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wgs2005 · 08-13-2007, 02:19 PM

MMANEWS.COM | In-Depth Look At A Day Of Training For Marcus Aurelio

Tony Ortiz of BleedingEdge.MMA.com sent along the following ...

Do you hate your job? Do you wish you could be doing something else for a living? Have you abandoned your dreams of becoming a professional athlete? Well, if you are sick of your nine to five and want to know how the other half lives, here is your chance to decide whether or not the grass really is greener on the other side of the fence. Marcus “Maximus” Aurelio is a professional MMA fighter with a record of fourteen wins and four losses. He has recently signed a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will cover his next four fights. Marcus will be making his debut against Clay Guida on August 25th. I recently caught up with “Maximus” to observe how one of the best in his profession goes about a typical day.

Aurelio begins his day at 8 A.M. The first order of business is his morning cardio. A forty-minute run on an empty stomach is the usual jumpstart to a busy day. After working up the first of many thorough sweats, it’s time to eat. Breakfast usually consists of egg whites, whole-wheat toast and coffee. After eating, Marcus tries to conserve as much energy as possible by resting until the next workout. Thirty minutes before beginning the next portion of his training, Marcus drinks a pre-performance shake for energy.

Most of Marcus’ training is done at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida. Today at noon, training will begin for the professional fighters. Those in attendance include Kalib Starnes, Jorge Santiago, Rafael “The Claw” Diaz, Denis Kang, Thiago “Pit bull” Alves, Gesias “JZ” Calvancanti, Wilson Gouveia, Mike Brown and, of course, Marcus Aurelio. The trainers consist of Master Marcus “Conan” Silveira, former Muay Thai champion Mohammed Ouali, and strength and conditioning coach “Benkei.”

At roughly 12:15 P.M. the fighters begin prepping for training by wrapping their hands, along with stretching and talking as they do independent warm ups. A job started is a job half done. I remember a teacher telling me that in high school. Apparently the same holds true for group training. It’s seemingly a chore just to get everyone focused on even beginning. Before organized warm up begins, Marcus tells me “Let me know if you need anything. I’ll be here.” He also foreshadows the arduous training ahead as he shakes his head and states, “Today is a hard day.” As Marcus walks to the warm up area, Gesias notices me and greets me with an accented “Hey, my friend.” As I shake his hand, I ask if he is still going to be fighting in the upcoming K-1 Heroes tournament. His response is a confident “Oh yes!” As the reigning tournament champion, why wouldn’t he be?

Its 12:30 P.M. as organized warm ups begin. It is evident by his loud voice and constant talking and joking that JZ is a source of energy that the others can feed off of. Warm up consists of running around the biggest mat in the gym and bending to touch the ground after an interval of a few paces. This is followed by heel touches, high knee lifts, sprinting and running backwards. The warm ups complete, and the fighters are told to place their headgear on and get water if needed. At this time, the trainers apply Vaseline to the faces of the fighters to help prevent cuts in training. Meanwhile, Conan Silveira makes one last loud reminder that “everybody wears head gear.” Silveira also issues somewhat of a warning: “Everybody goes 100 percent.” Then, everyone partners up, and the specialized drills begin.

The first drill consists of one person placing his back to the wall or cage and the other person going for the takedown. The object is mainly to help the person being pinned against the fence or wall to prevent takedowns. Marcus had been in full Muay Thai gear up to this point and asked me to help him take off his shin pads. Marcus and Thiago start things off in the cage. Thiago Alves who normally fights at 170 pounds and is in the weight class just above Aurelio’s, is naturally the bigger and more muscular of the two. JZ and Rafael Diaz are in the ring behind me while all others are on the main mat. Early in the drill a loud takedown can be heard throughout the gym. I look over and see JZ is now in Rafael’s guard. Instead of doing the drill, Marcus and Thiago spar. No head gear is used since both of them have upcoming fights. A common training method is to do some sparring without head and get more accustomed to being hit as the fight approaches. Once Conan notices that Marcus and Thiago are mainly sparring he urges Marcus to perform the drill. He then goes for a takedown. As he is met with resistance by Thiago, Conan calls for time and allows everyone a one-minute rest. At this point Marcus gets his shin pads back on. After sixty seconds have passed, the second drill begins.

