May 2, 2011 – At only nineteen years of age, Guilherme Moreira, or simply “G” as he is known to most In the Houston fight community, is thought of around the Houston area as one of city’s most promising young prospects.
Currently still a neophyte in MMA, sporting a record of 2-0, Moreira largely gained that recognition with his first amateur title win against (then 5-2) Sean Holden this past December at Garcia Promotions’ inaugural Cage Combat event. Looking to maintain that status on his way to the professional ranks, G will be taking on the toughest test of his young career this Friday at Cage Combat 3 when he defends his title for the very first time against fellow undefeated Santos Rosales of Corpus Christie.
Originally from the southern Brazil city of Curitiba and raised primarily in Rio de Janeiro, Moreira grew up in the worldwide mecca of Vale Tudo yet it is almost ironic that he did not experience his first true taste of the sport until he emigrated to the United States.
Moving to Texas with his family in late-2006, the young fighter has pretty much made a life of training since he’s arrived in the Houston area, training as often as he can at Team Tooke in order to become the best fighter he can be.
Centering his schedule around his MMA goals, Moreira says he endeavors to train as much as he can, going in twice a day to hone his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and striking skills with coaches like Lewis Wood, Jace Pitre, and Travis Tooke in order to improve as fast as he can, doing his best to emulate the tough training environment he would face had he started training in his homeland.
“Down in Brazil it’s more hardcore” says Moreira. “Going down there to visit and train, the whole training session is pretty much hard-sparring the whole time. They focused less on technique and you’re sparring nothing but black belts. A regular class is maybe 10 black belts, 10 brown belts, maybe a couple of white belts but bottom line, it’s very intimidating over there.”
With that in mind, G mentions that he spars as much as he can, usually every day in order to prepare himself for the rigors of professional competition by working out with the likes of fellow young prospects such as Levi West, Chris Lopez, and Aaron Croon, and more seasoned vets like Andrew Craig, Jace Pitre, and Adam Schindler.
“I’ll go pro when I step in the cage and feel like myself, which hasn’t happened yet in my past fights,” says Moreira about where he feels he is currently with his development. “If I step in the cage and I feel like myself after this fight I’ll probably go pro. I’m not trying to rush though. I’m only nineteen so I still have time to think about it.”
At this point, Moreira knows he has much to learn as a developing fighter but wants his heart to shine through nonetheless when he’s competing.
“I want the people that watch my fights to see me as a well-rounded, good fighter than will fight anyone and never quit. That’s my main philosophy.”
Regarding his upcoming title defense, Moreira says it is an honor to be able to defend his title against such a worthy opponent.
“I’m very grateful to Eric (Garcia) for giving me the shot in the first place. I’m grateful also to my opponent Santos for coming all the way down from Corpus Christie to fight me because Eric could not find a fight for me in Houston. I feel great and everything is coming together just the way it should for this fight.”
As far as his opponent, G says the fans out in Humble should be prepared for a good old fashioned war when it comes to what to expect in the main event of the evening.
“I don’t know much about him (Santos Rosales) but I’ve heard he’s a very tough guy that really likes to fight. I’m the same way so it should be a good fight. I train everything equally so anywhere the fight goes, I’ll be prepared.”
Asked how he expected to win, G replied, “I like to think of myself as well-rounded but it’s no secret that Team Tooke is very solid with our ground skills so I think I’ll be stronger in that area. Ground and pound… submission… Honestly, a win is a win for me so whatever it takes for me to win, I’ll take it.”
Acknowledgements
“Big shoutout to some of my sponsors – Laura Craft Massages, Clean by Troy Garza, B3 Sports, and also Vince from Fire & Security Houston.
To all my friends, I’d like to thank you for helping me go through this training camp, which is the toughest one I’ve ever had. That’s about it man. All my true fans, they know who they are!