Chiquerim in action at Shooto. Photo: Carlos Ozório
UFC Fight Night 23 will be held in Texas this January 22 and marks the promotional debut of Shooto world champion Willamy “Chiquerim” Freire, against Waylon Lowe. With the arrival of the WEC lightweights in the event, the pressure to win is huge, since a number of them will “inevitably” end up getting fired.
“I travel next Saturday and I’m really anxious to get a taste of fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship,” Chiquerim told GRACIEMAG.com.
Coolheaded, he remarked about his being in the “division of death.”
“I’m cool. I know the division bloated with the fusion of the UFC and the WEC, but I’m going in with a calm head and at the right moment. It’ll be war!” he said.
“The division was already tough and now it’s even tougher. Really high level fighters have shown up, but the UFC doesn’t have any average fighters. It will just keep getting harder and harder, but evolution is part of MMA, which is one of the sports that has most evolved,” he adds, then addressing the topic of his opponent, Waylon Lowe.
“He has really good wrestling. He’s a typical American fighter, he likes taking the fight to the ground and working the ground and pound. He’s a really good opponent, but I feel I’ve trained enough to come out on top.”
Already well known in Brazil and Japan, Chiquerim now hopes to impress fans in the USA.
“I hope the public gives me a vote of confidence, I want to have a great fight. To make it to the UFC you have to have a good past in fighting, and I hope to have a great bout and that the crowd backs me up,” he says in finishing.