UFC: “The Soldier of God” – Exclusive interview with Alberto Mina

Q&A with UFC’s Alberto Mina

When you talk about some of the most watched sports in the world – Soccer, Baseball, Tennis etc., there is one more name people add to that list. Contact sports aren’t anything new to people. We’ve had boxing and grappling for a while, but 20 years ago, a couple of visionaries created something so unique, that it not only captivated the fans, but also managed to create one of the greatest combat sports in sporting history. Mixed Martial Arts came into being, and the grand daddy of MMA was none other than the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Dana White and the Fertittas took over the reins and globalized the sport, making UFC PPVs one of the most watched sporting events in history. The buy rates of PPVs have skyrocketed, and every fighter wanted to try his hand in the UFC. UFC visits almost every country there is, trying to recruit more and more fighters. One of the countries they’ve been concentrating on is China, and UFC rolled out with the very first edition of The Ultimate Fighter – China, which concluded with an eventual winner at UFC Fight Night – Macao in the Welterweight division. I had the chance to interview one of the most promising fighters on the card, Alberto Mina.

Mina was supposed to fight Zak Cummings, a UFC veteran on March 1^st and make his official debut in the UFC. Mina has been undefeated in his first 10 fights, and was all geared up to kick start his UFC career with his fight against Zak Cummings, until it was announced that Cummings failed to make weight and had to fly back. Below is the complete transcript of my interview with “The Soldier of God”.

When I first saw your name on the card, I knew that I had to interview you, because you can be the next ‘big thing’. You’re 10 – 0 in MMA, correct?

Mina: Yeah, but actually it’s 11 – 0. Sherdog didn’t count the first win.

And 8 of them were first round submissions?

Mina: Yes.

First things first, why did you get into MMA, and what does it mean for you to be a fighter?

Mina: I started very young; I got into martial arts when my father put me in judo. I was a very energetic kid, and he put me in judo to calm me down and to teach me discipline at home, and it worked! My whole life, I’ve been practicing martial arts; at a very young age, I also had training in jiu – jitsu. I’ve been doing judo and jiu – jitsu my whole life and MMA was just another challenge. We used to do MMA in my gym; at that time, we didn’t even call it “MMA”. We didn’t wear any gloves, and I was just a teenager. The first time I watched UFC was when I watched Royce Gracie and it was kind of exciting, to see what he did to a big guy (Dan Severn). So it was in my life always, and my first MMA tryout was for some friends, against my fighting partner. And then I said “I think I should try”, and that was the end of that.

How did you get into UFC?

Mina: As I said, every fighter on the planet wants to fight at the highest level in MMA, so where else do you want to be except for UFC? I’ve been very conservative about where I train and where I fight, but of course, my goal has always been to get into the UFC. I have some partners I train with; I’ve been with them for the past 5 years, improving my striking and improving in other areas. I’ve been under various contractual obligations, but I think the greatest thing I have right now is this, because I’ve moved to Asia and now I’ve been living in and representing Hong Kong, and the last fight I had was to prove and show that I’m back in the game. I’ve been out for 2 years, and fighting in Singapore was to prove to the people to believe in me and give me an opportunity. I’m fighting in Macao which is my backyard, and I’m very happy and very excited.

What about your nickname, “The Soldier of God”? How did that come about?

Mina: Well, I think it’s very common for Brazilians. We have a strict relation with God, we have faith in God. But again, my friends and other people like to go to parties, but I’m calmer and I like to go to the church, and I like to keep a low profile, keep to myself. I don’t like parties and stuff; the first thing they did was kind of mean; they called me a “Church boy”, and later my coach changed it to “Soldier of God”, because my life is training, eat, sleep, training again. So he gave me that nickname, and I’m proud of it.

Do you prefer to stand up and fight with your opponent or take him to the ground?

Mina: I think we cannot forget about the ground. I’m a black belt in judo and jiu – jitsu, that’s my specialty. I feel more than comfortable on the ground. But as I said, to be in the UFC, you have to be good all around. I’ve also been training for a long time to improve my striking; in my home country we have a lot of world class strikers and champions, and they really push me to improve my power punch. I want to get into a striking game, but I want to take it to the ground to gain advantage, as I feel more at home.

How hard is it physically to go to the third round (In a fight)?

Mina: Well, I just had two fights go into the third round, and when we’re in the camp, we really go for the three rounds or five rounds, so we have to push. The only thing is, it’s not only about the physical aspect, but it’s about your pride. You’re tired, and there’s a lot more pressure.

Who is your biggest inspiration in the world of MMA?

Mina: *Sighs* Man, I’m from Brazil, I’m just among champions, y’know? Very very hard to say that. But as I said, my first inspiration is Royce Gracie. He was a pioneer of jiu – jitsu, and because of that influence and MMA, I had the chance to travel across 25 countries in the world – Work in gyms, give seminars and everything else. So I don’t want to be rude or unfair with the crew of champions we have in Brazil, like Aldo, Anderson Silva and Barao – These guys are great fighters and I really admire them. But I’d have to say Royce Gracie.

We then spoke about his scheduled opponent for UFC Fight Night – Macao, Zak Cummings, what he thought about early stoppages and more! Listen to the complete audio below.

Alberto Mina’s fight with Zak Cummings was cancelled, as Cummings failed to make weight, exceeding the weight limit by well over 8 pounds! I had the opportunity to catch up with Alberto Mina once again after the news broke out, and he sounded very disappointed.

Mina: We unfortunately heard today that he (Cummings) was unable to make the weight, and he wasn’t just one pound over or two pounds over, he was nearly 8 pounds over the weight limit. And the doctors didn’t let him fight in catch weight due to health issues. I made my weight, and I don’t have to tell you how important it is to fight in Macao, to represent Hong Kong. I brought my people here all the way from Hong Kong to support me. Unfortunately, it’s not going to happen. I’m ready to fight anyone anywhere, but the main thing is, if you’re representing a category or division, you must make your weight. I made my weight, but he didn’t. I cannot go against my coaches, and you can’t imagine how hard it was, and how frustrating it is. My friends in States are waiting to see me fight, and even here. Unfortunately, I have nothing to say and at the same time, I need to be professional. In the eyes of my coaches, 8 pounds is way too much.

Do you think he (Cummings) did not take the fight too seriously?

Mina: Um, listen, I’ll be professional. I don’t know what happened, I knew from his previous fights, jumping from light heavyweight to middle weight is hard to be fair to him. But at the moment, it’s that way. Believe me, if I could fight I would, I don’t care. But I have a whole camp behind or a coach behind. So I can’t do that.

You can find the audio clip below.

Mina might have not fought at UFC – Fight Night Macao, but I’m sure he’ll make huge waves in the UFC once he debuts on the big stage. You can follow Alberto on Twitter at @alberto_mina. And for all the UFC fans, UFC 171 will come to us live from Dallas on the 15th of March!