The fight moves come naturally to Brazilian Junior dos Santos, Cigano. He spent a lot of time punching, kicking and trying to immobilize opponents. But now, who needs to relearn all this at 37?
“There are a lot of details, actually. You need to be more careful not to hurt your opponent. There are details you have to pay attention to. Adding details, being good in takedowns. In MMA, we defend ourselves as we can. Now I need to be in the fight. right point, connected,” he says.
One of the biggest names in Brazilian MMA history and UFC heavyweight champion of the world, Cigano was hired by AEW (All Elite Wrestling), an American wrestling company. Modality that in Brazil was called telecatch for years, in which fights are choreographed and the results determined in advance.
Brazilians need to go through a transition process to learn how to hit their opponents in a way that doesn’t hurt them. Injuries are common, even so, in what Americans call the “entertainment sport,” where the show, the screening, and the telling of a story are the most important aspects.
“I went to watch for the first time [a AEW] with American Top Team owner Dan Lamber, who is a huge wrestling fan [nome da modalidade nos EUA]. I had the opportunity to see the size of the events. It’s as big as the UFC. The combats demand a lot, I saw people leaving with a wreck, bleeding for real. When I watched that, I told him: ‘you have to put me in there'”, he adds.
Junior dos Santos also entered a billion dollar industry in the United States. Professional wrestling makes more money than the UFC, the world’s leading MMA company.
Created in 2019, AEW has an estimated market value of US$400 million (R$2.1 billion at current prices). Born to be a competitor of WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), valued at US$ 5.7 billion (R$ 30.8 billion).
Even with performances without an audience for most of last year, because of the pandemic, the AEW earned US$ 64 million (R$ 345 million). The company belongs to Shahid Kahn, who also owns the Jacksonville Jaguars, the NFL (the professional football league), and Fulham, the football team currently in England’s second division.
The wrestling company is managed by his son, Tony Kahn, who created the endeavor. The family’s fortune is around US$9 billion (R$48.6 billion).
In Brazil, episodes of Dinamyte and Rampage, the two programs produced by AEW, are shown by the Space channel.
The size of the industry surprised Cigano, who is used to another world. He was UFC heavyweight champion in 2011 when he defeated American Cain Velasquez (another who has been flirting with Wrestling). He was the third Brazilian to win the belt in the category, but he was the first to be considered absolute champion.
He has been training in another aspect that, in “entertainment sport”, is as important as the fight itself: knowing how to handle the microphone. He’s already noticed that fighters who know how to entertain, provoke and express themselves tend to be more successful. There are parts of the programs based just on that.
“I’ve been working on this side too. It’s the main thing. In MMA, the guys who are controversial, talk a lot, even take it personally, they’re the ones who draw attention. I was never a controversial guy, but I’ve worked on it,” he says .
This can also have the financial reward. AEW does not confirm the salary of its athletes. According to the American press, Jon Moxley, one of its best-known stars, has a contract worth US$ 6 million (R$ 32.6 in current values) a year.
The company managed to bring back to wrestling CM Punk, one of the most famous names in the sport and who had been away for seven years. According to specialized websites, he will receive around US$ 3 million (R$ 16 million) every 12 months. Not to mention the participation in the sale of merchandising.
“I could see how people are fanatical. It’s something I didn’t see at all in the UFC. You can see in their eyes that they want to kill you. When I had the opportunity to participate, I was very happy with it”, says Cigano.
Not that he has abandoned plans to return to MMA in the future. In addition to training for wrestling, he continues to practice other fights that can make him return to the octagon. He has also practiced boxing, a sport that other MMA athletes have been trying to get into.
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