Loman aims to get belt/Kingad faces Saputra

SPORTS

Carlo Quinto

Stephen “The Sniper” Loman believes that he’s done all he could in 2022, and now he’s looking to use that momentum to make 2023 an even grander year for himself.
    Meanwhile, Danny “The King” Kingad returns to the ONE Championship Circle next month against a fast-rising Indonesian MMA star.
    Loman believes he’s ready to take the next step in his career after claiming two big wins last year, beating Japanese veteran Shoko Sato and routing former ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes. 
     “I’d look at it as a very good year,” Loman said.  
     “2022 brought me some of the biggest victories of my career, and I achieved my goals to take everything step by step, move my way up in the rankings, and beat some of the biggest names in the division. That year was a very good achievement for me.”
    The past 12 months also taught Loman some valuable lessons, especially in his fights against Sato and Fernandes.  
    However, he knows that he’s going to have to grow, as he could face the winner of the Fabricio Andrade-John Lineker clash for the ONE Bantamweight World Title this February.  
     “I’ve learned a lot this year. Having fought both Shoko Sato and Bibiano Fernandes, I’ve seen that there will be no easy fights here. Both of them are veterans, and I’ve had to step up my game quickly,” he said.  
     “This year also taught me to push harder, persevere, knowing that the ones that I’ll be facing here are high-level veterans, so I have to push hard during training.”  
    With his 2022 mission accomplished, Loman is setting the bar higher this year. In fact, he plans to end the next twelve months with the ONE Bantamweight World Title around his waist.  
     “My goal in 2023 is to stay active, stay in tip-top condition, and the most important of it all, capture the championship belt. [I want] a chance to compete for that belt and bring that belt home.” 
   ***
This, as Kingad returns to the ONE Championship Circle next month against a fast-rising Indonesian MMA star. 
    The #3-ranked flyweight faces Eko Roni Saputra on the main card of ONE Fight Night 7: Lineker vs. Andrade II on 25 February at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.  
    Kingad was supposed to join his Team Lakay squad in ONE’s return to Manila last December, but his opponent Gurdarshan Mangat had to withdraw from the bout due to injury.  
    Now Kingad will finally get a chance to bounce back after his decision loss to Kairat Akhmetov, and he’ll try to do that by stopping the red-hot Saputra, who’s riding a seven-fight winning streak.
    In that stretch, Saputra scored five submissions, but he also proved that he’s got power in his hands after knocking out Liu Peng Shuai in 2021.
    While he’s been taking care of business in the Circle, he hasn’t faced someone like Kingad.  
    Kingad might probably be the most explosive athlete on the dynamic Team Lakay roster, with his seemingly bottomless gas tank and non-stop motor.  
    That means he’s explosive enough to hang with the Indonesian’s wrestling and has the capabilities to light him up on the feet, should the match stay there.  
    While a win will be crucial for Saputra and his hopes of barging into the rankings, this bout is equally as important for Kingad, especially since he’s looking for a rematch against either Demetrious Johnson or Adriano Moraes.  
    Johnson and Moraes will be wrapping up their trilogy for the American’s ONE Flyweight World Title at ONE Fight Night 10 this May, and an impressive win for Kingad could put him right back into the World Title mix.  
    Kingad and Saputra will be joining a stacked card bannered by the massive rematch between John Lineker and Fabricio Andrade for the vacant ONE Bantamweight World Title.