Enzo Clarisse To Bring New Blueprint To The Inner Circle Main Event
Enzo Clarisse knows exactly how he wants this fight to go, and he has spent every session in camp making sure he is equipped to force it.
The 22-year-old French striker headlines The Inner Circle on Friday, May 8, taking on Malaysian-Thai phenom Adam Sor Dechapan in a strawweight Muay Thai main event live in Asia primetime from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. It is the biggest fight of Clarisse’s ONE Championship career, and the Team Mehdi Zatout product has built a precise and deliberately aggressive game plan around it.
Clarisse carries a 21-7 career record and a 2-2 promotional slate into this bout, with his most recent outing ending in a second-round knockout that confirmed his finishing power remains intact at the highest level. Adam, meanwhile, has been one of the most consistent performers in the weekly series. He’s a technically sharp striker with dangerous legs and the ring generalship to make underprepared opponents look disorganised. Clarisse has studied those qualities carefully and arrived at a specific answer for each of them.
“My game plan is to try to hit him with my fists,” Clarisse said. “I am going to go for the big target, which is the liver shot, and vary between the body and the head with my hands.”
Attacking the body before switching to the head is a precise tactical choice against a fighter of Adam’s level. Defenders who focus on protecting the chin leave the ribs exposed; those who drop their elbows to protect the body open up the chin. Clarisse has built his camp around exploiting exactly that dilemma, with Antar Kacem providing the specific preparation work alongside his coaching team.
“I worked a lot on my cardio for this fight. And Antar Kacem also helped me a lot for this fight,” Clarisse said. “He was always with me.”
Adam’s kicking game is the other threat Clarisse has addressed in camp. The Malaysian-Thai phenom generates real power through his legs, and fighters who fail to account for that output often find themselves absorbing damage before they can establish their own rhythm. Clarisse has not changed his attacking instincts to deal with it. Instead, he has made himself harder to hit while keeping the aggression fully intact.
“I prepared a lot of my dodges with my coach. I will dodge all his punches and kicks. However, this time I’m going to be aggressive with an improved defense. So, I’m going to have a higher guard,” he said. “Adam’s got quite good kicks, good legs. But I have prepared to avoid all the leg kicks.”
The expectation from Clarisse is that Adam will try to control the distance and manage the fight on his own terms. That is not a fight Clarisse is prepared to accept.
“Adam will try to handle me, I think. But I don’t think he’s going to make it,” he said. “I’m going to be aggressive from the first round, that’s for sure. It’s going to be war.”
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