Quiet Confidence - Hermes Franca - 1/20/2004
by Michael DiSanto

Remember the old phrase, its the quiet ones that you have to watch out for? That phrase fits Hermes Franca perfectly. In a world filled with athletes who talk better than they perform, the American Top Team standout is like a breath of fresh air. He chooses to remain respectful and humble in the face of competition, as he lets his fighting skills do the talking for him. And that is just fine because they speak very, very loudly.

A black belt in jiu-jitsu, Hermes Franca is a dangerous opponent for any 155 pound fighter in the world. The undefeated Brazilian made his UFC debut last April at UFC 42 against a very tough AKA fighter named Richard Cleat Crunkilton. After a back and forth battle that saw Franca display his amazing ground skills even dislocating Crunkiltons elbow from an armbar - he got the well deserved unanimous decision. Make no mistake about it, however, Franca is much more than just another grappler trying his hand at MMA. And he proved it in his very next fight by knocking out the highly regarded Caol Uno at UFC 44 with a beautiful, albeit unorthadox, leaping right hand. Believe me, Hermes Franca is the real deal.

After beating Crunkilton and Uno, Franca now sits firmly upon every legitimate top-10 lightweight rankings list in the business. On January 31st, he will put his ranking and undefeated record on the line against the tough AKA submission fighter and Crunkilton teammate, Josh Thompson, at UFC 46: Super Natural. Nicknamed the Punk, Thompson is the polar opposite of Hermes Franca. He is a brash, young fighter who isnt afraid to tell the world exactly what he thinks. But people should not confuse Francas calm and reserved demeanor for fear or weakness. He has a quiet confidence about him that lets you know Hermes Franca will show up on January 31st fully prepared and focused to do battle with the Punk in what has the potential to be the fight of the night!

We had a chance to speak briefly with Hermes Franca while he was training at the American Top Teams facility in South Florida.

InsideFighting: Hows training going?
Hermes Franca: Im training hard every day. In the morning, I work my jiu-jitsu. In the afternoons, I work wrestling. A couple days a week I do Muay Thai and boxing.

IF: Whats your typical training day like?
Hermes: Man, its all day long. Im here for 7 or 8 hours every day. I only go home to eat or rest for a little bit. I train very, very hard.

IF: When you look forward to your fight with Josh Thompson, how do you see the fight unfolding?
Hermes: I think its going to be a war because Josh Thompson is strong, man. Hes in great shape and Im sure hes training hard. Everyone wants to be the champ, you know? So I think it will be a war. If he fights anything like his teammate, Richard Crunkilton, then it is going to be tough because Richard was very strong. I think Thompson will be very strong too. Richard Crunkilton was a very tough fighter. Man, it is going to be a great fight.

IF: What is your game plan for this fight? Do you want to take the fight to the ground or will you test your standup against Thompson?
Hermes: I have great coaches. Marcello Silveria and Ricardo Liborio will be in my corner. So I feel good. Man, I dont know whats going to happen, so I just prepare myself for everything. If he wants to fight like a wrestler, then Ill wrestle with him. If he wants to try to ground and pound me, thats fine. Ive also been working my standup very hard a lot of Muay Thai really so I can do that too. I just really want to win this fight. I really want to win.

IF: Whats next for you if you can win this fight? Do you see yourself fighting in the UFC for a long period of time or have you ever considered going over to Japan?
Hermes: I have a manager, so I dont really know about that stuff. I dont know when or who Im going to fight. I just train hard and then my manager tells me when and who I will fight. Yes, I want to fight in Japan. I want to fight in the UFC. I just want to fight because I am a fighter. But the American Top Team has a manager, and he handles that stuff.

Does it bug you that there is no UFC lightweight title right now?
Hermes: Yes, it does. I want to fight for the UFC lightweight title. The UFC has the best lightweight fighters in the world. So Im training very hard to be the UFC lightweight champion.

IF: As you prepare for Thompson, are you sparring with other lightweights or are you sparring with bigger, stronger guys since Thompson is known serious knockout power?
Hermes: The American Top Team is very good for lightweights. I have a lot of partners to spar with that are my size. I have Marcos Aurillio. He just won the ZST tournament in Japan, so hes a good, good partner for me. Hes helped me a lot. Din Thomas is 155 pounds too, so hes helped me a lot. I have great sparring partners here.

IF: You sound focused and ready to go.
Hermes: I want to go to Vegas right now. I dont really like to talk about after the fight because Im focused on Josh Thompson right now. I am training hard and really want to win. After that, I dont know whats going to happen, you know?

IF: I dont want to interrupt too much of your training, so well wrap this up. In closing, is there anything else that you want to say to your fans?
Hermes: I would like to say thank you to my fans. I want to say thank you to my friends at the American Top Team, and also to my family. And I want to also thank all of my sponsors Ground-n-Pound, Sherdog and the others theyve really helped me out a lot. I also want to say thank you to you for this interview.

IF: Its my pleasure, Hermes. Good luck in your fight with Josh Thompson and stay healthy.
Hermes: Thank you so much, my friend. I really appreciate it.

Folks, if you plan to attend UFC 46, make sure to get there early to watch Hermes Franca and Josh Thompson do battle. They say that styles make fights. This one is no different. Franca is not afraid to stand and throw hands, and Thompson lives for that moment. On the ground, Franca is a black belt who uses transition jiu-jitsu, rather than "lay and pray," to try and end fights. Thompson, on the other hand, is well versed in submissions and has unbelievable submission defense. And the aggressive nature of each fighter makes me believe that there's no way this thing goes to a decision. Crunkilton-Franca was a great fight, and this one has the potential to be even better!

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