pef-for-mance."
On The Move
Two weeks ago I was in Montreal a class with Bruno Fernandes, who's my BJJ from Gracie Barra. He doesn't live in Montreal anymore, he's living in Toronto for a year doing a special class that's only in Toronto (he's got a PhD as an opthalmalogist). When he comes to Montreal once/month, I always make sure I'm in town because he always has new moves to show me that can apply in my fights. I was very surprised because at the end of the class, he started with a beautiful speech and he took the black belt out of a bag and put it around my waist and he said "well-deserved". For me, it's a huge achievement, just as much as receiving my black belt in karate when I was twelve years old and also winning the UFC World title. It is very gratifying, and coming from him it's even more honorific.
I've been very busy during the last couple of weeks because I moved from South Shore to Ile-des-soeurs, from a house to a condominium (less maintenance). I decided to move from my house in South Shore because I was spending too much time in traffic crossing the bridge going back and forth to the island. Most fighters train in one or maybe two, gyms, but I'm different - I train in 5 different places on Montreal island, so I spend a lot time in the car from gym to gym. Normally, I have a training in the late morning and another one later in the evening, so I go home in between. That's why I decided to move closer to my training. I think it will be a big plus and I think I will come out stronger from that change in my life.
One of the things that goes along with being a UFC champion is the promotional activities. This past week I was honored to be asked to appear on the cover Men's Fitness magazine the February issue that comes out in January. It was good because they shot in one of the gyms where I train in New York, The Wat, so I also had the opportunity to train a little bit at the same time. Sometime people think that it's easy to shoot photos, but it was an all-day process because you need to shoot approximately 50 pictures just to find one good shot. It was very exhausting, but it was also a lot of fun.
When I got back from New York, I got back on a plane and went to Toronto for a charity event organized by Bell Canada. The dinner was very good, and the show was very entertaining. I saw some of my friends, Georges Strombolopous, Michael Lansberg, and Georges Laraque. We were all there supporting a good cause, but enjoying ourselves at the same time.
I'm on my way to Brazil, but I stopped off in Chicago to see my training partner Patrick Cote fight for the world middleweight title against Anderson Silva. While I believe he was the first fighter to make it into the 3rd round against Anderson, it's sad to see him lose the way that he did, because of a knee injury. Patrick has a loose ACL even before, and he had been able to fight 3 fights with it, but unfortunately this one was too much for his knee. I think he was doing pretty well against Anderson, and it was a smart strategy for him to bring the fight into the later rounds. I was very impressed by the performance of Thiago Alves he showed everybody why he belongs in the top fighters in the welterweight division. Of course, it's up to the UFC, but I think he will be one of my next opponents pretty soon.
I'm going to Brazil for training with my friends at Barra I will get back to you when I come back.
I've been very busy during the last couple of weeks because I moved from South Shore to Ile-des-soeurs, from a house to a condominium (less maintenance). I decided to move from my house in South Shore because I was spending too much time in traffic crossing the bridge going back and forth to the island. Most fighters train in one or maybe two, gyms, but I'm different - I train in 5 different places on Montreal island, so I spend a lot time in the car from gym to gym. Normally, I have a training in the late morning and another one later in the evening, so I go home in between. That's why I decided to move closer to my training. I think it will be a big plus and I think I will come out stronger from that change in my life.
One of the things that goes along with being a UFC champion is the promotional activities. This past week I was honored to be asked to appear on the cover Men's Fitness magazine the February issue that comes out in January. It was good because they shot in one of the gyms where I train in New York, The Wat, so I also had the opportunity to train a little bit at the same time. Sometime people think that it's easy to shoot photos, but it was an all-day process because you need to shoot approximately 50 pictures just to find one good shot. It was very exhausting, but it was also a lot of fun.
When I got back from New York, I got back on a plane and went to Toronto for a charity event organized by Bell Canada. The dinner was very good, and the show was very entertaining. I saw some of my friends, Georges Strombolopous, Michael Lansberg, and Georges Laraque. We were all there supporting a good cause, but enjoying ourselves at the same time.
I'm on my way to Brazil, but I stopped off in Chicago to see my training partner Patrick Cote fight for the world middleweight title against Anderson Silva. While I believe he was the first fighter to make it into the 3rd round against Anderson, it's sad to see him lose the way that he did, because of a knee injury. Patrick has a loose ACL even before, and he had been able to fight 3 fights with it, but unfortunately this one was too much for his knee. I think he was doing pretty well against Anderson, and it was a smart strategy for him to bring the fight into the later rounds. I was very impressed by the performance of Thiago Alves he showed everybody why he belongs in the top fighters in the welterweight division. Of course, it's up to the UFC, but I think he will be one of my next opponents pretty soon.
I'm going to Brazil for training with my friends at Barra I will get back to you when I come back.
