Shooto will crown its new welterweight champion when Tommy Depret enters the ring to face Hernani Perpetuo in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, two years after Luis Ramos vacated his title to make his UFC debut.
The title fight headlines Shooto Brazil 42 – Fight for BOPE 3 on Aug. 25.
Depret last fought in October, earning a third-round TKO win over MMA veteran Yuya Shirai at Glory World Series. Undefeated in his last eight fights, Perpetuo owns the Shooto South-American welterweight championship, and has won seven of his 10 fights under the Shooto banner with one no contest.
“I will score another knockout,” Perpetuo told MMAFighting on Friday. “He comes from one of the best striking teams of the world, Golden Glory, but I will knock him out if he tries to stand and bang with me. I know he has some submissions on his record as well, but I don’t care. I’m training hard, I’m ready.”
Perpetuo hopes to get more opportunities once he gets a belt that belonged to fighters like Shinya Aoki and Jake Shields in the past.
“Shooto is a very traditional event, with more than 20 years, and winning this fight will open a lot of doors for me,” he said. “Getting in the UFC would be the next step, but I train to be the best, and that’s my goal.”