Brazilian Karate Champion, Jayme Sandall is responsible for teaching the art 60 Vitor Belfor in preparation for his fight with Rich Franklin at UFC 103. Tatame.com caught up with Sandall to ask about Belfort’s next fight, versus Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133.
Guilherme Cruz: How do you see Vitor chances on this division? Winning this one and maybe one or two more, do you think he could get a chance at the title?
Jayme Sandall: I guess so, because the thing is: Anderson did a pretty good job kicking him like that, but there was a lucky factor on it too. It was well fit and got him, but the bout was good until just then. An amazing win. Vitor couldn’t get a rematch now because it was a striking win. But if Vitor wins this one and maybe one more, a rematch will must be set. He still is, in my opinion, the only guy on their weight class that can defeat Anderson. Can Anderson be defeated before he gets his shot? Yeah, he can, but it’s not likely. But not to Vitor.
GC: Did you see that kick coming at all (thrown by Anderson Silva)? Did you try to train to prevent it to happen?
JS: You see, I made a list of all coups Anderson uses, which was hard, because Anderson uses old stuff, he does some things never seen before… But I know for a fact that he uses a lot kicks on the waist area. Anyway, we trained a lot how to prevent to be kicked right in the face. Unfortunately, Vitor just stopped. There was a moment on which he just stop, stood still and Anderson had plenty time to prepare himself, measure the right distance, it must have token him like two or three seconds… You can’t stand still three seconds when you’re facing Anderson, but you can’t do it either when you’re fighting Vitor. Anderson prepared that kick and was nailed it.
GC: A kick that was even more shocking than Anderson’s was Lyoto’s on Randy Couture. Do you believe you’d ever see kicks like that in MMA?
JS: Well, I didn’t see it coming, but the funny thing is: this kick is pretty normal in Karate. Not in the face, but above the belt. I used to give the guys that kick a lot, a frontal flying kick. You give one extra step to bring your leg and kick harder. I use to knock people down with kicks on their stomach. I actually got a few knockdowns with a kick on my stomach, but not on the face. I was surprised, and even Lyoto said all that Steven Seagal stuff, but people have to know that it’s all propaganda, because it was not Steven Seagal the one who taught him that kick, he knows it from Karate. I talked to Lyoto’s father the day after the fight and he told me: ‘I told Lyoto to train a lot. Also, I told him to be careful with that kick on the trainings, because if he gets to do it on one of his teammates, it’s dangerous’. But this Steen Seagal thing is all propaganda
GC: Do you think it makes Karate looks better in UFC, as when Lyoto became its champion?
JS: Oh, of course it does. People overreact a little… If Lyoto wins, Karate is the best martial art in the world. If Lyoto loses, it’s the worst… There’s no such thing.
