Cris Cyborg will not cut down to 135 pounds after all.
Two and a half months after announcing her decision to drop to the bantamweight division for a bout at Invicta FC 10, the first and only Strikeforce and Invicta FC featherweight champion confirmed she won’t try cutting the extra 10 pounds anymore.
“I can’t. From now on, I will only fight at my weight or in a catchweight,” Cyborg told Tatame on Monday. “I haven’t fought in a long time and that’s why I want to go back to my division.”
Speaking to MMAFighting.com on Dec. 3, the Brazilian brawler said she had postponed the drop to bantamweight, but turns out that the lack of commitment from both UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey and the UFC president Dana White on making the anticipated super fight forced Cyborg to change her mind.
“I realized I’m the only one making an effort for this fight to happen,” she said. “I believe both should make an effort.”
Cyborg, who attended Saturday’s UFC on FOX 13 in Phoenix, expects to put her Invicta FC 145-pound title on the line in February.
Cris Cyborg will not cut down to 135 pounds after all.
Two and a half months after announcing her decision to drop to the bantamweight division for a bout at Invicta FC 10, the first and only Strikeforce and Invicta FC featherweight champion confirmed she won’t try cutting the extra 10 pounds anymore.
“I can’t. From now on, I will only fight at my weight or in a catchweight,” Cyborg told Tatame on Monday. “I haven’t fought in a long time and that’s why I want to go back to my division.”
Speaking to MMAFighting.com on Dec. 3, the Brazilian brawler said she had postponed the drop to bantamweight, but turns out that the lack of commitment from both UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey and the UFC president Dana White on making the anticipated super fight forced Cyborg to change her mind.
“I realized I’m the only one making an effort for this fight to happen,” she said. “I believe both should make an effort.”
Cyborg, who attended Saturday’s UFC on FOX 13 in Phoenix, expects to put her Invicta FC 145-pound title on the line in February.
Rousimar Palhares added another quick submission to his record, but the fight once again ended with controversy.
The World Series of Fighting welterweight champion, who needed 90 seconds to tap Jon Fitch in the main event of WSOF 16 in Sacramento Calif., on Dec. 13, might have injured Fitch with his nasty submission, but feels he did everything by the book.
“I still have to deal with those critics, but I don’t understand why people try to humiliate me like that,” Palhares told MMAFighting.com of the claims that he held the submission too long. “I just go inside the cage to try to be the best I can be. I don’t hold submissions.”
“You can see fighters punching opponents two or three times after they are already knocked out,” he continued. “For an example, see for how long Ronda Rousey holds her armbars. I don’t think she’s wrong. In this sport, you won’t survive if you don’t lock the position really tight. I believe I did what I should have done to win. I didn’t do anything wrong. They are just trying to humiliate me because I submit people, or for other reasons I don’t know.”
Palhares (17-6), currently riding a three-fight winning streak with a trio of quick submissions, feels that fans and media hope he loses his fights.
“I feel they wait for me to do something and then they go after me, but in reality nobody wants me to win,” he said. “They prefer to criticize me instead of applaud me because they feel better this way. They are nothing. They live by other’s images, and they try to put me at their levels with that. I can’t stand it.”
Controversy aside, “Toquinho” gave Fitch one of his quickest losses, and he did in impressive fashion.
“I might be at the best moment of my career,” Palhares said, “but time will tell.”
With impressive wins over Mike Pierce, Steve Carl and Fitch since cutting down to 170 pounds, the grappling wizard admits he expected a longer fight against the fellow UFC veteran at WSOF 16.
“I wasn’t expecting to defeat an athlete of Fitch’s level that fast, but I was well prepared to win and thanks God everything went right,” Palhares said. “He trained some heel hook defense, but I train everything in the gym. I put myself in tough situations so I can evolve and get better every time, so (the transition to the kneebar) was natural.”