The second drill is a striking-only drill. The focus is on striking and avoiding strikes. Mohammed Ouali is a bigger part of this drill. In the cage at this time along with Thiago and Marcus are Wilson Gouveia and Denis Kang. All are without head gear except for Denis Kang. After a bit of feigning and evading punches and kicks, Conan urges Thiago to shoot in. Marcus stuffs this takedown attempt and the one that immediately followed. Time is once again called but no rest is given. Conan instructs the fighters to now switch roles in the drill and begin again. Marcus is now shooting in on Thiago. Thiago sprawls well and avoids the takedown. On his last attempt at a takedown, Marcus is stone walled by Thiago, but he then reverses his momentum and performs a beautiful judo throw as time expires and Conan allows another water break.

Once again, it’s time to switch up partners. Now it is “JZ” against “Maximus.” Gesias is a 155lb fighter with great wrestling ability and aggressiveness. Although both fighters are in the lightweight division, Marcus has the size advantage of the two. JZ is slightly getting the better of Marcus in the stand up sparring battle. Even though this was an all stand up drill, JZ instinctively goes for the take down on the unsuspecting Aurelio and gets it easily. Benkei yells “No takedowns!” Aurelio, being in his element on the ground and on his back, wants to continue and not lose the momentum gained in this training session. This is a classic match up of wrestler/brawler vs. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu expert. Although on his back, “Maximus” traps Calvancanti’s right arm and attempts two arm bars. JZ defends the submission well, and with his gloved left hand begins punching Marcus in the face as time is called.

Marcus must now train with Denis Kang. Denis fights at middleweight, which is two full weight classes above Marcus. He is also ranked 6th in the world in his weight division. Marcus is showing definite signs of fatigue at this point. Denis is getting the better of Marcus who appears to be on the defensive. At Benkei’s urging, Marcus shoots in and scores the takedown. Soon afterwards, Marcus transitions to Kang’s back to attempt a rear naked choke. For the sake of the drill, which is sparring and takedowns/takedown defense, they agree to stand it back up. Towards the end of the drill, Denis scores the takedown on the weary Aurelio and transitions to the mounted position as time expires.

As this drill ended, I noticed a bit of commotion coming from the ring area. As I looked over, I noticed Rafael Diaz being attended to. He is speaking loudly in Portuguese with his hands around his face and a trail of blood coming from his nose. I’m still not sure whom he was sparring with at the time. A week later, I saw Rafael and I can confirm his nose was broken in that exchange.

Now the fighters are instructed to switch to MMA gloves for the last drill of the group workout. Aurelio is now partnered with Wilson Gouveia. Wilson competes in the light heavyweight division at 205 pounds. He has a solid standup game and is also a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt. The focal point of this drill is takedowns and submissions. Striking is held to a minimum due to the four-ounce MMA gloves being used. Marcus takes the fight to the ground and secures a solid arm bar. At this point of training, almost everyone except Marcus and Wilson, who are currently in the cage, are doing individual shadow boxing and sprawl/takedown defense drills. Aurelio and Gouveia continue the drill even as their teammates wind down. Marcus is so tired at this point that Wilson is loudly urging and encouraging him to continue and finish strong. Time is called for the last time and Marcus lays out flat on the floor. All participants shake hands as the training session ends mercifully at around 1:30 P.M.

There was a weird silence in the gym at that time. It reminded me of the day after a hurricane when it’s usually one of the nicest and calmest days you will have in south Florida. It’s mainly a result of the devastation that has just happened. You need time to compose yourself and get things together. The same vibe was present at the gym. Slowly everyone starts having side conversations that get louder and louder and soon gym life is back to normal. A small group of fighters and trainers are still on the main mat but few have the energy to stand. The fighters that remain are Jorge Santiago, Wilson Gouveia, Thiago Alves, Marcus Aurelio and two trainers. Wilson, who is now laughing and joking loudly, seems to have taken over for Gesias as the energy source. Conversations conclude as everyone goes their separate ways.

