When Danial Williams arrived in Singapore for his match at ONE Fight Night 8 on March 24, he was expecting a strawweight Muay Thai clash with Rui Botelho. However, after Rodtang Jitmuangnon was forced to withdraw from the main event with an undisclosed injury, “Mini T” found himself taking his spot against Superlek Kiatmoo9. It was a manifestation of his dreams.
“Man, I’ll be completely honest. Through this whole card, I was like, ‘oh, Rodtang and Superlek are on the card. If one of them pull out, I’m gonna jump straight in there. That would be awesome’. [I was] sort of fantasizing about that. And then literally the day before they [ONE Championship] asked me, I told my missus, ‘man, it’s gonna be s–t in Singapore. I’m going to have to really not eat too much. I hope Rodtang pulls out. Because I know he just got married, and he’s got the other fight [against Edgar Tabares] in America. I hope he pulls out so I can fight Superlek, the other Thai legend’,” said Williams.
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And that is exactly what happened. Now competing at flyweight for the ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Championship, Williams has been able to eat and put on weight ahead of the title match with Superlek. However, the news that it was for the gold came as a bit of a shock to the Thai-Australian athlete.
“Anyway, I got my haircut, and he sent me the contract with Superlek. I was like, ‘holy s–t we did it. This is sick.’ I didn’t even really read it. I actually didn’t know that it was for his title as well because the title is fighting Superlek man, fighting the best in the world. That’s what I’m happy about, title or not, I just get to fight the best in the world,” said “Mini T.”
Although coming in as a late replacement against an athlete like Superlek is a tall order, Williams feels good about his chances. The 29-year-old got his start in ONE against Rodtang in a Muay Thai battle and showed he could hang with the elite. Now with a couple of years of consistent work on the global stage, Williams feels he is even better prepared to complete the upset.
“I think I’ve got a really, really good chance. I’ll be gutted if I don’t get the win. To be fair, I feel like everything’s gone to plan this fight. I’ve dreamt about fighting him and everything, and you know, I’ve half-joked but full truth in my mind. I think I know what to expect from Superlek, but right now, I just gotta see how strong he actually is,” said Williams.
Williams knows to be cautious of the crushing kicks Superlek loves to throw. Known as “The Kicking Machine,” Superlek can debilitate his opposition with thudding power shots. The Thai-Australian plans to utilize his speed and movement to avoid his power side.
That speed and movement will also play a major role over five rounds. Williams plans to take Superlek into the championship rounds and make it a cardio battle. If he can pull off the upset, Williams will grab his first world title as he chases history to become a three-sport king.
“You’ve got to just land the shots in kickboxing. If I can just stay busy and stay on him, I think I can pull away with a win. I feel like because he throws so much volume, I can weather the storm [to drop his] cardio a little bit. I just feel like I’ve just got to stay on him, just keep moving and landing some shots,” said Williams.
ONE Fight Night 8 emanates from the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday, March 24. The action begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Prime Video. The event is free for all Amazon Prime members based in the U.S. and Canada.