Right after the bout, “Toquinho” revealed he had suffered injuries in his training camp for WSOF 16, and he told MMAFighting.com he will have to undergo at least one surgery before his next title defense.
“I had some injuries. In fact, I will undergo a left knee surgery, and I might need a shoulder surgery as well,” he said. “Those are complicated surgeries, but I will time to recover and come back stronger.”
Rousimar Palhares added another quick submission to his record, but the fight once again ended with controversy.
The World Series of Fighting welterweight champion, who needed 90 seconds to tap Jon Fitch in the main event of WSOF 16 in Sacramento Calif., on Dec. 13, might have injured Fitch with his nasty submission, but feels he did everything by the book.
“I still have to deal with those critics, but I don’t understand why people try to humiliate me like that,” Palhares told MMAFighting.com of the claims that he held the submission too long. “I just go inside the cage to try to be the best I can be. I don’t hold submissions.”
“You can see fighters punching opponents two or three times after they are already knocked out,” he continued. “For an example, see for how long Ronda Rousey holds her armbars. I don’t think she’s wrong. In this sport, you won’t survive if you don’t lock the position really tight. I believe I did what I should have done to win. I didn’t do anything wrong. They are just trying to humiliate me because I submit people, or for other reasons I don’t know.”
Palhares (17-6), currently riding a three-fight winning streak with a trio of quick submissions, feels that fans and media hope he loses his fights.
“I feel they wait for me to do something and then they go after me, but in reality nobody wants me to win,” he said. “They prefer to criticize me instead of applaud me because they feel better this way. They are nothing. They live by other’s images, and they try to put me at their levels with that. I can’t stand it.”
Controversy aside, “Toquinho” gave Fitch one of his quickest losses, and he did in impressive fashion.
“I might be at the best moment of my career,” Palhares said, “but time will tell.”
With impressive wins over Mike Pierce, Steve Carl and Fitch since cutting down to 170 pounds, the grappling wizard admits he expected a longer fight against the fellow UFC veteran at WSOF 16.
“I wasn’t expecting to defeat an athlete of Fitch’s level that fast, but I was well prepared to win and thanks God everything went right,” Palhares said. “He trained some heel hook defense, but I train everything in the gym. I put myself in tough situations so I can evolve and get better every time, so (the transition to the kneebar) was natural.”
Right after the bout, “Toquinho” revealed he had suffered injuries in his training camp for WSOF 16, and he told MMAFighting.com he will have to undergo at least one surgery before his next title defense.
“I had some injuries. In fact, I will undergo a left knee surgery, and I might need a shoulder surgery as well,” he said. “Those are complicated surgeries, but I will time to recover and come back stronger.”
Tyson Nam was brought in to lose the first time he fought in Brazil. Two years later, he wants another upset.
Nam was an 11-4 prospect from Team Quest when he was booked to fight Eduardo Dantas, the then Bellator bantamweight champion. The Nova Uniao fighter, who had dominated his past seven opponents going into that bout, was waiting for the next Bellator tournament winner to put his title on the line, so the promotion let him compete in Brazil under the Shooto banner to stay active.
It couldn’t have been worse.
Dantas, the huge favorite that night, was fighting in front of his teammates, friends and family in Rio de Janeiro. He was so excited to impress his countrymen that he threw everything he could to beat Nam fast, but it didn’t end as he expected. Nam countered a couple knees with a huge right hand, and down went “Dudu”. Out cold.
“They definitely brought me there to be Eduardo’s highlight reel, and they weren’t expecting that outcome,” Nam told MMAFighting.com. “My team and I went up there, and we had a really good feeling. I never had any big high level fight before, but I train with high level guys that had fought in the UFC, Bellator.”
Nam scored the biggest win of his career that night in 2012, but he hasn’t won since. After three straight losses at WSOF and West Coast FC, the Hawaiian fighter is scheduled to once again compete in Brazil, as he headlines Saturday night’s XFC International 8 card in Sao Paulo against Fernando Vieira.
