Tavares Talks Victory Over Omigawa

Thiago Tavares (Pictures) was not thrilled with his recent victory over Michihiro Omigawa (Pictures) at UFC Fight Night. He admits he could have done more in the match, which he won by unanimous decision.

"I didn't show all my potential," Tavares told Sherdog.com. "I think I didn't show myself well, but we can't be 100 percent all the time. The most important thing is that I won. I trained for this and I won again."

Tavares said returning after his first loss did not affect his performance. According to the Brazilian, the fight was just like any other.

"I felt nothing unusual," Tavares said. "I'm happy because I lost the previous fight and I knew how important it was to win that bout, but it didn't affect my performance. I was well trained, full of gas -- I felt nothing different. That was my 18th MMA fight, and more and more I feel calm and experienced."

Tavares hopes to return to the Octagon soon. After a couple of weeks of rest, he will travel to Rio de Janeiro to train along with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures) and his team, which Tavares has joined. The lightweight said he doesn't want easy fights in the UFC, and he is asking for bouts against the best.

"My intentions are to fight in May probably, but I prefer to fight in April," Tavares said. "I'll take a rest for a couple of weeks just to give a break to my body, and then I'll train at my maximum. I would like to face the top UFC guys like Kenny Florian (Pictures) and Roger Huerta (Pictures). If they match me against either of those two, I'll be very happy. It would give me motivation to train harder to face these guys because they are among the best, and I know that would be very important to my career to face and defeat one of these guys."

Before then, though, Tavares will be supporting Nogueira for his heavyweight title fight against Tim Sylvia (Pictures) at Saturday's UFC 81. He's counting on another great performance by "Minotauro."

"When Rodrigo fights, the show is guaranteed," Tavares said. "When he fights, his name is claimed in the Octagon -- it's a very exciting thing. He always gives us great performances and a great show. I believe he will submit Sylvia. Frankly, I think he has boxing skills to exchange blows with Tim Sylvia (Pictures), but the better strategy, in my opinion, is to take him down and work on ground-and-pound, pass the guard and submit, because this is the way ‘Minotauro' feels more comfortable."

‘Pelé' Discusses Upcoming Bout

José "Pelé" Landi-Jons will fight Brian Gassaway (Pictures) at TKO 32 on Feb. 28 in Montreal.

"I signed the contract last week," the fighter told Sherdog.com. "My opponent is a veteran, and we will fight in the 77-kg [169-pound] weight division. My plan is to land in Montreal and to give an amazing show to the crowd there, with a lot of will and determination and finish my performance with the victory. I know we are living new days in MMA, and in my last fight in November I was surprised by a devastating blow in nine seconds. But the bets were nine to one in my favor, so I know I can overcome it, one more time, with hard work and dedication."

Having lived in Canada for more than a year, the Brazilian is counting on support from several MMA stars.

"In my training I've been supported by the fighters from Revolution Team," Landi-Jons said. "People like Bibiano Fernandes (Pictures), ‘Black Mamba,' Denis Kang (Pictures), plus a lot of new guys who are emerging on the MMA scene."

February Events in Brazil

Rio FC and The VIP One Fighting will host MMA action in Brazil this February. These events will feature athletes with international experience.

Rio FC will be held Feb. 28 in Rio de Janeiro. The event, run by Eraldo Paes and Sergio Cunha, has already scheduled some matches and should be a very exciting show.

Lineup: Luis Ramos (Nova União) vs. Daniel Dias
Aritano Silva (RFT) vs. Will Viana (Tata)
Giovani Diniz (Pictures) (Nobre Arte/Nova União) vs. Eduardo Pachu (Gracie Fusion)
Paulo Boiko (Black House) vs. Danilo Motoserra (Gracie Fusion)
Will Ribeiro (Pictures) (Boxe Thai/Minotauro Team) vs. Leandro Brodinho (Gracie Fusion)
Milton Vieira (Pictures) (BTT) vs. TBA
Aloísio Barros vs. TBA

The One VIP Fighting is scheduled for Feb. 13 in São Paulo and will feature numerous attractions. An MTV VJ will be the announcer, TV models will be ring girls and experienced and known athletes are on the card. In particular, striker Marfio Canoletti will fight under K-1 rules, and there will be a super fight between Milton Vieira (Pictures) and Luiz Azeredo (Pictures).

Lineup:
Rodrigo Ruiz vs. Allyson Pinheiro
Mauro Chimento "Xuxa" vs. Luis Junior "Besouro"
Jefferson Silva (Pictures) vs. Fabio Maldonado (Pictures)
Milton Vieira (Pictures) vs. Luiz Azeredo (Pictures)

K-1 Rules:
Marfio Canoletti vs. Jose Ricardo Galheta
Fernando Junior vs. Thiago Sandre

Prime MMA 2 Coming in March

Prime MMA is looking for an opponent for Brazilian Top Team's Ana Maria. The second edition of the event will be held March 8 in Salvador.

A BJJ Brown belt, Ana Maria fights in the 62-kg [136-pound] weight class. She will be in action at Smack Girl on Feb. 14 in Japan.

Prime MMA 2 card:
Adriano Macaco (Jacare Team) vs. Carlos Alemão (BTT)
Marcio Shark (BTT) vs. Bruno Bruxa (Ze Mario Team)
Adelmo "Arroz" (Gracie Barra) vs. Sid "Kbca" (Manimal)
Ana Maria (BTT) vs. TBA
Renato Velame (Champion) vs. Marcio Bittencourt (Fight Club)
Renato Castro (Jucão Team) vs. Matheus Pepa (Champion)
Bruno Carioca (Ze Mario Team) vs. Edilberto "Crocota" de Oliveira (Champion)
Luis Buda (Thai Kombat) vs. Taigra (Gracie Barra)
Cabo Jai (Manimal) vs. Grimaldo Oliveira (Edson Carvalho)
Bruno Walidinho (Jucão Team) vs. Anderson Max (ACT Combat)
Alan Jibóia (Edson Carvalho) vs. Fernando Almeida (BTT)