I felt rectified vindicated. After putting my faith in Frank Trigg and Ronnys Torres to come out victorious, Paulo Thiago's counter combination in the second round of action against Mike Swick provided relief. The subsequent pouncing and applied D'arce choke that immediately incapacitated Swick caused a lot of cheering and high fives. The upset pick had provided an escape from the pain of my terrible foresight and my pocketbook.
The 29-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt hailing out of Brasilia, Brazil is now making a name for himself as not only the "AKA Killer", but he's impressively made his way up the ranks as a legitimate top ten welterweight fighter. What exactly can be attributed to his success?
Interestingly enough, his entry into the UFC was considered by many to be a "tryout" with the promotion. His manager, Jungle Fight founder Wallid Ismail, insisted that Paulo had been given a contract with the promotion when he signed on to battle Josh Koscheck at UFC 95, but as we all know -- the UFC's ability to cut contracts is uncontested.
Fortunately for Paulo, his left hook/right uppercut combination after being battered for most of the first round connected beautifully to down Koscheck and give Thiago one of the biggest upset victories of 2009. Most fans considered the win "lucky", including myself, but as we began to see over the course of his next three fights -- Paulo Thiago is anything but lucky.
Thiago showed some brilliant Brazilian jiu-jitsu techniques against Jon Fitch despite the loss, much improved striking in his battle with Jacob Volkmann, and new found power against Mike Swick. Only a handful of fighters in the world can say they are improving by leaps and bounds over the course of a year, and Paulo Thiago is one of them.
Are Mental Gifts the Key to Paulo Thiago's Success?
Paulo Thiago chokes out Mike Swick at UFC 109 - UFC.com