“I’m very excited to come back after two years,” Nam said. “I had a good win last time I was in Brazil, so hopefully it’s going to happen again. Training was good, did the things that I think I need to do to stay healthy and come in a pretty good shape, with a good game plan in order for us to come out with the victory.”
Vieira is 10-2 in MMA, and Nam knows what to expect at XFCi 8.
“He is a world champion in jiu-jitsu, so I couldn’t see him wanting to try anything other than that,” he said. “It’s very successful for him and his career in MMA, so he’s always going to stick with it. For me, I like to punch people in the face, so I think it will be a good match-up between grappler versus striker.
“I’m really good at American wrestling, working a lot with the guys that are really good in jiu-jitsu as well, so just making sure that I know what to do in every situation if Fernando tries to take me down, or try get out of a bad situation if he gets me down to the ground.”
Vieira was finished only once in MMA, a first-round TKO against TUF winner Diego Brandao in 2009, but a lot changes in five years.
“I was not able to pull that fight up over the internet. I would love to see it,” Nam said. “But that fight was a long time ago and fighters do change and improve. I know he’s on a good winning streak right now, so I think that he’s doing the right things he needs to do to keep on with his winning streak as well, but I plan on putting a stop on that win streak.
“I would always like to say that if someone stands in front of me and tries to trade punches with me they’re in a world of hurt, but I’ve practiced stand-up, martial arts from the beginning of my career, so I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of things that be throws at me that I have not seen before, so that’s why I try to really work on the grappling, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, in order to keep the fight where I want it to be.”
Entering a MMA bout in a three-fight losing skid can be tough, but that’s not how Nam looks at the picture.
“Fight to me is like another day in life,” he said. “I wake up, I train, we spar, we fight, we grapple every single day. It isn’t a whole other extra added pressure. To me, it’s kinda excites me. I get to fly over to Sao Paulo, where I’ve never been before. It’s very exciting to me. I get to fight somebody as good as Fernando in a place I’ve never been before. I’m not being stressed about it, but I’m actually anxious and excited to test the skills against Fernando.”
The last time he visited Brazil, Nam ran away from the ring after scoring a quick upset against a Bellator champion. He’s not planning to run away this time at XFCi, but wants to end the fight with a bang.
“I think I’m going to beat him with a lot of good defensive grappling and very technical striking,” Nam said. “Whether the knockout comes, I think I will put on a good beating down on him on December 13.”
Tyson Nam was brought in to lose the first time he fought in Brazil. Two years later, he wants another upset.
Nam was an 11-4 prospect from Team Quest when he was booked to fight Eduardo Dantas, the then Bellator bantamweight champion. The Nova Uniao fighter, who had dominated his past seven opponents going into that bout, was waiting for the next Bellator tournament winner to put his title on the line, so the promotion let him compete in Brazil under the Shooto banner to stay active.
It couldn’t have been worse.
Dantas, the huge favorite that night, was fighting in front of his teammates, friends and family in Rio de Janeiro. He was so excited to impress his countrymen that he threw everything he could to beat Nam fast, but it didn’t end as he expected. Nam countered a couple knees with a huge right hand, and down went “Dudu”. Out cold.
“They definitely brought me there to be Eduardo’s highlight reel, and they weren’t expecting that outcome,” Nam told MMAFighting.com. “My team and I went up there, and we had a really good feeling. I never had any big high level fight before, but I train with high level guys that had fought in the UFC, Bellator.”
Nam scored the biggest win of his career that night in 2012, but he hasn’t won since. After three straight losses at WSOF and West Coast FC, the Hawaiian fighter is scheduled to once again compete in Brazil, as he headlines Saturday night’s XFC International 8 card in Sao Paulo against Fernando Vieira.
“I’m very excited to come back after two years,” Nam said. “I had a good win last time I was in Brazil, so hopefully it’s going to happen again. Training was good, did the things that I think I need to do to stay healthy and come in a pretty good shape, with a good game plan in order for us to come out with the victory.”
