Danny "The King" Kingad will not hesitate to trade punches with Chinese striker Xie "The Hunter" Wei – if, of course, that is what it takes to get back to winning ways.
The ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix finalist locks horns with the ONE Hero Series (OHS) contract winner when The Home of Martial Arts returns to Manila, Philippines for ONE: FIRE & FURY next Friday, January 31, at the Mall Of Asia Arena.
“This could be a striking battle, but I need to be complete. It has to be balanced from striking to grappling,” Kingad said.
“I am confident in trading with him on the feet because I always train that. When we spar, we’re mostly focused on striking this time.”
Xie has been nothing short of spectacular ever since he made it to ONE Championship. An absolute wrecking ball in the OHS, he has won his last five bouts by technical knockout.
Kingad, on the other hand, is coming off a unanimous decision loss against pound-for-pound great Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson at ONE: CENTURY PART I last October.
But that setback did not dampen “The King’s” confidence one bit. Instead, he believes he is a much better athlete after that fateful meeting.
“I’m much more confident now because I’ve learned a lot from DJ. I am 100 percent ready this coming 31 January,” Kingad said.
“The more I compete, the more confidence I build, especially when it’s against quality opponents. In my fight against DJ, I was there with him. I just fell short. I’ll see him again.”
Eager to prove he is one of the top martial artists in the talent-deep flyweight division, Kingad is convinced it will only take one clean shot to register a highlight-reel knockout to his record.
“If I connect with a solid one, I feel like I can knock him out,” Kingad said.
And if that happens, he has his eyes set on the clash with the winner of Johnson and reigning ONE Flyweight World Champion Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes’s battle in April, both of whom he already lost to.“I want to climb that ladder once more. I want to get up there and face those who beat me in the past.”
Kingad’s road to redemption begins at ONE: FIRE & FURY when he takes on Xie in the main card on 31 January at the Mall Of Asia Arena.
Watch the event live and dine with your ONE Championship heroes with the Boodle Feast VIP package, which includes two tickets for the event and access for two to the Boodle Feast on January 29 at the City Of Dreams. Catch all the action for free by downloading the ONE Super App.
