Kingad to use Saputra for world title shot/Adiwang hyped for super showdown

SPORTS

Carlo Quinto

Danny “The King” Kingad is oozing with confidence ahead of his return to action next month at ONE Fight Night 7: Lineker vs. Andrade II. 
    Kingad will look to derail the red-hot Eko Roni Saputra when they tangle in a crucial flyweight MMA bout at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on 25 February, and he’ll be extra-motivated to do so, especially after his December return was postponed. 
    The third-ranked contender was initially scheduled for a Manila comeback against Gurdashan Mangat at ONE 164, but the Indian-Canadian had to pull out, forcing “The King” to further wait for his return to the ONE Championship Circle. 
    Now he’s eager for an impressive comeback, especially since he hasn’t stopped preparing - even after the cancellation of his previous bout. 
     “My training pretty much continued even after Mangat dropped out. I never stopped and I stayed in shape, so training and preparation is not an issue for me,” Kingad said. 
    Kingad won’t be facing a pushover against the Indonesian wrestling machine, but he believes that aside from Saputra’s wrestling, nothing will really threaten him. 
     “Eko Roni Saputra has been impressive. He’s on a seven-fight winning streak. What I see from him, though, is that he always favors his ground game and wrestling. That’s where he’s at his best, and that’s what I’ve observed from his previous fights,” he said. 
     “I’ve watched his every fight, and it’s the ground game that I have to worry about. Sure he had a knockout win, but his opponent wasn't a good striker.“
    The Team Lakay dynamo knows that this match will be crucial for his goals moving forward, especially since he’s eyeing to be back on top by the end of the year. 
    Reeling off a shutout decision loss to Kairat Akhmetov, the 27-year-old knows that if he wants to get a shot at the ONE Flyweight World Title, it all starts by beating Saputra. 
     “My goal for 2023 is to get a good winning streak going,” he said. 
     “I’m coming off a loss, so I have to get back on the winning track, start a winning streak, and then become a World Champion before the year ends. That’s my goal this 2023.”
   ***
Lito Adiwang may be one of the premier Filipino fighters in ONE Championship, but he remains as big of a martial arts fan as anyone in the community.
    The Team Lakay star is one of the best MMA strikers right now and the fight that he’s most excited about is the highly anticipated world title match between Superbon Singha Mawynn and Chingiz Allazov.
    Superbon will defend his ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Title against Allazov in the main event of ONE Fight Night 6 on Saturday, January 14, at Bangkok’s Impact Arena.
    Adiwang, in a recent interview with The MMA Superfan, said that the main event of ONE Fight Night 6 will surely be an electrifying contest. He also gave away who he’s rooting for in the matchup between two of the best kickboxers on the planet.
    “Super eager and super excited to finally watch this fight. Because both of them are very superior fighters, they’re very good fighters so I’m very very excited about this match. But, I’m a fan of Superbon,” said Adiwang.
“Technically he’s got an edge on the way he controls the fight. He dictates the fight, so I’d give an edge to Superbon.”
    The strawweight contender even said that Superbon would easily dominate Allazov in their fight and get the convincing unanimous decision victory.
    “Outclass, total domination on points, by decision.” 
    Superbon is already one of the best Thai fighters of his generation with a perfect 3-0 record in ONE Championship and 113-34 in his whole career. The 32-year-old captured the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Title when he knocked out the legendary Giorgio Petrosyan at ONE: First Strike in October 2021.
    He’s since defended the gold against Armenia’s Marat Grigorian at ONE X in March 2022.
    Allazov, meanwhile, is on a three-fight winning streak inside the Circle and is coming off a unanimous decision win over Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong at ONE X to capture the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix Championship.
    ONE Fight Night 6 is available at watch.onefc.com as well as at One Sports and One Sports+ on Philippine television.