Regivaldo Carvalho & the Champion’s Creed: Dreams, Sacrifices & Hard Work

MASHANTUCKET, CT – Regivaldo “Black Cat” Carvalho (9-4) makes the first defense of his CES MMA Featherweight World Championship on Saturday, August 3rd, when he takes on Wisconsin’s Jordan Schulte (7-2).Â
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The bout is the CES MMA 78 co-feature, a stacked 7-fight card taking place at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, CT.Â
Limited tickets are still available for CES MMA 78 starting at $77 at CES Fights and Ticketmaster. Purchase yours now as this event is sure to sell out!
This will be the Black Cat’s third consecutive fight at Foxwoods with CES, and the venue is beginning to feel like home for the Danbury, CT resident.
“I have a lot of support here,” says a grateful Carvalho. “A lot of people are coming from Danbury to see me fight, and it makes me feel relaxed and at home.”
The last time Carvalho fought at ‘The Wonder of it All,’ he electrified the crowd with a first-round submission of Don Shainis to win the world featherweight title.  The victory was the culmination of a dream that began 12 years ago in his native Brazil.
“It was an amazing feeling,” says Carvalho of winning the world title.  “I work with a Brazilian coach named Anderson, and we tried to visualize what it would be like to win the championship, but it was different in that moment.  It’s like everything stopped as I heard the crowd celebrate and the announcer call me the new champion.”Â
While the moment was very special to him, Carvalho did not take a long victory tour after the win.  Instead, the fighter went right back to the gym.
“I never stopped training,” says the 30-year-old. “I celebrated with my team and my family, but nothing crazy.  I was back at the gym 3 days after the fight.”   Â
They say that if you stay ready, you never have to get ready, and that seems to be a philosophy that the entire team at Glover Texeira’s MMA & Fitness gym live by.Â
“I’m from Glover Texeira’s gym, and we never stop,” agrees Carvalho of Texeira’s gym, located in Bethel, CT. “Alex Pereira is my teammate and it’s the same for him.  With Glover, we train 2 times a day, every day.  If we have a fight, we come back to training right away.  We don’t take vacations, but we do enjoy ourselves.  We like to have barbecues together after we train, but we never stop.”
While that regimen may sound difficult to maintain, Carvalho and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Periera are prime examples that the approach leads to championship success.
“At our gym, it’s a lifestyle,” elaborates Carvalho.  “If you live like that, you can do it.  It’s just another day in the office.”
When speaking with Carvalho, one gets the sense that he is an introspective man who is fully dedicated to his craft.  When you learn about the sacrifices he’s made to get to this level, you begin to understand why he puts so much of himself into his craft.
“My mom comes from Brazil on Saturday, and my father came to visit last year,” says Regivaldo, who flew his parents in from Campinas to see him fight.  “This the first time I’ll see my mom in about 8 years, and almost the same with my father. I had to take a very cold approach to achieve my dreams.  It’s the most important thing to me.  I have a narrow focus and I don’t compromise my dreams for anything. This is why I work so hard, because I left everything when I was 18 years old.”
The hard work has paid off over time.  The fighter first practiced Kyokushin Karate, eventually earning a black belt and becoming a 2-time Brazilian Champion.  Eventually Carvalho moved to the famed Chute Boxe Academy in Curitiba.
“It was 12 years ago, but it feels like it was yesterday,” reflects Carvalho of his start in MMA.  “I can’t explain it, but it’s like time stood still and all I did was work hard and learn new things every day.”
In 2015, the Black Cat was called up to fight in the “Front Street Fights” in Idaho.  Carvalho lost those fights, but he met Glover Texeira and was convinced that he needed to move to the United States to take his training and his career to the next level.
“When I was kid, my dream was to live in America,” explains Carvalho. “I told myself, ‘I’ll be there one day,’ and when I think of something, I just do it.  I don’t worry about anything, I just set my mind to achieving something and I just go for it.”
The Black Cat’s next goal was to win a world championship. Under Texeira’s tutelage, Carvalho improved with each outing, eventually earning a title shot against Don Shainis in his second appearance with CES MMA.
While most pundits thought the fight against Shainis would be a battle of wills, Carvalho’s superior technique and speed earned him a submission win in just 50 seconds of the first round.
“I worked very hard for that fight, and that’s why I won so quickly,” says Carvalho. “I think we can accomplish anything we believe in, and I believe in myself a lot.”
Carvalho achieved his dream of winning a world title in emphatic fashion, but now he must fight to defend it.  In his way on August 3rd will be Jordan Schulte, a jiu-jitsu specialist riding a 5-fight win streak.
“I respect him,” says Carvalho of his opponent, who trains out of the Capital City MMA & BJJ.  “He’s from the same gym as Alex Gilpin, who I fought last year, so I know that he’s a good, tough fighter.”
While Carvalho gives Schulte the respect he deserves as a fighter, the Brazilian is steadfast in his belief that the work he put in will give him the victory next Saturday.
“The key to victory will be hard work, that’s it,” emphasizes Carvalho.  “Hard work pays off and God takes care of the rest.”
The rest happens on August 3rd, on a stacked card at ‘The Wonder of it All’.Â
“I want to welcome everyone who will come to Foxwoods to see my first title defense, because my team worked really hard and I want to enjoy this victory with all of you,” says Carvalho.  “On August 3rd, it will be ‘And Still’!”Â

Roberto Villa is the CEO, Founder, Executive Writer, Senior Editor of FightBook MMA. Has a passion for Combat Sports and also a podcast host for Sitting Ringside. He’s also a former MMA fighter and Kickboxer.
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