08-13-2007, 02:19 PM	#1 (permalink)
wgs2005 Banned Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Wales Posts: 1,364 Points: 15,478 Bank: 1,149 Total Points: 16,627 Donate	Marcus Aurelio's typical day of training MMANEWS.COM \| In-Depth Look At A Day Of Training For Marcus Aurelio Tony Ortiz of BleedingEdge.MMA.com sent along the following ... Do you hate your job? Do you wish you could be doing something else for a living? Have you abandoned your dreams of becoming a professional athlete? Well, if you are sick of your nine to five and want to know how the other half lives, here is your chance to decide whether or not the grass really is greener on the other side of the fence. Marcus “Maximus” Aurelio is a professional MMA fighter with a record of fourteen wins and four losses. He has recently signed a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will cover his next four fights. Marcus will be making his debut against Clay Guida on August 25th. I recently caught up with “Maximus” to observe how one of the best in his profession goes about a typical day. Aurelio begins his day at 8 A.M. The first order of business is his morning cardio. A forty-minute run on an empty stomach is the usual jumpstart to a busy day. After working up the first of many thorough sweats, it’s time to eat. Breakfast usually consists of egg whites, whole-wheat toast and coffee. After eating, Marcus tries to conserve as much energy as possible by resting until the next workout. Thirty minutes before beginning the next portion of his training, Marcus drinks a pre-performance shake for energy. Most of Marcus’ training is done at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida. Today at noon, training will begin for the professional fighters. Those in attendance include Kalib Starnes, Jorge Santiago, Rafael “The Claw” Diaz, Denis Kang, Thiago “Pit bull” Alves, Gesias “JZ” Calvancanti, Wilson Gouveia, Mike Brown and, of course, Marcus Aurelio. The trainers consist of Master Marcus “Conan” Silveira, former Muay Thai champion Mohammed Ouali, and strength and conditioning coach “Benkei.” At roughly 12:15 P.M. the fighters begin prepping for training by wrapping their hands, along with stretching and talking as they do independent warm ups. A job started is a job half done. I remember a teacher telling me that in high school. Apparently the same holds true for group training. It’s seemingly a chore just to get everyone focused on even beginning. Before organized warm up begins, Marcus tells me “Let me know if you need anything. I’ll be here.” He also foreshadows the arduous training ahead as he shakes his head and states, “Today is a hard day.” As Marcus walks to the warm up area, Gesias notices me and greets me with an accented “Hey, my friend.” As I shake his hand, I ask if he is still going to be fighting in the upcoming K-1 Heroes tournament. His response is a confident “Oh yes!” As the reigning tournament champion, why wouldn’t he be? Its 12:30 P.M. as organized warm ups begin. It is evident by his loud voice and constant talking and joking that JZ is a source of energy that the others can feed off of. Warm up consists of running around the biggest mat in the gym and bending to touch the ground after an interval of a few paces. This is followed by heel touches, high knee lifts, sprinting and running backwards. The warm ups complete, and the fighters are told to place their headgear on and get water if needed. At this time, the trainers apply Vaseline to the faces of the fighters to help prevent cuts in training. Meanwhile, Conan Silveira makes one last loud reminder that “everybody wears head gear.” Silveira also issues somewhat of a warning: “Everybody goes 100 percent.” Then, everyone partners up, and the specialized drills begin. The first drill consists of one person placing his back to the wall or cage and the other person going for the takedown. The object is mainly to help the person being pinned against the fence or wall to prevent takedowns. Marcus had been in full Muay Thai gear up to this point and asked me to help him take off his shin pads. Marcus and Thiago start things off in the cage. Thiago Alves who normally fights at 170 pounds and is in the weight class just above Aurelio’s, is naturally the bigger and more muscular of the two. JZ and Rafael Diaz are in the ring behind me while all others are on the main mat. Early in the drill a loud takedown can be heard throughout the gym. I look over and see JZ is now in Rafael’s guard. Instead of doing the drill, Marcus and Thiago spar. No head gear is used since both of them have upcoming fights. A common training method is to do some sparring without head and get more accustomed to being hit as the fight approaches. Once Conan notices that Marcus and Thiago are mainly sparring he urges Marcus to perform the drill. He then goes for a takedown. As he is met with