BTT Looks Forward to Strong 2008

The first half of the 2007 was a tough one for Brazilian Top Team, with losses in important events and departures of some stars -- including the Nogueira brothers, Paulo Filho (Pictures) and Mario Sperry (Pictures).

However, the Brazilian squad changed its course and could end 2007 on a positive note when one of its leaders, Murilo Bustamante (Pictures), faces Makoto Takimoto (Pictures) at the Yarennoka! New Year's Eve event in Tokyo.

"The expectation for Murilo's fight is very good to close the year with success," said Brazilian Top Team leader Luis Roberto Duarte. "Murilo is very well trained and will face Takimoto, who is a very good fighter and has a very strong name in Japan. It could not have been a better choice. It worked out nicely for our demands. I think it has everything to close this year, which has been very good for us in the second half, with success."

In analyzing the year, Duarte celebrated the fact that despite big-name departures, Brazilian Top Team ended the year strongly.

"The year 2007 started with the victory of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures) against Josh Barnett (Pictures) in PRIDE Shockwave," Duarte recalled, talking about a fight that actually took place on the final day of 2006. "After that we had two fights that were not so good, with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Pictures) and Ricardo Arona (Pictures) losing to Sokoudjou. After that everyone had a crisis, and we had a troubled middle of the year. Then we worked and steered the ship straight again, and the results started to show.

"We had three athletes in MTL on Murilo's team. We had the victories of Rousimar Palhares and also Fernando Paulon, who to me was one of the major revelations of 2007 because he had five fights and five wins. He is a very tough guy. There is Vitor Pimenta (Pictures), Mauricio Reis, the kids who are appearing here, in addition to Milton Vieira (Pictures), who is returning to fight. So we are completing a year very well that began very troubled."

Duarte also assessed the performance of the biggest breakthrough fighter in Brazilian MMA this year, middleweight Rousimar Palhares. Palhares won the Fury FC 185-pound tournament by overcoming the experienced Flavio Moura, Fabio Nascimento and Daniel Acacio (Pictures).

"When we began working with Rousimar, we knew that he would bring great success to the team," Duarte said. "He is a very focused boy who trains too much. He has a history of sacrifice, where you see that the guy came into the world to break barriers, overcome obstacles. This is just another obstacle, but the people are there beside him to help him because I think he is an ordained guy, a great person with excellent character.

"He has everything to be a champion. He already is a champion in life and now has everything to be a champion in the ring. We expect from him all the best fights and wins, to earn the money he wants so much to help his family, which is all that he wants. We are there to keep ‘friends of the champion' from surrounding him, which is what happens often, and to make him reach his goals."

For next year, Duarte believes Brazilian Top Team will become even stronger with the possibility of several athletes shining on the international scene.

"For fights in events outside of Brazil, I am betting my chips on Luiz Firmino (Pictures), on Alexandre Ferreira, on Milton Vieira (Pictures), in addition to Ricardo Arona (Pictures), Murilo Bustamante (Pictures) and Rousimar Palhares," Duarte said. "And we are working now so that in 2009 others may shine, such as Vitor Pimenta (Pictures) and Mauricio Reis. I think that they will be the guys who people will talk about. We have this constant renewal."

A BJJ black belt under Carlson Gracie, Duarte does not hide his satisfaction for finishing 2007 well. By doing so, great expectations are created for next year.

"When we do a job that you believe in, with serious work, we achieve good results," he said. "I think 2008 will be a promising year."