Isaque following his triumph at the Lightweight GP. Deive Coutinho
The king of Copa Podio’s Lightweight GP, a title won in February, Isaque Bahiense will return to the promotion for a superfight opposite runner-up Espen Mathiesen. The match, scheduled to take place concurrently with the Middleweight GP next Saturday in Manaus, will go for a maximum 10 minutes and allow a fighter to win by points or submission.
Isaque, 21, had this to say about how he has changed since February: “I’ve matured and learned a lot. My game is very explosive, and I always act on top a lot, but when I became a black-belt I opened up the range of variations for my game. Now I also play guard, I know how to move on the bottom, and I’ve proven that in some matches. However, my priority is always to use my explosive game, to minimize in every way my opponent’s ways of moving.”
Bahiense won his first encounter with Mathiesen on points. On what he expects of the second one, he said, “It will be a duel will more movement, and a good-looking one from my part. We’ve had time to prepare and study each other. Ten minutes is a long time, and sometimes we wait too long to do something, always thiking, ‘there’s still a lot of time.’ Waiting too long to act sometimes can cost you dearly.”
[Based on a press release.]
