Former ONE Flyweight World Title challenger Danny “The King” Kingad is set to face another outstanding grappler in his quest of capturing the ONE Flyweight crown.
The youthful Filipino star is scheduled to square up against Kairat “The Kazakh” Akhmetov in the semi-finals of the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix at ONE: DAWN OF HEROES which emanates from the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila on 2 August.
Kingad, who owns an impressive record of 10-1 as a pro, has fought the who’s who of the 61.2-kilogram weight class since joining the ONE Championship roster more than three years ago.
His only loss came when he competed for the ONE Flyweight World Title against grappling wizard Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes of Brazil at ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLD in Manila back in November 2017 and he believes that the loss to Moraes only gave him significant experience moving forward.
Since then, Kingad has blazed past every opponent he has faced and he hopes for the same result when he takes on “The Kazakh”.
“I gained a lot of experience in the past but the biggest one was in my loss to Moraes. It showed me a lot of things, the things that I need to work on and I know I can bring that in my match against Akhmetov,” said Kingad.
“It’s tough losing in a World Title match that you’ve always dreamt of but if you’d look at it, the experience that it gave me – it’s a huge factor to where I am right now.”
He certainly knows what he’s talking about as after his setback with Moraes, Kingad has scored five impressive victories against top opposition.
In his last outing, the 23-year old scoreda unanimous decision win over Senzo Ikeda of Japan in the quarterfinals of the Grand Prix at ONE: A NEW ERA in Japan, putting him two wins away from another World Title shot.
Heading into his much-awaited clash with Akhmetov in Manila, Kingad believes that he can take care of whatever problem “The Kazakh” will bring to the table – and it’s because of all the lessons he learned in the past.
“I train everyday and I’m so focused right now so I’ll come in prepared against Kairat,” said Kingad.
“I am enjoying my training sessions and I’ll do my best to get the win on August 2.”