Northeast MMA

July Fighter of the Month -Rene Nazare

By: David Pasquarelli

Northeast MMA fighter of the month for July is Rene Nazare who is set to defend his Reality Fighting Lightweight title against Will Kerr on November 7^th. Rene is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and a four time Mundials Bjj champion winning as a blue, purple, brown and black belt. Now fighting out of Dungeon MMA, Rene is has and undefeated record of five wins in the United States and on win in Brazil by tko. At just 27 years old and now settled into life in the U.S. Nazare looks to hold onto his belt and constantly move forward in his career and seems to have nothing but upside potential. Rene was kind enough to take the time to answer some questions for NortheastMMA and his responses are below.

NEMMA:  You are a four time Mundials champion so you are known as a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighter. How long have you trained in BJJ?

Rene Nazare: 12 years.

NEMMA:  Was BJJ your first martial art or did you start with something else?

Nazare:  BJJ was my first.

 NEMMA:  Who was your BJJ instructor in Brazil, what school do you come from?

 Nazare:  My teacher is Rodrigo Antonio Garcia, Team Club Feijao.

 NEMMA:  How long have you been training to fight in mixed martial arts?

Nazare:  Two years with team Dungeon.

NEMMA:  What else do you like to do for fun when you aren’t training? Are you into any other sports or hobbies?

Nazare:  I like to run and spend time with my family.

NEMMA:  Who is your favorite MMA fighter that is currently fighting and why?

 Nazare:  Anderson Silva, because he does things in the ring nobody else can do.

 NEMMA: Who is your favorite all-time fighter?

Nazare:   My BJJ coach.

NEMMA: Who is the toughest guy that you have fought so far?

Nazare:  Brian McLoughlin.

NEMMA:  Has it been hard to go from living and fighting in Brazil to living and fighting in the United States? How has that transition been?

Nazare:  It was very hard at first getting used to the cold weather and having to learn English. But once I found John Burke and joined team Dungeon the transition was much easier.

NEMMA:  You have a Reality Fighting Lightweight title defense coming up against Will Kerr. Without giving away your strategy, how do you see that fight ending? What do you see in your opponent that you might be able to exploit to win?

Nazare:  I know he has good stand up and ground and pound skills but he doesn’t have a black belt in anything. I’ve been working hard on my striking and I feel comfortable fighting standing up or on the ground and am ready to defend my title.

NEMMA:  In May NortheastMMA.net had you ranked #2 at 155 pounds and had Kerr ranked at #1. Now you guys have a title showdown, does this give you more motivation in this fight than usual to show that you deserve the number one spot at 155 pounds in the New England area?

Nazare:  Yes this definitely motivates me. Kerr is a tough guy and this makes me work even harder to defend my title and in my BJJ career always I look to be number one.

 NEMMA:  Do you have any sponsors? Who are they?

Nazare:  No. Not yet.

NEMMA:  Do you have a website or Myspace page where people can keep up to date on your career? Nazare:  I have a Myspace, Rene Nazare.

NEMMA:  Do you have any parting thoughts for the NortheastMMA.net fans?

Nazare:  First I want to say thank you to Northeastmma for naming me fighter of the month for July and putting me on their website. I’m ready to put on a good show for you guys, hope you get to see the fight.