UFC Brooklyn’s Moreira thinks he’ll tap out Menifield

Light heavyweight Vinicius Moreira expects to tap out Alonzo Menifield on January 19 at UFC Brooklyn.

UFC newcomer Vinicius Moreira is a laid back man. About to make his Octagon debut in a card featuring a super fight between two champions, the Contender Series Brazil fighter revealed that he feels little to no pressure ahead of his bout on Saturday night.

In fact, ‘Mamute’ tells Bloody Elbow he doesn’t really think about what could go wrong, but prefers to focus on his strategy and what he can do to emerge victorious in his first ever UFC bout.

“I only care about winning, it doesn’t matter if it’s by KO or submission, or even a decision,” Moreira said. “I haven’t felt any pressure yet, but I try not to think about that too much. I focus on my training and my strategy. I didn’t even feel that much pressure in my last fight, even though Dana White was watching me. But I know that when I step in the Octagon, with all that crowd around me and a international broadcast, I know I’ll feel it a little bit, but I’m relaxed so far.”

Paired up against fellow Contender Series alumnus Alonzo Menifield, who’s undefeated in his professional career, Moreira explained he doesn’t mind his opponent’s perfect record and predicted he will be able to finish the fight with his specialty, Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

“He’s a striker, a very explosive and strong guy, but we’ve been training for the past three months in order to beat him,” Moreira said. “We know he’s dangerous, we know his weapons, but we have an effective strategy to beat him. I’m to risk a guess, I think I’ll win by submission. I’m not intimidated by him being undefeated, I just think he never faced anybody as tough as me before.”

Vinicius Moreira is expected to take on Alonzo Menifield at UFC Brookly, on January 19, in New York. The card will be headlined by a super fight between flyweight champion, Henry Cejudo and bantamweight title holder, T.J. Dillashaw.