Guto Inocente Calls Out Buchecha, wants to be triple champion

Guto Inocente is on his way to establishing an impressive streak of steamrolling knockouts in the ONE heavyweight kickboxing division. 

The Brazilian star made it two in a row this past Friday, 3 June, when he finished Rade Opacic in the first round of their bout at ONE 158: Tawanchai vs. Larsen.

Inocente expertly stalked the Serbian striker around the Circle, pinpointing his movements and picking his chances to inflict damage with his heavy hands. The final punch came when he connected hard with his rival’s liver, causing Opacic to crash to the canvas, where he failed to recover.

The finish sent shock waves through the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Opacic had been unstoppable previous to their meeting and had accumulated four knockout finishes from four fights. To see him go down so early was a genuine surprise.

With the win, and his previous demolition of Bruno Susano in his debut in February, Inocente cements himself among the top athletes of the division. He may not have many more opponents who could challenge him in kickboxing – but the 36-year-old star has some ideas on where he’d like to go next.

WATCH: Jenelyn Olsim and Julie Mezabarba put on a show at ONE 158

“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,” Inocente said.

“I’m a complete fighter, and I want to show that in ONE Championship. I believe that ONE is the perfect place to work hard and fight kickboxing, Muay Thai, and MMA. That’s what I want.”

A change of discipline is an intriguing prospect for the striking star, especially when it comes to mixed martial arts. Inocente has already competed in the all-encompassing sport, where he earned 10 wins with six knockouts. To add to this, there would be a veritable plethora of stars for him to face in the heavyweight MMA division. 

The Brasilia native has been thinking about this, and he has some names in mind, including a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend who made the switch to MMA last year and is unbeaten in the Circle thus far.

“Bhullar and Malykhin are very good, very strong fighters. I really want to face them. I want to work, I want to fight. I want to fight everyone in the division. I’m at my best, I’m full of health, so it’s time to test myself,” Inocente said.

“Marcus Buchecha [Almeida] is standing out a lot. I’m following his fights. Even though he comes from jiu-jitsu, he’s already shown that he’s not afraid to get punched in the face. But, if I go to MMA, his dream of being champion won’t work out.”

In the meantime, download the ONE Super App to catch all the action at ONE 159: De Ridder vs. Bigdash on Friday, 22 July, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. 

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