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Friday, March 29, 2024

Filipino-Indonesian Calim targets 2nd win in ONE: DREAMS OF GOLD

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Filipino-Indonesian strawweight Aziz “The Krauser” Calim looks to capture his first winning streak in ONE Championship when he takes on Ryuto “Dragon Boy” Sawada of Japan on the undercard of ONE: DREAMS OF GOLD on Friday, 16 August at the Impact Arena in Bangkok.

Born and raised in Saudi Arabia and now currently based in Indonesia, Calim does not have any plans of wasting his impressive start this year as he looks to position himself better in the loaded strawweight division.

“I’m really excited for this match. I trained hard because I want to pick up on where I left off this year. Of course there are nerves, but I’m ready,” Calim said.

“I feel blessed with the opportunities that continue to swing my way.”

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It was not an ideal start for Calim in The Home of Martial Arts. He dropped a second-round submission loss to Adrian “Papua Badboy” Mattheis at ONE: WARRIOR’S DREAM late last year in his debut.

But the 21-year-old standout from Han Academy quickly bounced back, proving that he deserves his spot in the largest martial arts organization in the world when he submitted Adi Paryanto at ONE: ETERNAL GLORY last January.

It was the win Calim was looking for to get his momentum started in ONE, and it certainly gave him the confidence he needed moving forward.

“My first two matches were huge, especially my win last January, because it only built my confidence that I belong here, and I saw things that I can use particularly this Friday against Sawada,” Calim said.

“But more than that, it helped me as a person. It showed me the things that I need to do in order to reach more in martial arts, to strive more because I’m competing in ONE Championship now.”

Though confident, Calim refuses to look past his next opponent who is certainly formidable.

“Dragon Boy” was one of the stars of Rich Franklin’s ONE Warrior Series (OWS), and he is out to prove that he is ready for the global stage. The 23-year-old from the Meguro ward of Tokyo exploded into OWS with two first-round submission finishes last year.

In his last outing, Sawada got his main roster contract when he scored a first-round submission win over Ismael Bandiwan of the Philippines at ONE Warrior Series 3 last October.

“Sawada is a well-rounded athlete. He can hang in the stand-up game, but he prefers the ground game. He’s always looking for a takedown, and he’ll try to submit you if he can. For me his main strength is his ground game,” Calim said.

“There is no easy match and that’s why I’m really striving for this, to showcase my full potential in the match. I believe in my skills, and I know I can get my second straight win this Friday.”

Tune in to watch ONE Championship’s next event, ONE: DREAMS OF GOLD, by downloading the ONE Super App. The action starts Friday, 16 August at 6:30pm local time.

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