Vieira is 10-2 in MMA, and Nam knows what to expect at XFCi 8.
“He is a world champion in jiu-jitsu, so I couldn’t see him wanting to try anything other than that,” he said. “It’s very successful for him and his career in MMA, so he’s always going to stick with it. For me, I like to punch people in the face, so I think it will be a good match-up between grappler versus striker.
“I’m really good at American wrestling, working a lot with the guys that are really good in jiu-jitsu as well, so just making sure that I know what to do in every situation if Fernando tries to take me down, or try get out of a bad situation if he gets me down to the ground.”
Vieira was finished only once in MMA, a first-round TKO against TUF winner Diego Brandao in 2009, but a lot changes in five years.
“I was not able to pull that fight up over the internet. I would love to see it,” Nam said. “But that fight was a long time ago and fighters do change and improve. I know he’s on a good winning streak right now, so I think that he’s doing the right things he needs to do to keep on with his winning streak as well, but I plan on putting a stop on that win streak.
“I would always like to say that if someone stands in front of me and tries to trade punches with me they’re in a world of hurt, but I’ve practiced stand-up, martial arts from the beginning of my career, so I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of things that be throws at me that I have not seen before, so that’s why I try to really work on the grappling, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, in order to keep the fight where I want it to be.”
Entering a MMA bout in a three-fight losing skid can be tough, but that’s not how Nam looks at the picture.
“Fight to me is like another day in life,” he said. “I wake up, I train, we spar, we fight, we grapple every single day. It isn’t a whole other extra added pressure. To me, it’s kinda excites me. I get to fly over to Sao Paulo, where I’ve never been before. It’s very exciting to me. I get to fight somebody as good as Fernando in a place I’ve never been before. I’m not being stressed about it, but I’m actually anxious and excited to test the skills against Fernando.”
The last time he visited Brazil, Nam ran away from the ring after scoring a quick upset against a Bellator champion. He’s not planning to run away this time at XFCi, but wants to end the fight with a bang.
“I think I’m going to beat him with a lot of good defensive grappling and very technical striking,” Nam said. “Whether the knockout comes, I think I will put on a good beating down on him on December 13.”
Back to the cage after a three-year hiatus in 2013, Brazilian featherweight Chinzo Machida has signed a deal with Bellator MMA.
Chinzo Machida, who turns 38 years old in March, has signed a multi-fight deal with Scott Coker’s promotion, and expects to make his debut around April or May of 2015. Tatame first reported the signing, and Machida confirmed the news to MMAFighting.com.
“I signed with them,” Machida said. “I underwent a shoulder surgery a month ago and I’m still recovering. I believe (I will make my debut) in April or May.”
The older brother of former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, Chinzo went 1-2 in MMA between 2005 and 2010, but scored back-to-back victories under the RFA banner since returning to the sport in 2013, including a vicious flying knee knockout over Brian Wood.
Back to the cage after a three-year hiatus in 2013, Brazilian featherweight Chinzo Machida has signed a deal with Bellator MMA.
Chinzo Machida, who turns 38 years old in March, has signed a multi-fight deal with Scott Coker’s promotion, and expects to make his debut around April or May of 2015. Tatame first reported the signing, and Machida confirmed the news to MMAFighting.com.
“I signed with them,” Machida said. “I underwent a shoulder surgery a month ago and I’m still recovering. I believe (I will make my debut) in April or May.”
The older brother of former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, Chinzo went 1-2 in MMA between 2005 and 2010, but scored back-to-back victories under the RFA banner since returning to the sport in 2013, including a vicious flying knee knockout over Brian Wood.
Five months after the original date, Rousimar Palhares and Jon Fitch will meet for good inside the World Series of Fighting cage Saturday night in California, as “Toquinho” was finally able to focus 100 percent on fighting again.
