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Friday, March 29, 2024

3 potential clashes for Kingad before world title shot

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Danny “The King” Kingad reminded everyone why he is still one of the best flyweights in ONE Championship after a victorious return to Manila, Philippines at ONE: FIRE & FURY

Kingad earned a unanimous decision win over the enigmatic Xie “The Hunter” Wei in front of a supportive Mall Of Asia Arena crowd on January 31. 

The win brought Kingad closer to the ONE Flyweight World Title currently held by Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes, who defends his crown against Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson sometime later this year.

This leaves “The King” some time to burn before he gets his second World Title shot. And while he eyes the prize, the 24-year-old still wants to stay busy. 

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“We still have our eyes on that match-up, but for now I just want to keep on getting better and better,” Kingad said. 

“I want to get back in the Circle again. I’ll take on whoever ONE puts in front of me.”  

With that in mind, there are three possible opponents for “The King.” 

Kingad was supposed to face Kairat “The Kazakh” Akhmetov in the semifinals of the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix, but Akhmetov had to pull out due to an injury. 

With “The Kazakh” now recovered, a match-up between him and the Filipino to determine who is next in line for the winner of the Moraes – Johnson clash makes the most sense. 

Before the injury, Akhmetov was on a tear, but he showed his growing skills and refined striking most against Reece “Lightning” McLaren

If Akhmetov is unavailable, a rematch against Yuya “Little Piranha” Wakamatsu would be an exciting bout

Last year Wakamatsu scored a sensational knockout win over former ONE Flyweight World Champion Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio

He then followed that up with an impressive homecoming at ONE: CENTURY PART I with a unanimous decision win over “Ottogi” Dae Hwan Kim.

Given their first match-up was not exactly one-sided, a rematch is certainly an interesting idea. 

Then there is Eko Roni Saputra.

Of the three potential opponents for Kingad, Saputra has the least experience. But with the way he has been performing, a step-up in competition would not be a bad idea for the Indonesian wrestling sensation. 

The Evolve MMA standout continued to pick up steam for his hype train with a dominant first-round submission win over Khon Sichan in his hometown at ONE: WARRIOR’S CODE.

In the match, Saputra was aggressive from the opening bell, taking down the Cambodian at will much to the delight of the Indonesians in attendance.

He got the impressive finish by rear-naked chole with 1:15 remaining in the first round.

A match-up with “The King” would answer all questions regarding Saputra, and at the same time, it gives the Baguio City native the perfect test should he get another shot at either Moraes or Johnson. 

In the meantime, ONE Championship returns to the Lion City for ONE: KING OF THE JUNGLE on 28 February at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. 

Former ONE Featherweight World Champion Honorio “The Rock” Banario returns to the division he once dominated when he battles Shannon “OneShin” Wiratchai. Catch all the action for free on ONE’s FacebookTwitterYouTube accounts, or the ONE Super App

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