‘I Want To Be A Triple Champ’ – Guto Inocente Reveals High Aspirations Ahead Of ONE Debut
Guto Inocente will make his ONE Championship debut under kickboxing rules, but the Brazilian star is gunning for World Championship gold in three sports.
The 35-year-old heavyweight will battle Bruno Susano on the main card of ONE: FULL CIRCLE this Friday, 25 February, and he’s ready to show the global fan base what the hype is all about.
His striking talents will be on full display at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, but after years of facing the top athletes on the planet, Inocente also plans to showcase his well-rounded skill set in the organization.
He said:
“I am very happy and looking forward to making my debut at ONE Championship. I’ll be able to fight under all the rules. I’ll work a lot, but that’s what I want. I’ve always fought in the biggest events and now at ONE I’ll be able to show my work to the whole world. That’s why ONE is perfect for me.
“I want to be a triple champ. I signed a contract to fight kickboxing and Muay Thai, but I have a lot of interest in fighting MMA and showing that I’m a complete athlete. I’m a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt too. I want to fight with the best guys and show that my kickboxing can beat other fighting styles.”
Susano will offer up a stern test for Inocente’s first appearance in the Circle. The Portuguese kickboxer has 104 bouts to his credit and comes armed with a diverse arsenal.
The Brazilian certainly respects his opponent, but he believes they are operating on different levels.
Inocente said:
“Bruno Susano is a very experienced and complete athlete. He does everything – he has good combinations of punches and kicks, he does spinning blows, he’s very dangerous. You have to be very careful with him. But as I’ve said in many interviews, he’s like a duck. The duck swims, walks and flies, but it doesn’t do anything very well. That’s why I believe that I will impose my rhythm and show that my technique is superior.”
Guto Inocente Plans To Conquer ONE’s Heavyweight Kickboxing Division
Guto Inocente has lofty goals for the entire martial arts spectrum in ONE Championship, but he knows that success in multiple sports must start with his debut outing on Friday.
Under kickboxing rules – where he’s achieved his greatest accolades – the Brazilian can make an opening statement and show that he means business in The Home of Martial Arts.
When asked about his game plan to dispatch Bruno Susano quickly, Inocente said:
“I’m coming in very prepared for this fight. Today, I am an athlete well adapted to the heavyweight division, and I believe that I have evolved a lot in my boxing, so I’m going to show a much more complete and aggressive Guto. That’s my intention – to show aggression. I will impose my game on my opponent. I’m going to impose my rhythm from start to finish, and I believe I’m going to knock him out in the first round.”
The last person to finish Susano was Serbian rising star Rade Opacic, who’s earned four straight KO wins in ONE Super Series.
That streak has caught the attention of Inocente, who believes he and Opacic might be on a collision course in the heavyweight kickboxing ranks.
At the same time, the Brazilian thinks he can defeat the 24-year-old phenom and become the division’s inaugural World Champion.
Inocente added:
“Rade Opacic is an excellent athlete. I believe that if I got a good victory against Bruno Susano, he would be an interesting fight. Even because we have the calendar aligned. He fought in January, and I am fighting now in February. If he wants to fight, then that would be great. A fight against him would be very interesting. He’s a strong and complete athlete too, but I believe my game is perfect to beat his game.
“ONE Championship has a very high level of kickboxing and Muay Thai, especially in the lighter and female categories. At heavyweight, someone like me was missing to come and be the World Champion. I want to take advantage of the fact that this belt is vacant and make my way to it.”
