Bruno Pucci declared that he enjoyed watching Bashir Ahmad’s win over Shannon Wiratchai in April and promised to show the same level of grittiness in Jakarta.
The Pakistani faced Shannon in Kings & Champions but the referee had to call for a break early on in the match as Bashir was bleeding profusely from a facial wound.
Bashir did not let the injury unsettle him, though, as he stayed in the fight and attempted several submission moves that allowed him to register a unanimous decision victory on the night.
Pucci, who moved to Singapore last year and now works as a coach at Evolve MMA, will face the Pak MMA fighter for his One FC debut on September 13 in Kojima vs Leone.
“I thought that he [Bashir] was good as he showed heart. He wanted to win the fight and I think it’ll be a good match between the two of us,” Pucci said.
“When you see the show, you just see the fight. But nobody knows how much you have to train to get ready for that fight.
“I’m not just talking about me but all the fighters around. It’s a long period of training just for one fight and you don’t want to give up so easily.
“If it happens to me, I’ll do the same thing and I will be disappointed if the referee calls the fight early.
“We have a similar MMA record (2 wins) but have different styles. Let’s see how it goes in the fight.”
Pucci is just 23 years old and faces a man seven years his senior but the Brazilian actually has the edge in terms of experience as he’s currently a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt holder and a former No-Gi BJJ world champion.
“I have fought in Brazil before and I came here to teach Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. My grappling skills are solid but here at Evolve, I’ve improved on my striking skills and learnt how to complete my game,” he continued.
“I studied Jiu-jitsu to improve my health and just took up fighting to apply what I learnt. And now I’m a coach at Evolve.
“Sometimes, the students here are older than me and are always surprised to learn that I’m their teacher!
“I’m very excited for the coming fight and I think my students will be happy to see me fight. They know I train hard and always give my best.”