Glória Maria contributed to demystify MMA in Brazil

The journalist Glória Maria died this Thursday in Rio de Janeiro. One of the biggest icons of Brazilian television news, the carioca also contributed to the promotion of MMA, which was still called vale tudo, in 2003, when she traveled to Japan to cover an edition of Pride FC for Fantástico.

The report had as protagonists Rodrigo Minotauro and Wanderlei Silva, who, despite being treated like pop stars on the other side of the world, were practically anonymous in Brazil. Glória Maria herself admitted that until shortly before finalizing production, she had a completely wrong view of what MMA was.

“I had an image of fighters as troglodytes, what was surprising was realizing that it was nothing like that. I met normal, intelligent young men. “I’ve seen concerts and shows all over the world and I’ve never seen something as big as this”, declared Glória Maria in an interview to journalist Marcelo Alonso.

“For me it was the discovery of a sport that, I confess, I hated and now I give my hand to the paddle. It was a spectacle beyond any expectations, we should never judge things by appearance or from a distance, we have to get in the eye of the hurricane to see how it is”, completed the journalism legend.

Ten years after this historic report for MMA, Glória Maria was honored by the brothers Rodrigo Minotauro, Rogério Minotouro and journalist Fernando Flores, becoming the name of the press room located inside Team Nogueira’s training center.