Stamp Fairtex might be a Muay Thai veteran but Julie Mezabarba has a kickboxing black belt. The Brazilian believes her striking will be too much for her opponent when they meet at ONE: ‘NextGen’ later this month.
Mezarbaba replaces Seo Hee Ham in the atomweight Grand Prix semi final. She told SCMP MMA that her kickboxing skills are superior to Stamp’s Muay Thai,
“She’s also a striker so I think the fight will be good on the feet but I think her Muay Thai is lower than my kickboxing.”
Hard fight
Mezarbaba did admit that she wasn’t expecting an easy night,
“I think it’s going to be a hard fight,” she said.
The Brazilian beat Mei Yamaguchi in an alternate bout at ONE: ‘Empower’. She secured a semi final spot when Ham withdrew but says she is simply focusing on her next assignment,
“I don’t care if I’m main card or main event I just want to do my best. It doesn’t matter who I am fighting.”
Not impressed
Mezarbaba said that the judging in the fight between Ham and Zamboanga was just fine and agreed that the Korean deserved to get the decision nod, although it appears she did not watch the entire fight. But the Brazilian does not sound in awe of any of the semi finalists,
“I’m not impressed by anyone,” she said.
A shot at Angela Lee awaits the tournament winner and Mezarbaba already has her sights set on a fight with the atomweight champion,
“I’ve been thinking about that since I signed my contract. I’m working hard to get the belt and to beat everyone ahead of me.”