Palhares asked to withdraw from his first title defense in July, when he was expected to meet Fitch in the main event of WSOF 11, to take care of his mother, who was hospitalized and underwent surgery for extreme thrombosis in her legs.
Back then, Fitch criticized Palhares’ decision to pull out from a MMA fight to take care of his family.
“I wish Palhares would have manned up and showed up to fight,” Fitch said at a press conference in June. “We all have problems. My dad’s sick too. He’s going to have a heart procedure the week of the fight. … He’s the titleholder. You have a responsibility as a titleholder to defend your damn title. It’s unprofessional. I hope his mom is well. I wish him the best and I’ll pray for him, but you do your job. We’re professionals. You do your job.”
Palhares ignored Fitch’s advice and kept on looking for his mother’s health. It paid off, as she’s already back home.
“We couldn’t fight before because of what happened, but everything is fine now, thank God,” Palhares told MMAFighting.com. “Everything will be fine. She’s strong, thanks God. She’s out of danger.”
“And I hope Jon Fitch’s father is fine, too,” he added, “so we can do a great fight Saturday.”
As soon as his mother was cleared, “Toquinho” returned to Rio de Janeiro to start his training camp at Team Nogueira, and he expects his mother to watch his fight on TV Saturday night.
“She will watch the fight,” he said. “She always tells me she watches me fighting, but I don’t know if it’s true [laughs].”
Coming off quick first-round finishes since cutting down to 170 pounds, Palhares expects Fitch to do what he always does. But what if Fitch completely changes his style for WSOF 16? “Toquinho” says he will be ready.
“I trained for every aspect of the fight because we don’t know how it’s going to be,” Palhares said. “Many people envision the fight going many different ways, so my coaches and I worked hard in every area to be ready for everything. Many people think he won’t take me down because of my fighting style, but we won’t know until we get in that cage and fight. What I know if that I’m ready to fight.”
The Brazilian leglock master tapped Steve Carl and Mike Pierce with heel hooks in his past appearances in the UFC and WSOF, and he doesn’t rely only on his submissions to defend his WSOF belt.
“I don’t know how, but I know I’m going to win,” Palhares said. “I don’t care what he’s going to do, I’m just focused on what I want to do. I want to bring all my training to the cage. I know what he’s good at, but I will do my best. I’m going there to submit him.”
“I have other strategies, too,” he continued. “I’ve worked hard in my stand up game and I’m getting better every day, confident that I can face any opponent and get my first knockout victory.”
In fact, defending his title is not what drives him to beat his fellow UFC veteran.
“My motivation is to do what I love. That’s what drives me every second,” “Toquinho” said. “I want to win so bad I just don’t care about the belt.”
After facing many adversities inside the outside the cage, like his mother’s disease and his UFC release in 2013, Palhares feels “different” going into his first WSOF title defense.
“I’m a different Rousimar Palhares now. I’m more mature,” he said. “I learned from the difficulties I’ve faced in the past. If I had to go through everything I’ve been to become who I am today, I would do it all over again…it’s going to be hard to take my belt away from me.”
Five months after the original date, Rousimar Palhares and Jon Fitch will meet for good inside the World Series of Fighting cage Saturday night in California, as “Toquinho” was finally able to focus 100 percent on fighting again.
Palhares asked to withdraw from his first title defense in July, when he was expected to meet Fitch in the main event of WSOF 11, to take care of his mother, who was hospitalized and underwent surgery for extreme thrombosis in her legs.
Back then, Fitch criticized Palhares’ decision to pull out from a MMA fight to take care of his family.
“I wish Palhares would have manned up and showed up to fight,” Fitch said at a press conference in June. “We all have problems. My dad’s sick too. He’s going to have a heart procedure the week of the fight. … He’s the titleholder. You have a responsibility as a titleholder to defend your damn title. It’s unprofessional. I hope his mom is well. I wish him the best and I’ll pray for him, but you do your job. We’re professionals. You do your job.”
