Besides being champion in one of the toughest in the UFC, light heavyweight Jon Jones is one of the most feared fighters in the world. However, not for Brazilian journalist Mario Filho.
Filho hosts a segment on the program “Sensei SporTV” called “Senseinocao” -- a play on the Portuguese phrase “sem nocao” (mad, without notion) -- in which he challenges MMA champions to fights with specific rules. In January, while in Brazil to take part in the broadcast of UFC 142, Jones accepted a challenge from “Marinho,” who stands 5-foot-4 and weighs in at 134 pounds. To the surprise of many, the 24-year-old champion, never taken down in the UFC, was floored on the first try by the Brazilian.
Under the rules of the show, in order to defeat Filho, fighters must finish the bout with their trademark move. Previously, Marinho faced UFC heavyweight champ Junior “Cigano” dos Santos, who had to try and land his famous uppercut on the reporter. For “Bones,” the goal was to take out Filho with his powerful spinning strikes -- kicks, punches or elbows -- inside two three-minute rounds.
As Jones was unable to stop his opponent, the Brazilian was declared the winner for the first time in the history of the show. In the past, Filho had been defeated by dos Santos, Lyoto Machida and former world boxing champion Acelino “Popo” Freitas. Next up on Filho’s list: UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva.
Sherdog.com spoke with Filho immediately after his meeting with Jones, which airs this week in Brazil on SporTV.
Sherdog.com: How was the experience of training with Jones?
Mario Filho: Who gets the chance to fight the UFC light heavyweight champion inside the Octagon if you’re not “Shogun” [Mauricio Rua] or Machida? Nobody. Just to have this opportunity, I was done, personally and professionally -- as a reporter, of course. Not as a fighter, because I train a lot, but only recreationally. In the “Senseinocao” challenges, I’ve always been annihilated, and this time was no different. I just really, really wanted to take down Jon Jones. And this was done, photographed, filmed and seen by several witnesses who cheered a lot there. Even Jon Jones laughed when he fell!
Sherdog.com: Were you familiar with Jones? What was your impression of him as a person?
Filho: I didn’t know him. Before being introduced to him, I had seen various reports and interviews with him, and I considered him a very special guy who had a natural talent to win people over with sweet jokes. [He seemed] friendly, always very calm, and always ready with intelligent and positive answers. I didn’t get why people booed him at the weigh-in in Canada, for example. In Brazil, I doubt he has recived any boos.
Everyone in Brazil loves Jones for his receptivity, humility and good mood. Zero star status. And me, in particular, he fully entered into the spirit of the challenge, put himself at the disposal of a person he didn’t know, four weight divisions below him, and literally captivated everyone in the Nogueira Training Center. He’s very funny, caring, and in my opinion, the fighter who has the greatest potential to become the most charismatic of the world, in any culture, because his joy is universal!
Sherdog.com: How many rounds did you fight and what were the rules?
Filho: For each “Senseinocao,” the challenge highlights a specialty of the champion. For example: “Cigano” could only defeat me if he knocked me out with the uppercut, although any MMA moves are allowed. For Jones, he had to knock me out with any of his spinning back-blow: kicks, elbows or punches.
The rules are the same as the UFC -- striking, takedowns, ground-and-pound -- but of course, common sense helps, right? He’s a very clever guy and he knew he wouldn’t need to use the same strength he uses against a light heavyweight to knock me out. During the fight, I had to ask him not to use his shin to block my low kicks, because it’s hard as concrete, and I could hurt myself on my first kick attempt and there wouldn’t be any fight. Of course, I’m always wearing headgear, a mouthguard and a cup, because otherwise it’s suicide.
Sherdog.com: What is your background and how long have you been training ?
Filho: I’ve trained jiu-jitsu for 18 years and I am black belt under Master Ricardo de la Riva [who graduated the Nogueira Brothers]. I’ve train boxing almost daily with Gilvan Pequeno and Rodrigo Totti for over five years. I returned to judo last year with Professor Julian Leon, and I started kickboxing just for “Senseinocao” with Jon Jones. It was a great adaptation. I found it easy because I practiced capoeira and karate before jiu-jitsu.
Sherdog.com: What other athletes have participated? What were the objectives of each one and what were the results?
Filho: It started with Lyoto Machida, who was the least-hit fighter in the UFC, both in punches and takedowns. “Very elusive” became a mantra at the time of the “Machida Era,” so for the first “Senseinocao,” my mission was to hit “The Dragon” with a punch, a kick, corner him, take him down or pin him. Same thing: two rounds of three minutes, full safety equipment and zero points for me. I took kicks, flying kicks, punches, knees, three takedowns and two armbars, but I managed to defend. I didn’t hit Lyoto even once.
Then, we challenged Cigano to knock me out with an uppercut in six minutes. He couldn’t believe there was a little guy urging him to throw the uppercut without mercy, with no money for the fight. It was before he went to coach on “The Ultimate Fighter.” Our UFC heavyweight champion tried to hold a little, but Rodrigo and Rogerio didn’t want him to fight. “Cigano doesn’t know how to play, he doesn’t know what it is to take it easy,” Rodrigo told me seriously. But it happened and Cigano knocked me down three times before knocking me out in the final seconds of the fight.
Before Jon Jones, we had Acelino Freitas, four-time world boxing champion. And the challenge came from him! He asked me if I would do a “Senseinocao” against him and I said, “Oh, God, yes!” Another opportunity! But he imposed his conditions: no takedowns, kicks or ground-and-pound. It was only boxing rules, with 16-ounce gloves. His speciality is punching to the waistline, and after 17 punches in the liver, I couldn’t get up. It turns out that Popo has 14 knockouts in the first round, and I just fell apart in round two.
Sherdog.com: Who will be your next guest?
Filho: We had already issued a challenge to Anderson Silva, who accepted with excitement! Anderson is unmatched in any area, but we found it best to choose his jab as the weapon to knock me out, since he put on a show knocking out Forrest Griffin with the jab while moving backward. So, that’s my challenge: to survive six minutes of “Spider” jabs. And it seems to me that we should roll in the X-Gym cage, which is the size of a phone booth! The freakier, the better, right?
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