ONE FC War of the Lions – Enomoto Vs Moreira

ONE FC War of the Lions – Enomoto Vs Moreira

Published on March 7, 2012 by The Coffee Boy in ONEFC

ONE FC War of the Lions Main Card Breakdown: Felipe Enomoto vs Zorobabel Moreira

The Coffee Boy Previews One Of The Main Card Fights at War of the Lions:

One FC 3: War of the Lions, happening the 31^st of March has put together a great fight for its main event, pitting Swiss mixed martial artist Felipe Enomoto against Brazilian mixed martial artist and BJJ Nationals champion Zorobabel Moreira.

This fight has all the makings for an all out war as both fighters will be fighting the biggest fight of their MMA career thus far. One FC plans to eventually crown their own champions, and this fight will give us a clearer picture of who are among the elite and close to a title shot in the heavily stacked lightweight division. Lets take a closer look at each fighter, and break down this fight.

Felipe Enomoto (6 – 3 – 1) lives and trains in Zurich, Switzerland, fighting out of Enomoto Dojo run by him and his brother Yasubey Enomoto, also a mixed martial artist and Thai kickboxing champion. Felipe Enomoto stands at 5’ 11”, and is known for his explosive style, dangerous ground and pound, and possesses the guillotine and rear-naked choke submissions equivalent to a knockout punch – once he has you in a choke, its best you tap. He has competed in Germany, England, Russia, and Indonesia, among other countries.

After putting together a respectable record of 5 wins, 1 loss and 1. No Contest, Enomotosuffered two consecutive losses at the hands of Rich Clementi (via armbar) and Gor Hartunian (via unanimous decision). After taking several months off, he signed with One FCand fought last month, breaking his losing streak by submitting Ole Laursen via rear-naked choke after a back and forth battle in Indonesia.

Zorobabel Moreira (5 – 1) was born in Brazil, starting BJJ as a child and after ten years of hard work, he earned his black belt from Carlos Gracie Jr. He fought twice in Brazil, finishing both his opponents, before moving to Singapore to join the highly respectable mixed martial arts gym Evolve MMA. Standing 6’ 3” tall, he is a big, strong, and lanky lightweight, proving to be a lot to handle for his opponents. Aside from his high-level grappling, he is known for his explosive striking, utilizing his length and size to his advantage throwing spinning elbows, vicious knees, and brutal combos, displaying this in his last fight against Andy Wang at ONE FC’s inaugural event back in September of 2011.

After going 2 – 0 in Brazil, Moreira moved to Singapore to join Evolve MMA and start his career in Asia. His first fight in Asia was in Singapore under Martial Combat, suffering his first professional loss by way of knockout in 14 seconds. He came back strong at the next two Martial Combat events, defeating Yun Seob Kwak by rear-naked choke and Ferrid Khederby decision. He then signed with One FC and walked right though Ultimate Fighter alumAndy Wang, defeating him by knees to the body and punches.

On paper, it is a very close call in terms of how this fight will play out. While Moreirapossesses the height, size, and reach advantage and has very explosive striking, Felipe Enomoto is not new to the stand up game. He trains with world class strikers, and has seen everything Moreira could possibly throw at him. However, how will he deal with the size advantage against him? A good, current example of this is the UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. His size and reach advantage proved too much for the Muay Thai phenom Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, who was flustered and confused and couldn’t overcomeJones’ unique ability. So right now, on paper at least, it looks to be a clash of experience against natural strengths.

Next we take a look at the ground game. While Enomoto does have killer chokes and seems to be able to put himself in good positions, Moreira is a high-level practitioner of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and trains with among the best in Asia. Again, the size advantage possessed by Moreiramay prove to be too much for Enomoto on the ground.

What’s interesting about this fight is the question of who will be the aggressor. Both fighters like to push the pace and try to finish fights dominantly. Both fighters possess unique skills, and these could clash. It has all the makings for a very exciting and unpredictable fight. Expect a thriller, and regardless of the outcome, expect to see both fighters around for awhile.

 The Coffee Boy’s prediction: Zorobabel Moreira is going to come prepared, in all his height, reach, and build, and will be able to effectively strike with Felipe Enomoto. While Moreirahas a suspect chin, we don’t really know if he has a glass jaw. I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt, and predict that Moreira defeats Enomoto via TKO in the 2^nd round, in what should be one heck of a fight.