Palhares ignored Fitch’s advice and kept on looking for his mother’s health. It paid off, as she’s already back home.
“We couldn’t fight before because of what happened, but everything is fine now, thank God,” Palhares told MMAFighting.com. “Everything will be fine. She’s strong, thanks God. She’s out of danger.”
“And I hope Jon Fitch’s father is fine, too,” he added, “so we can do a great fight Saturday.”
As soon as his mother was cleared, “Toquinho” returned to Rio de Janeiro to start his training camp at Team Nogueira, and he expects his mother to watch his fight on TV Saturday night.
“She will watch the fight,” he said. “She always tells me she watches me fighting, but I don’t know if it’s true [laughs].”
Coming off quick first-round finishes since cutting down to 170 pounds, Palhares expects Fitch to do what he always does. But what if Fitch completely changes his style for WSOF 16? “Toquinho” says he will be ready.
“I trained for every aspect of the fight because we don’t know how it’s going to be,” Palhares said. “Many people envision the fight going many different ways, so my coaches and I worked hard in every area to be ready for everything. Many people think he won’t take me down because of my fighting style, but we won’t know until we get in that cage and fight. What I know if that I’m ready to fight.”
The Brazilian leglock master tapped Steve Carl and Mike Pierce with heel hooks in his past appearances in the UFC and WSOF, and he doesn’t rely only on his submissions to defend his WSOF belt.
“I don’t know how, but I know I’m going to win,” Palhares said. “I don’t care what he’s going to do, I’m just focused on what I want to do. I want to bring all my training to the cage. I know what he’s good at, but I will do my best. I’m going there to submit him.”
“I have other strategies, too,” he continued. “I’ve worked hard in my stand up game and I’m getting better every day, confident that I can face any opponent and get my first knockout victory.”
In fact, defending his title is not what drives him to beat his fellow UFC veteran.
“My motivation is to do what I love. That’s what drives me every second,” “Toquinho” said. “I want to win so bad I just don’t care about the belt.”
After facing many adversities inside the outside the cage, like his mother’s disease and his UFC release in 2013, Palhares feels “different” going into his first WSOF title defense.
“I’m a different Rousimar Palhares now. I’m more mature,” he said. “I learned from the difficulties I’ve faced in the past. If I had to go through everything I’ve been to become who I am today, I would do it all over again…it’s going to be hard to take my belt away from me.”
Sheymon Moraes had his first World Series of Fighting opponent changed twice, but he doesn’t care.
Moraes, a 6-0 bantamweight prospect from Team Nogueira in Rio de Janeiro, faces Gabriel Solorio at Saturday night’s WSOF 16 in Sacramento, and his biggest challenge was days before the actual fight.
“My biggest concern is always the weight. That’s the only thing that makes me nervous when I’m going to a fight,” Moraes told MMAFighting.com. “I chose to fight for a living, and I have done martial arts since I was young, so I’m never nervous when I’m fighting. I just have fun.
“I don’t care who I’m fighting. I don’t pick and choose opponents. I just want to be the best in the world. I will always do my best in training to evolve and beat my opponents.”
In fact, Moraes had to cut 39 pounds to make 135 pounds on Friday.
“I cut down from 174 pounds during the camp,” he said. “I’m big for this weight class.”
To train for his WSOF debut, Moraes moved his camp from Team Nogueira to Thailand.
“I’m more focused when I train here in Thailand,” he said. “I feel I was losing my essence, my muay thai, which is my biggest weapons in my fights, so I wanted to get out of my routine, my comfort zone.
“I have never trained so much for a fight my whole life. I will use the experience I got from my international muay thai fights, do an excellent job and make a perfect debut to bring this victory to Brazil.”
Solorio brings an 11-7 record with five stoppage victories to the match, and the Brazilian bantamweight knows exactly what to expect.
“I never watch my opponent’s fights, I just leave that to my coaches. I just execute what they tell me to do,” Moraes said. “I’m ready to fight anywhere the fight goes.”
