP. If someone was unable to continue, I was there hungry for a shot. Either way, I don’t make plans; I just like fighting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcmKtoy62I0

In the photo you sent in to us you seem to have gone Thai. What goes on in your head when you’re doing MMA?

Truth is, I didn’t just happen to fight like that. I’ve been training Thai boxing for a long time now, ever since 1995, at Brazilian Fight academy with Osiris Maia. I have the honor of having received two black belts from the grandmaster: one in Jiu-Jitsu and the other in Thai boxing. And I can’t leave out Ricardo Tinha, who got my hands up to speed in boxing. I get more confident standing with every fight. On my debut, in 2011, I feel I did well. I felt more prepared in my second fight. Thus I forge ahead, training hard, fighting and evolving. I plan to be even better for my third outing. My record’s coming along nicely, two fights and two first-round knockouts.

What do the guys with pure Jiu-Jitsu backgrounds get wrong most in MMA?

Getting scared and trying to take it to the ground any way they can. A striker’s objective, besides hurting his adversary, is to frustrate grapplers’ attempts at taking it to the ground. If that’s all the grappler has up his sleeve, he’s going to lose. Even if ground fighting is his mainstay, he should train till getting to a point where he’s comfortable on his feet. After all, that’s where the fight starts.

Do you have any suggestions for police officers who want to be safe in carrying out there duties?

I always study cases that arise, learn and refresh my knowledge. It’s key that you study to learn from past mistakes; analyze where others went wrong, which unfortunately happens; see where you can improve; and most importantly, use good judgment. All that goes for everything in life, and it’s no different in police work.

What self-defense technique should policemen master?

Police should avoid hurting citizens, andI feel there’s nothing better than Jiu-Jitsu for that. Gentle-art control positions are excellent for police work. Obviously, there are some differences, since the police can’t go exposing their firearms. There’s a difference compared to traditional Jiu-Jitsu positions. I feel that for beginners, practicing three times a week is enough, if just for the excellent physical exercise the martial art provides.

Pedro Rizzo, pictured facing Jeff Monson in Brazil's Maracanãzinho gymnasium, is looking for his fourth MMA win in a row. Photo: Carlos Ozório.

A legendary fighter from the days when MMA was still called vale-tudo, Rio de Janeiro native Pedro Rizzo, 37, is readying his guns for his next battle, and GRACIEMAG.com tagged along to check out his training.

Twice a challenger to the UFC heavyweight throne, “The Rock” will face a veteran counterpart of his come March 24, when he takes on Valentijn Overeem at Oktagon, an Italian event to take place in the city of Milan. Rizzo enters the bout riding a three-fight winning streak.

PEDRO RIZZO AND 16-TO-1 MMA TRAINING

Now healed up after undergoing surgery to correct a torn triceps on his left arm, the knockout artist has been working on his Thai boxing with Boxe Thai Belém coach Fábio Augustin. “I met Fábio in Belém do Pará when I went there with Glover to help out Lyoto Machida, and he held the mitts for me. He’s a high quality coach and can only be of benefit to me in training. What not too many people know is that Pará is right next to Surinam, an old Dutch colony and the place where Ernesto Hoost and Remy Bonjasky, two former K-1 champions, are from. That’s another reason why the level of the fighters in Belém is so high.”

Join us in the cage at the Manguinhos training center, and watch Rizzo up close as he whacks the mitts for 16 rounds of one minute of action to one minute of rest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx27t6lzIQ0