Home Categories Miscellaneous FLD Exclusive with JZ Cavalcante: "I would make a lot of noise and bother a lot of top fighters."
FLD Exclusive with JZ Cavalcante: "I would make a lot of noise and bother a lot of top fighters."
Written by Jamie Hughes   
Thursday, 28 January 2010 23:12
This week at FLD, our own Jamie Hughes managed to score some time with Brazilian sensation, Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante, one of the most charismatic and exciting LW fighters in the mixed martial arts world. In this interview he discusses his road to recovery, his future fighting plans, The Ultimate Fighter, and he even lists some of his favorite fights from 2009! Read on to find out what's on JZ's mind!


Jamie Hughes (JH): First of all Gesias, we just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to do this interview with us. Your fans have wanted to know two things: How is your recovery going? And, when can we expect to see you returning to action?

Gesias Cavalcante (GC): “It’s always a pleasure to keep in touch with the fans! My knee is doing great and I’m expecting to be back around April, but for now I am not thinking too much about when I will be fighting again because I don’t want to rush anything. I’m just going to go with the flow and leave everything in God’s hands, while doing everything I possibly can to get back to 100%!”


(JH): In a fighter’s career there are always obstacles. For you, a major obstacle has been recovery time due to injuries. How hard has it been coming back from the surgery and physiotherapy?

(GC): Obstacles are a part of life, they’ve always been there and they always will be. Our intrinsic instincts are "fight or flight", and I choose to fight. Surgery and therapy aren’t that hard for me. I do what I have to do, no problem, and I know I everything will be good. I have that kind of positive attitude for everything. The hardest part for me is when there is doubt; when I don’t know if I need a surgery, or if I can push or not, or if I will fight or not. Those kinds of things bother me.

My knee accident was my fault. My mistake was not listening to my instincts and my body. I was always going too hard, pushing to a limit that even my body couldn’t handle. I was trying to hurry things and I found out that when you try to speed things up, at the end you accomplish nothing [because you’re doing more harm than good to yourself]. I’ve learned lessons that I had to learn, and now I want to apply that on every single day. Now I am enjoying life itself.”


(JH): In your first 4 years as a professional, you fought a minimum of 3 times per calendar year. However, in the last 2 years you've only fought 3 times combined. Between injuries, cancellations, and all around struggles getting fights, how frustrating have these past couple of years been for you as a fighter?

(GC): “I got frustrated because I had my own expectations and realized I couldn’t meet them. That’s old news now, though.”


(JH): You were scheduled to fight Joachim Hansen at Dynamite 2008, but the fight was cancelled at the last second. Is that a fight you would like to pursue in the future?

(GC): “For sure!”


(JH): Seeing as you’ve been on the sidelines for quite a while, you must have watched quite a bit of MMA this year. What would you consider to be your favourite fights of 2009?

(GC): “Yeah, I’ve been watching a lot of fights, especially with HDNet, and their K-1, DREAM, Sengoku, and MFC broadcasts. Here’s a list of the best fights I like and remember from 2009, although I’m sure I’m forgetting a couple right now!: Brown/Faber, Nogueira/Couture, Santiago/Misaki, Silva/Griffin, Kampmann/Condit, Cruz/Benavidez, Machida/Evans, Jones/Bonnar, Fernandes/Takaya, Masvidal/Kitaoka, (Thiago) Silva/Jardine, Thomson/Melendez, Emelianenko/Arlovski, Hornbuckle/Gono, and lastly Minowa/Choi... [laughs] that was funny! The list goes on... Sanchez/Guida, I better stop now!”


(JH): There’s a lot of buzz right now that Shinya Aoki will be fighting in Strikeforce next year. Is there any chance you'll be following the same path in 2010?

(GC): "We’ll see.. let’s see what God has reserved for me. It would be nice to fight without having to fly 17 hours!”


(JH): Many people don’t know this, but back in 2003, before you began your pro career, you fought and defeated Joe Lauzon, who went on to become a star on The Ultimate Fighter. Were you ever approached about being a cast member on the show? And if you were asked today, would you be interested?

(GC): "Man, you really know about my career. But do you know I fought him twice? Those were my first two fights, and I count that as professional. I don’t know why they count them as amateur contests. You can check on youtube and tell me if it’s amateur. I even got paid. I don’t know about Lauzon, but I got money on that. It would be nice to add two more Ws to my record.

As for the show [The Ultimate Fighter], they talked here and there, but I was with K-1, so the conversation never went too far. The reality show, it’s nice, you get a lot of exposure, but I’d prefer to go straight to the mainstream [large pay-per views]. I’m surprised by how many people know me here in North America. You should see all the letters I get at the gym from all over, so I think these people would like to see me out there competing with the big dogs!”


(JH): How do you think you stack-up against the UFC’s lightweight fighters?

(GC): “I would make a lot of noise and bother a lot of top fighters. B.J. has been dominating the division out there and I know I could bring some competition!”


(JH): You made your K-1 debut against one of the greatest kickboxers of all time, Masato. What was that experience like, and can we expect to see you stepping in the K-1 ring again in the future?

(GC): “I have to thank my team [American Top Team] and especially my muay thai coach, Mohamed Ouali, who put a lot of work in with me for that fight. My conditioning coach, Andre “Benkei” too, who always gets me in excellent shape. The experience was amazing, but the rhythm in muay thai, it’s different, and I really discovered that inside the ring with a legend in the sport. For a guy who has a grappling background, I didn’t do bad!”


(JH): Who would you say is your favourite fighter to watch at the moment be it in MMA, BJJ, or K-1?

(GC): “Besides my boys, Jorge Santiago, Thiago Alves, Mike Brown, etc., I would mention Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef, Giorgio Petrosyan, and Dominick Cruz.”


(JH): Lastly, what would you consider to be the most satisfying victory of your career?

(GC): "Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro. We are both from Brazil and we were both at the top, at the time. The way I won makes me choose this one as my most satisfying victory!”


(JH): Thanks again for your time JZ, FightLockdown and your fans appreciate it. In parting, do you have a message for your fans, or anyone you would like to thank?

(GC): "I would like to thank all my fans! All fans of the sport in general, too. Those who cheer for me, keep looking forward because soon I will be back in action, and we all will have a lot to celebrate. Thanks to God for keeping me strong, and my friends and my family who have supported me all this time. Peace to everyone!”