“My strategy is to win, beat him up everywhere with my aggressiveness and striking, but I can also use my wrestling and jiu-jitsu,” he continued. “I always train to be fast, strong and versatile. I know that my opponents will always pretend to strike with me before trying to take me down.”
Moraes hasn’t fought since a 20-second knockout victory in April, and his bantamweight clash with Solorio will earn him a shot at the WSOF gold against Marlon Moraes if he wins Saturday.
“I want to be the WSOF bantamweight champion, I want to be the best in the world,” Sheymon Moraes said. “They said I will fight for the title mid-2015 if I win my debut.”
Sheymon and Marlon share the same last name and the same martial arts background. Both come from muay thai roots, and the Team Nogueira prospect has been following the WSOF champion since his muay thai days.
“He deserves the title, no doubt about it,” he said. “I admire him as an athlete since his muay thai days. He’s strong, fast and explosive. He’s an excellent professional and a tough fighter. I don’t know if I would knock him out, but I know we both would get hurt a lot in the fight [laughs].
“My style is to walk forward and go for the knockout all the time. I know that I can knock out anyone in my division if I land my punches and kicks.”
Sheymon Moraes had his first World Series of Fighting opponent changed twice, but he doesn’t care.
Moraes, a 6-0 bantamweight prospect from Team Nogueira in Rio de Janeiro, faces Gabriel Solorio at Saturday night’s WSOF 16 in Sacramento, and his biggest challenge was days before the actual fight.
“My biggest concern is always the weight. That’s the only thing that makes me nervous when I’m going to a fight,” Moraes told MMAFighting.com. “I chose to fight for a living, and I have done martial arts since I was young, so I’m never nervous when I’m fighting. I just have fun.
“I don’t care who I’m fighting. I don’t pick and choose opponents. I just want to be the best in the world. I will always do my best in training to evolve and beat my opponents.”
In fact, Moraes had to cut 39 pounds to make 135 pounds on Friday.
“I cut down from 174 pounds during the camp,” he said. “I’m big for this weight class.”
To train for his WSOF debut, Moraes moved his camp from Team Nogueira to Thailand.
“I’m more focused when I train here in Thailand,” he said. “I feel I was losing my essence, my muay thai, which is my biggest weapons in my fights, so I wanted to get out of my routine, my comfort zone.
“I have never trained so much for a fight my whole life. I will use the experience I got from my international muay thai fights, do an excellent job and make a perfect debut to bring this victory to Brazil.”
Solorio brings an 11-7 record with five stoppage victories to the match, and the Brazilian bantamweight knows exactly what to expect.
“I never watch my opponent’s fights, I just leave that to my coaches. I just execute what they tell me to do,” Moraes said. “I’m ready to fight anywhere the fight goes.”
“My strategy is to win, beat him up everywhere with my aggressiveness and striking, but I can also use my wrestling and jiu-jitsu,” he continued. “I always train to be fast, strong and versatile. I know that my opponents will always pretend to strike with me before trying to take me down.”
Moraes hasn’t fought since a 20-second knockout victory in April, and his bantamweight clash with Solorio will earn him a shot at the WSOF gold against Marlon Moraes if he wins Saturday.
“I want to be the WSOF bantamweight champion, I want to be the best in the world,” Sheymon Moraes said. “They said I will fight for the title mid-2015 if I win my debut.”
Sheymon and Marlon share the same last name and the same martial arts background. Both come from muay thai roots, and the Team Nogueira prospect has been following the WSOF champion since his muay thai days.
“He deserves the title, no doubt about it,” he said. “I admire him as an athlete since his muay thai days. He’s strong, fast and explosive. He’s an excellent professional and a tough fighter. I don’t know if I would knock him out, but I know we both would get hurt a lot in the fight [laughs].
“My style is to walk forward and go for the knockout all the time. I know that I can knock out anyone in my division if I land my punches and kicks.”
