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So I did an interview with Bellator's CEO Bjorn Rebney for the Nogueira brother's blog, Nogueira Brothers. Below is the interview in English. There are several important info's about the organization and I'm sure you'll like it.

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Selected by Bloody Elbow's Scout Report as the #9 Bantamweight prospect in 2012, Leandro Higo has some big hurdles to overcome in order to become a top fighter.

Higo works as a night security guard in his native Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Although Mossoró is a fast growing city, when it comes to MMA it lacks proper teachers. Higo relies on his BJJ coaches and fellow fighters to prepare, but there's no striking coach he can get a help from.

Add to that the lack of training partners and some times a person to hold mitts for him and you have a big talent being wasted. This could end, though.

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(Photo taken by Tatame Magazine's editor Eduardo Ferreira)

Jussier "Formiga" da Silva Vieira. If you are a hardcore fan of Mixed Martial Arts you probably heard about him. If you only care about the UFC or bigger weight divisions this very talented fighter has escaped your eyes. He fights for Tachi Palace Fights on August 5th versus veteran and Flyweight legend Mamoru Yamaguchi. But the road until then won't have been an easy one.

For almost two years Jussier was the king of the Flyweight division, an accomplish he achieved by beating former Shooto World Champion Shinichi "BJ" Kojima by decision in a non title affair on July 19th, 2009, and fell in some rankings to #4 or #2 after his decision loss to former WEC fighter Ian McCall on his second United States fight February of this year.

In this great article by Tomas Rios on Sherdog.com Jussier exposed how life was to him and shared the biggest tragedy of his life so far, the loss of his father killed by a drunken driver that 2 and a half years later has yet to be prosecuted for his crime.

He also shared how being the number one ranked fighter had made little changes in his life. Although he was number 1, he still lived as an unknown, and that stands even after his two US fights.

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(Photo taken by Tatame Magazine's editor Eduardo Ferreira)

Jussier "Formiga" da Silva Vieira. If you are a hardcore fan of Mixed Martial Arts you probably heard about him. If you only care about the UFC or bigger weight divisions this very talented fighter has escaped your eyes. He fights for Tachi Palace Fights on August 5th versus veteran and Flyweight legend Mamoru Yamaguchi. But the road until then won't have been an easy one.

For almost two years Jussier was the king of the Flyweight division, an accomplish he achieved by beating former Shooto World Champion Shinichi "BJ" Kojima by decision in a non title affair on July 19th, 2009, and fell in some rankings to #4 or #2 after his decision loss to former WEC fighter Ian McCall on his second United States fight February of this year.

In this great article by Tomas Rios on Sherdog.com Jussier exposed how life was to him and shared the biggest tragedy of his life so far, the loss of his father killed by a drunken driver that 2 and a half years later has yet to be prosecuted for his crime.

He also shared how being the number one ranked fighter had made little changes in his life. Although he was number 1, he still lived as an unknown, and that stands even after his two US fights.

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'Friday the 13th' - Rony 'Jason' Highlight by CT (via

http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Rony-Mariano-Bezerra-Lima-38190

Highlight of Patricio and Patricky's Pitbull teammate, who's now also going to train at Team Nogueira in Rio de Janeiro.

After a tough phase in his carreer Jason is now finally starting to show his true potential. A Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt and Kickboxing State Champion, he promises to be another big star from Northeast of Brazil, and a prospect you all should keep your eyes on.

It was a long and difficult task, but Jussier "Formiga" da Silva beat his biggest opponent to date: the US consulate.

After being beat by the Consulate by visa denial in the beginning of the year, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and #1 flyweight in the world returned for a rematch, this time submitting the Consulate in the second round after a difficult battle in the first.

The match was for a US visa which would allow "Formiga" to fight at Tachi Palace Fights 7, and he already has his sights on another difficult battle.

"I'm fighting former WEC fighter Danny Martinez on December 2nd. I've watched some of his fights and I can see he's a really tough guy. But I've been training with my friends Jorge Rodrigues, Marlon Silva and Renan Barão, and I'm sure I will be prepared and it will be a great fight."

Although people might think that's the only fight he has ahead of him, there are a few more things worrying Jussier right now.

"I had to pay 3/4 of my purse for the visa costs, but I only have to thank Tachi Palace and Mr. Jeremy Luchau."

And why is that that Jussier thanks his employer for having this much deducted of this purse?

"They're paying me the full purse, win or lose, for this first fight. Actually, I even got a raise and a better contract. They're taking care of me, and I hope I can pay them back with lots of wins and representing them on other shows or any way they need me."

Not only that, they're also paying flights for Jussier and his corner, plus hotel, meals and medical exams that most of the fighting promoters deducts from the fighter's purse.

The humble fighter, a single father who lost his own father in the beginning of the year because of a drunk driver, receives US $250 per month in order to support his son, sister and mother, and acknowledges that the amount of money would make a huge difference on his life.

"My manager, my trainer and I thought that once we signed a contract to fight in the US, we would be able to get some good sponsorships. I'm not talking about receiving ten thousand dollars, but at least enough to help me or cover the visa costs. Unfortunelly, 90% of the contacts we make aren't returned, and the other ones end up in nothing. And we're not saying things like, 'hey, give me one million dollars.' We're saying, 'help me with something, anything can help'."

At this moment, Jussier is on a bus on his way back to Natal, the city where he lives and trains. He's feeling like a huge weight was taken off of his shoulders, and hopes to impress fans and sponsors on December 2nd, hoping it can mean the change in his life he's been trying to accomplish for years.

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Photo from Guilherme Cruz (TATAME).

The most famous "Jason", Jason Voorhes, is a fictional character from the Friday the 13th series of slasher films, as says Wikipedia.

This character has a big legion of fans around the world, and one in particular has been making noises for some time in the Brazilian regional MMA circuit.

Rony Mariano Bezerra Lima, or as he is known, Rony "Jason" is a Brazilian Featherweight born in Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte. From the above picture you must understand why that's his nickname, and fighter himself tells where it came from:

The nickname came up at the time Sakuraba was at his peak. I was amazed by the way he would go to the ring, creating a great atmosphere. It was a show, a way to please the audience. I always liked that, you don't have to look to MMA as if it is something very serious, it also has the spectacle aspect.

So, someday I was passing trough a street and saw a shop with a Jason mask. By the time I was a kid Jason was one of the things that scared us the most, so I thought it would be a great idea to fight wearing his mask. Not only I bring the show to it, take all the seriousness away, but also it can be used as a kind of intimidation towards my opponent.

A Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt under Fabio Hollanda, orange belt in Judo and Kickboxing black belt (right now you must be asking yourself about this Kickboxing black belt, but in Brazil this kind of graduation does exist) holds a MMA record of 5 wins and 3 losses (although Sherdog has him listed as 4-3 http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Ronny-Jason-38190 ).

By only looking at his record, some might come to the question "why should I care?", and if it was any other fight sport, maybe they were right. But it's MMA, and fans have come to know that records doesn't really mean anything, as proven by great fighters over and over.

Still, the question stands: why should you care about a unknown Brazilian prospect with a 5-3 professional MMA record?

As I wanted to say time and time again after reading a Bloody Elbow article, see the answer for this question after the jump. 

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