Live Report from UFC 112: Day 5
"Yesterday evening, Dos Anjos began his weight cut. No water, no food. Only spoonfuls of honey and little pieces of a protein bar intermittently. At 10am today, we had an initial weight check and Dos Anjos was 77 kilos. The sauna was exhausting as usual, but Dos Anjos was able to get to the fight weight (70.5 kilos) by 1pm. Dropping 6.5 kilos in a few hours is very taxing on the body and mind. However, we have all been through it many times and so it was just another day at the office. When we came out of the spa, the hotel lobby buzzed with a fantastic energy level as fans and reporters swarmed UFC Welterweight World Champion Georges St Pierre, UFC Middleweight World Champion Anderson Silva, and UFC Lightweight World Champion BJ Penn. Our opponent, Terry Etim, was also in the lobby with his team as were all the other UFC fighters. Team Evolve (Dos Anjos, Gordinho, Gordo, and I) all hung out in the lobby chatting with a few friends for a while. Renzo came over and hung out with us for a bit too. Gordinho also gave me a birthday present in front of everyone - a brand spanking new Apple iPad! BJJ and ADCC World Champion Braulio Estima also came over; earlier, Gordinho and Braulio had a great sparring session on the mats. BJJ World Champion Roger Gracie arrived and greeted all of us.
At 2pm, we kicked off the start of the weigh-in process. We all headed down to a meeting room for all UFC fighters and cornermen for a last debriefing session before the official weigh-in and fight. There is a natural tension in the air when all the UFC fighters and cornermen are together in one room. Opponents simply do not want to be near each other. After the debriefing session, we boarded 2 separate buses to the Marina Mall, the largest mall in Abu Dhabi where the UFC weigh-in would take place. During the bus ride there, Renzo had all of us roaring in laughter with crazy stories from his youth. He is a truly insane and funny guy with the biggest balls in the world. When we arrived to the mall, there was a huge crowd awaiting inside. The atmosphere was electric. We were all escorted by UFC staff to a special area while all the fans were cheering and taking pictures. When Joe Rogan and Dana White came out, the crowd got more excited. The weigh-ins were all successful. Dos Anjos came in perfectly at 156 lbs or 71 kilos. For non-title fights, you are allowed a 1 pound allowance for the 155 lbs weight limit. The highlights of the weigh-in were Renzo Gracie's entrance and Anderson Silva and Demian Maia's staredown. Immediately after the weigh-ins, Dos Anjos started the rehydration process with electrolyte fluids and baby food. After the event was over, we were all whisked away onto the 2 separate buses to return back to the Yas Island Rotana Hotel for the medical check-ups. As far as I know, everyone passed with flying colors.
At 8pm, Team Evolve gathered together and went for a quiet dinner at an Italian restaurant called Felini. It was just Gordinho, Gordo, Dos Anjos, myself, and family. We were all very relaxed and had a good time with many laughs. What makes Evolve so special is the true family spirit that we all have for each other. On a different note, a big sponsorship deal came in for Dos Anjos at the last minute. As a result, we will now be wearing Sinister Brand shirts tomorrow for the fight (instead of the Evolve Fight Team shirt). It is great news for Dos Anjos because his pay (purse + sponsorship money) just went up by 200% for this fight!!!
After we got back to the hotel, Dos Anjos weighed 77 kilos. We anticipate that he will be around 81-82 kilos by tomorrow night. Most importantly, Dos Anjos is in PHENOMENAL mental and physical shape. His confidence and mental focus are unbreakable right now. He just completed the best camp of his entire career. For this camp, Dos Anjos trained every day under Muay Thai World Champions and Thai instructors from Sityodtong Camp in Thailand, rolled every day with our BJJ Mundials Black Belt World Champions from Brazil, sparred with our WBA World Boxing Champion, and wrestled with our Wrestling team - all under one roof at Evolve MMA in Singapore.
It is now less than 24 hours before the fight. It's show time and Team Evolve is ready for a WAR!!!"
