Senzo Ikeda may have lost two of his last three fights, but there’s no doubting just how dangerous the former Pancrase Flyweight Champion is inside the ONE Circle.
It’s for that reason that Jeremy “The Jaguar” Miado should be wary when they face off at ONE: HEAVY HITTERS on January 14 in Singapore.
Lucky for him, Lito “Thunder Kid” Adiwang has his back and may provide valuable insight for his fellow Filipino to be able to come on top.
“Ikeda is a very tough fighter,” observed the Team Lakay rising star. “He has this Samurai mentality that he’s a fighter who will never surrender. You need to knock him out or submit him in order to stop him because that’s just how tough he is.”
Adiwang knows exactly what he’s saying.
The ONE Warrior Series contract winner faced off against Ikeda at ONE: CENTURY PART I back in October 2019 and had to come out hot off the gates to negate the strength and home crowd advantage of the Japanese fighter.
“When I faced him, I focused on my combinations because I know that he is a brawler. So we did plan to give a good show by striking with him and knocking him out, but he tried to take me down so I just went for Plan B and submitted him,” he recounted.
Adiwang went on a barrage from the onset before the repeated takedown attempts from Ikeda forced the Filipino to retort, first with a bulldog choke and eventually locking up the Japanese’s right forearm.Ikeda unfortunately fractured his arm from that hold, forcing referee Motohiro Tsuruwa to call the bout at the 1:57 mark of round one.
Brief as that encounter may have been, Adiwang told Miado that his early aggression could take him to places against a brawler like Ikeda.
“Jeremy just has to be focused and believe in himself. He needs to go and impose his will from the very start because that early barrage will help him very much in that fight,” he said.
Truth be told, Miado is very capable of doing such. After all, he has shown that aggression in his last two fights against Miao Li Tao.
He shocked the world with a killer flying knee in round one of their match at ONE: AGE OF DRAGONS in November 2019 and once again silenced his doubters with a second round technical knockout victory at ONE: NEXTGEN last October for his first win streak in ONE Championship.
His move to Marrok Force MMA Gym in Bangkok have certainly done him wonders, and what better way for him to show that he’s indeed for real with another victory against an opponent the caliber of Ikeda and stretch his win run to three.
Miado, at least, has found an ally in Adiwang.
“Both of them are good fighters, but I predict Jeremy will get the victory. I just wish them both good luck,” said the Thunder Kid.