ONE Championship: Julie Mezabarba ‘not impressed at all’ by atomweight grand prix rivals
- Brazilian striker still anticipating a ‘hard fight’ in semi-final against Stamp Fairtex at ONE: NextGen on October 29
- ‘I think her Muay Thai is lower than my kick-boxing because of my ability and my agility to compose myself on the feet,’ Mezabarba says
Julie Mezabarba was not even originally slated to be in ONE Championship’s atomweight grand prix, but now finds herself in the semi-finals – and she is not sweating any of her competition.
The 28-year old Brazilian striker (9-2-1) will fill in for the injured Ham Seo-hee against Stamp Fairtex (6-1) after an impressive promotional debut against former title challenger Mei Yamaguchi last month, which earned her an alternate slot for the tournament.
The unheralded Mezabarba’s unanimous decision win over Japanese veteran Yamaguchi (21-13-1) on the all-female ONE: Empower card in Singapore surprised many, but she always envisioned herself leaving home for bigger and better things in MMA.
“Not at all, I‘m not impressed with anyone,” she told the Post. “For me, [Yamaguchi] was the biggest fight in my career so far. It was a big step in my mentality as a fighter.
“All the easiness of the fight was through my hard work and I prepared a lot in the camp. This perception of easiness came from me trying to do my best in the camp and in the training. That looked easy, but it wasn‘t necessarily an easy fight.”
