Rafael Mendes responds on topic of superfight

Http://www.facebook.com/notes/mendes-bros/profissionalismo-profissionalism/143246645688085



Lol, Rafa locks internet in 50/50 and then repeatedly racks up advantages.



[quote]I was here thinking, how can some people have the luxury of writing about what is going through my mind without even knowing me at the very least.



Or to place in doubt my feelings of “a challenge”, questioning if this motivates me or not.

Others, probably cheer for my adversaries opinion about my choices. Many deciding how much I have to ask to fight or not to fight.



First, if my feeling for a challenge was not great, and if I was afraid of someone, I would have changed sports and would have fought many less competitions than that I have disputed.



I have fought jiu jitsu since I was 12 years old, always I was a born competitor and this sensation of taking on challenges has accompanied me since I was born.

When I received my black belt, I entered a category where there was only one man reigning for years and I did not deviate my route, I maintained my path, without fear or discredit



I believe in professionalism, I know that super fights can be beneficial for our sport. But I know my value as well, and this is clear. I have fought too much to conquer what I have come to conquer.

Only God and the people next to me know how much I train and how much effort I put in each day to reach my objectives.



If now they want to promote a fight with different rules, I am very happy for the invitation and recognition, what I have to say is that I am ready as I have always been to take on the challenge and I believe in me more than any person. I am extremely confident and at the same time I am a person who gives values to things a lot and unfortunately I know that this value is not what the both of us deserve.



I saw people talking about that I fight for medals, for much less of this value, and asks me how come I don’t want to fight for 10,000usd, maybe this is a good value for 1 fight in regular rules, but not for a challenge in this manner and without time, where we can be fighting for hours, and at the same time other people may be earning A LOT more than what we will be earning.



I do not see myself in obligation to fight for honor, therefore I do not have anything to prove, that what I have come to do speaks for itself and that it won’t be a fight that more or less decides or transforms me into a better or worse athlete or person.



I am a professional athlete and I know exactly my value and place. I am not greedy, but at the same time I am also not a fool. The value proposed in itself is of extremely good value, and certainly I would have earned tremendously from it. But it isn’t sufficient for a fight with this kind of rules, a fight without time to the end.



For this kind of fight, I would have to cancel several seminars that I have scheduled toward the end of the year, to be able to train duly, which makes the value to be less attractive.



Well, I would like to say this. At any moment I did not refuse to fight, I do not have any problem with the rules or adversary. But for this format I demand a bigger value, therefore in my mind, me and Cobrinha deserve much more than what was previously proposed.



"And he shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water, That bringeth forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also doth not wither; And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." Psalm 1:3



A big hug to all,



Rafael Mendes[/quote]

pay the man what he wants!

Whishful thinking in my opinion.

I don't think that a MUCH higher purse (which he seems to be asking for) are do-able at the moment.

Fight is not gonna happen.

Baroquen Record - pay the man what he wants!

Has he asked for a sum anywhere?

CJJScout - 
Baroquen Record - pay the man what he wants!

Has he asked for a sum anywhere?


Not publically.

One of the investors, Bray Devours, was on The Fightworks Podcast this weekend talking about the proposed superfight.

http://thefightworkspodcast.com/

For anyone that hasn't already tuned in.

I definitely hope this match gets the chance to go down, it'd be great to see.

IMO, it would make a lot more sense for him to demand some guaranteed money than to demand a higher winner's purse. How much more than $10K do you want for a single match in a niche sport that doesn't generate any money? He only made $10K for winning ADCC.

Tomato Can - ? He only made $10K for winning ADCC.


I never believe those numbers....

What is not believable about it?

I do not understad his arguments at all.

If this is a winner takes all , and if Rafa is so confident in the result, then what is the problem? Rafael spent several days grappling to win ADCC and to make the same amount. Rafael also spent a couple of days grappling to win the worlds for no prize money.

So provided that this is winner takes all, it would seems Rafa is not confident in the result at all.

If this is not winner takes all kind of situation, his arguments still make no sense whatsoever. Win or lose, he would get the money anyway. The specific argument, that the $10K purse isn't sufficient because it's a no time-limit match etc., is without merit. Again $10K is as much as he made for winning the entire ADCC tournament. Top of that he got nothing for competing in the BJJ mundials. Who knowns maybe he even had to pay to compete.

Now it looks like Rafael is complaining about possibility of going for a couple of hours and about needing more money for it.

Yeah right.

IMHO Rafa is ducking Cobrinha.

Baroquen Record - pay the man what he wants!


 What does he want?

 This isn't any ordinary tournament. They are talking about creating an entire event around  2 of the most dominant individuals in the sport. If marketed properly, this could bring in a small fortune. Rafa has every right to demand a higher purse because he is worth it. These guys are professional athletes and should be compensated accordingly. 10 gs is nice, but he could make that much on a few seminars at half the work. The man has beaten the best DECISIVELY and has nothing further to prove.

It would bring in a small fortune? I dunno about that. People involved in BJJ tend to forget what a niche sport it is.

Tomato Can - What is not believable about it?


That's what's reported, I believe the winners could possibly make more....

Tomato Can - It would bring in a small fortune? I dunno about that. People involved in BJJ tend to forget what a niche sport it is.


Agreed. lol @ making a lot of money selling one bjj match. I would say 80% of spectators are family/friends of a excited competitor(generally, first tourney, for a white/blue belt) paying the $5-$10 to get into an event.

I wonder how many buyers ADCC got for its $20 webcast.

Muffinho - One of the investors, Bray Devours, was on The Fightworks Podcast this weekend talking about the proposed superfight.



http://thefightworkspodcast.com/



For anyone that hasn't already tuned in.


 And what did this Devours character say?? Sounds French? Cliff Notes

Tomato Can - It would bring in a small fortune? I dunno about that. People involved in BJJ tend to forget what a niche sport it is.
I said, "If marketed properly, this could bring in a small fortune". 5 bucks for a web stream, DVD sales, charge of admission, merchandising, sponsorships etc. By small fortune I mean a couple hundred Gs. 

 

Double Post
 

Devours said he wanted to organize this event.

Said that Rafa has been very respectful and professional in his responses.

Said that he feels from the tone of Rafa's responses that something could be worked out.

Said Rafa hasn't given a figure.

Said he stands to gain nothing (financially) from this match up. Quite skeptical of that. A man offering 10grand for a superfight would probably have the business sense to make money from this (gate, streams, sponsors, videos, organization of tournament to accompany superfight).

He emphasized that he had no affiliation with Alliance, despite training in the area (he trains under a Renzo black belt).

Caleb asked if they could make some other fights happen. I think he mentioned Sergio Moraes-Kron (would like to see that) and one or two others. Devours said he would love to make that happen, but he said it seems like all the potential match ups involve Alliance competitors. Caleb said they have a lot of top competitors (they also have a lot of guys involved in close wins [Malficine, Moraes, Langhi, Bernardo Faria], but that's just something I noted, no one implied that Alliance has negative tactics/stalls).

Came across very well.