By Thinesh John
A change has been made by ONE FC officials, following Baroni’s knock-out loss to Chris ‘The Hammer’ Holland (5-3 MMA) at this past weekend’s Ring of Fire 43 event that took place at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. The former UFC and PRIDE veteran had a solid 1st round, but eventually succumbed to some heavy punches delivered by Holland at 2:50s of the 2nd stanza.
Commonly known as the ‘The New York Badass’, Baroni now holds a record of 14-15 following his loss to Holland and is winless in his past 2 outings. But despite his recent loss, the American is still expected to compete for the 2nd time in the ONE FC cage, when the promotion heads to the Philippines in September.
Baroni was scheduled to face Roger Huerta next at ONE FC 4: Destiny of Warriors, but the latter was allegedly unhappy at Baroni’s loss to Holland, and wasn’t interested in competing against him anymore.
Now, however, a new opponent has been named. And his name is Zorobabel Moreira (6-1 MMA).
The former Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion has taken this fight in short notice, and will face the biggest test of his professional Mixed Martial Arts career when he locks horns with former UFC veteran Roger Huerta at ONE FC 4: Destiny of Warriors, which goes down June 23rd at the Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The announcement was made through Yodchatri Sityodtong’s (CEO and Founder of Evolve MMA) official Facebook page.
Moreira is coming off a spectacular win, after submitting Felipe Enomoto in the organization’s ‘War of the Lions’ event on March 31st. The 29-year-old, who fights and trains out of Evolve MMA, is on a 4-fight winning streak and is now perhaps competing at the peak of his career. This match-up is expected to take place at Welterweight, so the Brazilian may have to move up a weight-class.
Roger Huerta, in the meantime, needs no introductions. At one stage, the veteran fighter went 17-0-1 in just 4 years, and was in the upper echelon of the UFC’s Lightweight division. The American was at the top of his game, before Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist Kenny Florian decisioned him at UFC 87, handing Huerta only his 2nd defeat in 5 years.
In recent times, however, Huerta has not been at his best. ‘El Matador’ has only won once in his past 5 outings, and is currently on a 3-fight losing streak. The 29-year-old has been training in Phuket, Thailand with the Phuket Top Team, and his upcoming tilt with Zorobabel Moreira will mark his first bout in Asia, let alone outside of the United States.
The updated ONE FC 4: Destiny of Warriors card now includes:
* Renato Sobral vs. Tatsuya Mizuno
* Zorobabel Moreira vs. Roger Huerta
* Masakazu Imanari vs. Leandro Issa
* Brian Choi vs. Arnaud Lepont
* Gregor Gracie vs. Adam Kayoom
* Eric Kelly vs. Bae Young Kwon
* Mitch Chilson vs. AJ ‘Pyro’ Lias Mansor
* Allamurad Karayev vs. Roldan Sangcha-an
* Rodrigo Praxedes vs. Marcos Escobar
* Peter Davis vs. Quek Kim Hock
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