resistance by Thiago, Conan calls for time and allows everyone a one-minute rest. At this point Marcus gets his shin pads back on. After sixty seconds have passed, the second drill begins. The second drill is a striking-only drill. The focus is on striking and avoiding strikes. Mohammed Ouali is a bigger part of this drill. In the cage at this time along with Thiago and Marcus are Wilson Gouveia and Denis Kang. All are without head gear except for Denis Kang. After a bit of feigning and evading punches and kicks, Conan urges Thiago to shoot in. Marcus stuffs this takedown attempt and the one that immediately followed. Time is once again called but no rest is given. Conan instructs the fighters to now switch roles in the drill and begin again. Marcus is now shooting in on Thiago. Thiago sprawls well and avoids the takedown. On his last attempt at a takedown, Marcus is stone walled by Thiago, but he then reverses his momentum and performs a beautiful judo throw as time expires and Conan allows another water break. Once again, it’s time to switch up partners. Now it is “JZ” against “Maximus.” Gesias is a 155lb fighter with great wrestling ability and aggressiveness. Although both fighters are in the lightweight division, Marcus has the size advantage of the two. JZ is slightly getting the better of Marcus in the stand up sparring battle. Even though this was an all stand up drill, JZ instinctively goes for the take down on the unsuspecting Aurelio and gets it easily. Benkei yells “No takedowns!” Aurelio, being in his element on the ground and on his back, wants to continue and not lose the momentum gained in this training session. This is a classic match up of wrestler/brawler vs. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu expert. Although on his back, “Maximus” traps Calvancanti’s right arm and attempts two arm bars. JZ defends the submission well, and with his gloved left hand begins punching Marcus in the face as time is called. Marcus must now train with Denis Kang. Denis fights at middleweight, which is two full weight classes above Marcus. He is also ranked 6th in the world in his weight division. Marcus is showing definite signs of fatigue at this point. Denis is getting the better of Marcus who appears to be on the defensive. At Benkei’s urging, Marcus shoots in and scores the takedown. Soon afterwards, Marcus transitions to Kang’s back to attempt a rear naked choke. For the sake of the drill, which is sparring and takedowns/takedown defense, they agree to stand it back up. Towards the end of the drill, Denis scores the takedown on the weary Aurelio and transitions to the mounted position as time expires. As this drill ended, I noticed a bit of commotion coming from the ring area. As I looked over, I noticed Rafael Diaz being attended to. He is speaking loudly in Portuguese with his hands around his face and a trail of blood coming from his nose. I’m still not sure whom he was sparring with at the time. A week later, I saw Rafael and I can confirm his nose was broken in that exchange. Now the fighters are instructed to switch to MMA gloves for the last drill of the group workout. Aurelio is now partnered with Wilson Gouveia. Wilson competes in the light heavyweight division at 205 pounds. He has a solid standup game and is also a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt. The focal point of this drill is takedowns and submissions. Striking is held to a minimum due to the four-ounce MMA gloves being used. Marcus takes the fight to the ground and secures a solid arm bar. At this point of training, almost everyone except Marcus and Wilson, who are currently in the cage, are doing individual shadow boxing and sprawl/takedown defense drills. Aurelio and Gouveia continue the drill even as their teammates wind down. Marcus is so tired at this point that Wilson is loudly urging and encouraging him to continue and finish strong. Time is called for the last time and Marcus lays out flat on the floor. All participants shake hands as the training session ends mercifully at around 1:30 P.M. There was a weird silence in the gym at that time. It reminded me of the day after a hurricane when it’s usually one of the nicest and calmest days you will have in south Florida. It’s mainly a result of the devastation that has just happened. You need time to compose yourself and get things together. The same vibe was present at the gym. Slowly everyone starts having side conversations that get louder and louder and soon gym life is back to normal. A small group of fighters and trainers are still on the main mat but few have the energy to stand. The fighters that remain are Jorge Santiago, Wilson Gouveia, Thiago Alves, Marcus Aurelio and two trainers. Wilson, who is now laughing and joking loudly, seems to have taken over for Gesias as the energy source. Conversations conclude as everyone goes their separate ways.