T. Marreta will fight at light heavyweight for the first time in his career. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram tmarretamma
The Brazilian Thiago Marreta is the substitute for Glover Teixeira in the main fight of UFC Sao Paulo, against Jimi Manuwa on September 22nd, at the Ibirapuera Gymnasium. The Brazilian will leave the middleweight division to face the Nigerien at welterweight. Currently, the former TUF Brazil participant is 1,83 tall and weighs 84kg, while his opponent is 1,85 tall, but weighs almost 10 kilos more. Due to the change, the Rio native revealed in an interview with the website “Combate.com” that his mother, Luviete Agostinho de Lima, was scared by the size of his next opponent.
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“I think it's funny when people say (that Manuwa is intimidating). My mother even said: “Wow, son, the guy is really big”. My friends say he's giant. I said: “The bigger (the size), the bigger the drop”. It doesn't have this one. It’s a challenge that I’m excited about – declared the jiu-jitsu black belt, who needled his opponent on social media to make him accept the confrontation”, explained Thiago.
Marreta guarantees that his opponent's size did not intimidate him, which is why he quickly accepted the invitation to replace Glover in the main fight of the UFC in São Paulo.
“It doesn’t have to be in the top category. I accepted right away. I had been struggling a lot with weight loss. I had fought several times, making weight one fight close to the next, and the opportunity arose. I don't choose an opponent, I say that and it's real. He's a top 5 player in the rankings, a very tough guy and a knockout artist. There is no reason to underestimate Manuwa. He has a heavy hand, comes forward and has everything it needs to be a great fight. Big challenges excite me even more. When it's more difficult or when they say I'm going to lose, it makes me more stimulated”, said Marreta.
Before accepting the challenge in the light heavyweight division, the Rio native stated that he was struggling to make weight in the middleweight division. The fight with Manuwa will be a test to see how Marreta will perform in the above category, even so the result will not give a definitive answer about his future in the UFC.
“It will be an experiment. I made a request to the UFC: I would accept the fight to save the event, but I wouldn't be forced to stay at light heavyweight. I want to see how it will be, how I will feel. There are variables... It could be that I'm stronger, slower, that I get more tired. I don't know. I may feel pressure from the guy who is stronger than me because he is heavier. Win or lose, I don’t know if I’ll stay or go down to the middleweights”, said the carioca.
Thiago Marreta at the age of 34, he will have the first opportunity in Ultimate to hold the main fight in São Paulo. The Rio native became known when he participated in the second edition of TUF Brasil in 2013. His record in professional MMA is 24 fights, with 18 triumphs and six setbacks. He is coming off a decision defeat over Kevin holland in August this year at UFC 227.
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