Carlos Augusto Inocente is a former Shooto South American 220 pound champion currently training in the United States. Prior to signing with Strikeforce in 2011, Inocente was actually offered a four fight contract with the UFC and enters the sport recognized for his kickboxing background.

Inocente enters the sport as a striker. As a former professional kickboxer, Inocente is armed with a strong technical pedigree. Inocente showcases promising speed and agility, particularly for a man his size. His experience is quickly prevalent under observation, as Inocente shows excellent footwork in cutting off the cage and taking the centre of the ring. Inocente measures distance extremely well and possesses great range recognition. As a very technical striker, Inocente has many weapons at his disposal. His kicking repertoire consists of powerful low kicks (usually at the backend of his combinations), and beautifully timed front kicks to the head and body. Diverse in his attack, Inocente is equally capable of unleashing head kicks and spinning heel kicks without losing his composure or getting in trouble defensively. Inocente’s kicking game is complimented by a good set of hands. His versatile attack consists of jabs, hooks, uppercuts and an impressive superman punch which is a holdover from his pro kickboxing days. Inocente’s also shown powerful knee striking from the clinch, and possesses both the tools and makeup of a complete MMA striker. Defensively, Incocente uses his footwork effortlessly in getting out of range of opposition attacks. Although he is capable of pressing the action and overwhelming opponents, Inocente is quite patient in his approach, choosing instead to pick opponents apart with technical precision as opposed to looking for the big punch.

Given Inocente’s style it’s not surprising to learn that he’ll look to sprawl in an attempt to keep the fight standing. As his bout with Kleber Orgulho clearly highlighted, his guard and defensive wrestling abilities will play pivotal roles in his progression. Working from top position however, Inocente has shown promise. He controls his opponent well, looks for submissions, and can load up with big punches. Inocente displays good grappling instincts and his submissions awareness is quite promising for a striker.