mixed martial arts chris brennan

I am fighting the Hungarian Laszlo Forro, who fought in Cagewarriors 2 and he’s a tough fighter, so I am taking the fight very seriously; I have been training two months in Brazil for the fight and am looking forward to stepping into the cage once again.

Where do you train in Brazil?

I train with my team in Brazil, we have a very good mixture of strikers and grapplers and I need to travel there to train when I prepare for my fights as they are very good at getting me into shape. The academy is in the city of Joao Pessoa, which is in the state of Paraiba and it’s called Gracie Barra Paraiba and I’m a brown belt there. I have two instructors out there, one is a BJJ black belt and the other is a black belt in Judo and I also have a very good Thai instructor.

Who do you train in the UK?

I train with the Elite fighting team under Dave O Donnell and have been training with the guys for some time now; they look after me and get me into shape for fights in the UK.

After your fight at Cagewarriors 2 last year, you have the crowd an unexpected demonstration of Capoeira; where do you train this art?

I think everybody in Brazil have trained Capoeira at school and I think it’s inside every Brazilian and I love Capoeira, it’s a very different way to fight and I like to use the Capoeira when I fight in the ring and I like to entertain the crowds here in the UK.

How did you end up fighting here in the UK?

I compiled a tape of all my best fights from Brazil and sent them across to a friend of mine in the UK and he in turn gave the tape to a number of promoters in the UK; from there I was invited to fight in NHB events and after doing well in Cagewarriors and Millennium Brawl I have been a regular on the fight circuit.

What competitions have you fought in Brazil?

I have been in the IVC events and a number of Judo championships and as soon as I came to the UK I entered the Gracie Submission Wrestling Championships and won my division and have fought in Cage Rage as well as MB and Cagewarriors.

Returning to Cagewarriors 2 last year, where you fought Sammy Schiavo, this was probably one of the fights of 2002; what are your thoughts on the fight?

For the people there who thought this was the fight of the night or fight of the year, for me it was the fight of my life, a really important fight both from a physical and psychological point of view. Sammy is an extremely hard fighter and throughout the fight I was trying to submit him, that was the only way I could beat him, there is no way you can knock this guy out. Right at the end I took him by surprise and I managed to take his back and I choked him out, but it was a very hard fight for me.

After the fight you managed to get back in the cage to do the Capoeira demo; where did you get the energy for such a display after such a hard fight?

Once you practice Capoeira it becomes a part of you and once you hear the birimbau, it’s just impossible to keep still, all you want to do is go out there and play. After the fight the doctor examined me and I had a broken nose and fractured rib, but it didn’t stop me from getting in the cage when the music started.

So will we be seeing any Capoeira tonight in your fight?

I always try to put a little Capoeira in my fights and I like to entertain the UK crowds; with fights at this level, you have to be careful but I’ll be looking for the right time to show off a few moves.

You are an established and popular fighter in the UK now; isn’t it about time you started having a few title fights?

Of course that is the plan, to be recognised as a good fighter, but it’s finding the right opportunity at the right time and I am sure that when the moment comes I’ll take the chance and take the title.

What do you plan to do after this fight?

I have been talking to Dougie Truman and am trying to arrange a fight with Tony Dedolph, which is going to be one hell of a fight, but I can’t say anything too positive yet as I need to speak to Dougie to make this happen.

Any last words to your fans Jean?

From what people have seen of my fights, I always try my best to entertain the crowd and being there to have a good time and I will try my best to entertain the crowds in the my future fights and I’d like to thank all my fans for their continued support.

Special thanks to Walter Cruz for the translation; promoters interested in Jean can contact him at jean@jeansilva.co.uk

Interview and photo Carl Fisher