If you think about it, Brazil hasn’t produced heavyweight talent in massive quantities over the years. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Junior dos Santos, Fabricio Werdum, and possibly Antonio Silva are the names most fans would know, but past those elite fighters – Brazil hasn’t produced the quantity that they have in other weight classes. Quality, however, isn’t an issue.
Adding to the Brazilian heavyweight contingent is Team Nogueira’s Richardson Moreira (3-0). Standing at a shredded 6’3″, Moreira has laid waste to his opposition, spending less than five minutes total inside the cage in three career bouts. His most recent bout at Max Fight 9 in July was his longest, lasting three minutes and four seconds before he tapped Haime Moraes by Achilles lock.
Moreira’s offense is primary focused on the ground game. He wields a powerful physique that allows him to slam opponents to the ground violently, and he’s proficient in the clinch, working for single and double legs along the fence to dump opponents. Once on the ground, Moreira is a far better grappler than most of his competition in the regional scene. He can maintain back and top control with ease, transition to leg locks or armbars quickly, and batter his adversaries with brutal ground and pound if the opportunity presents itself.
On the feet, his weaknesses are apparent. He isn’t comfortable defending incoming strikes, and his defense seems to hinge on moving backwards and bobbing away from blows lethargically. He is somewhat of a ticking time bomb in that he decides to aggressively go for broke without any rhyme or reason, and his chin is open to counters during those moments of carelessness. Those spurts have, however, allowed him to easily hit takedowns from covered up opponents trying to avoid damage.
Under Team Nogueira, Moreira can improve on his lacking stand-up game and continue honing his grappling skills. The potential is there for him to become a well-balanced fighter who can attack in any place a fight may take him. It’s clear, however, that he favors the ground, and luckily for him – the division doesn’t feature a large quantity of grappling-centric fighters who will give him a run for his money. At this stage in his career, his savvy submission game can take him places, possibly into a major promotion, while he works on his striking. The thin division in Brazil should allow Moreira to progress quickly, possibly into the limelight by mid-to-late 2012.
Footage of Richardson Moreira after the jump…
| Flyweight | Bantamweight | Featherweight | Lightweight |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 – #2 – #3 – #4 – #5 – #6 – #7 – #8 – #9 – #10 – |
#1 – Rony Mariano #2 – Aljamain Sterling #3 – Chris Holdsworth #4 – Josh Hill #5 – Fabiano Fernandes #6 – Claudio Ledesma #7 – Sirwan Kakai #8 – Kyoji Horiguchi #9 – Leandro Hygo #10 – Pedro Munhoz |
#1 – Hacran Dias #2 – Joey Gambino #3 – Brandon Bender #4 – Lance Palmer #5 – Jim Alers #6 – Anthony Gutierrez #7 – Max Holloway #8 – John Teixeira #9 – Cody Bollinger #10 – Bubba Jenkins |
#1 – Fabricio Guerreiro #2 – Alessandro Ferreira #3 – Adriano Martins #4 – Justin Salas #5 – Neilson Gomes #6 – Eduard Folayang #7 – Zorobabel Moreira #8 – Anton Kuivanen #9 – Jordan Rinaldi #10 – J.P. Vainikainen |
| Welterweight | Middleweight | Light Heavyweight | Heavyweight |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 – Andrey Koreshkov #2 – Dhiego Lima #3 – Brandon Thatch #4 – Nordine Taleb #5 – Hernani Perpetuo #6 – Brock Jardine #7 – Alan Jouban #8 – Mohsen Bahari #9 – Andre Santos #10 – Stephen Thompson |
#1 – Antonio Braga Neto #2 – Marcelo Guimaraes #3 – Claudio Silva #4 – Bojan Velickovic #5 – Ildemar Alcantara #6 – Michal Materla #7 – Elvis Mutapcic #8 – Tor Troeng #9 – Jack Hermansson #10 – Tim Ruberg |
#1 – Wagner Prado #2 – Phelipe Lins #3 – Tom DeBlass #4 – Misha Cirkunov #5 – Kyle Cerminara #6 – Robert Drysdale #7 – Artur Alibulatov #8 – Thiago Perpetuo #9 – Steve Bosse #10 – Juha Saarinen |
#1 – #2 – #3 – #4 – #5 – #6 – #7 – #8 – Richardson Moreira #9 – Jan Jorgensen 10 – David Oliva |
Richardson Moreira vs. Haime Moraes
Richardson Moreira vs. Marcos Gonzaga
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