Danny Kingad has a prime opportunity to stand out in the flyweight field at ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug. On Friday, November 8, two ONE Championship contenders square off following Demetrious Johnson’s retirement. Kingad will square off against former king and current #1-ranked contender Adriano Moraes inside Lumpinee Stadium.
“It’s an exciting time in the flyweight division. It’s wide open. I feel blessed that I’m still close to getting there, and it gives me the motivation to beat Adriano and maybe get the chance to compete for the vacant World Title. I think this fight is the way to get that World Title shot after seven long years. I’m motivated. The World Title is there for the taking, and I’m eyeing it. Each time I have come close to the top before, I ended up losing. There’s no frustration, but I’m being more diligent now,” Kingad said to ONE.
In their first meeting in 2017, Moraes took the victory via submission. However, Kingad points to the circumstances of his entering the bout as a contributing factor on top of how young he was at the time. In 2024, “The King” plans to show how much he has progressed to lay claim to being the top contender for gold in the flyweight division.
“The first time we faced each other, I stepped up to take him on. It was three weeks before the fight they called and gave me the opportunity to change opponents and get the World Title shot, so I took it. Back then, I was still studying. It’s totally a different case now. Right now, I’m truly focused. I’m ready for him. I’m highly motivated for this fight. I’ve learned and experienced a lot through the years. I know what I’m doing now. This time, I know that I can beat him, unlike before where I got shocked because it was just my third fight in ONE and I already got a World Championship bout against him,” the 29-year-old stated.
Although getting the win is the most important part of any athlete’s endeavor, Kingad wants to prove he can finish elite athletes. When Kingad arrived in ONE in 2016, he earned back-to-back stoppage wins. Since then, he has only won by decision.
The inability to secure a finish has plagued him for eight years. The 29-year-old plans to change that trend in Bangkok. Kingad has focused on adding more power to put away “Mikinho” in their rematch.
“It’s in my mind now to start finishing fights. In each fight that I don’t finish my opponent, it bothers me, and all I can do is to ask my coaches, go back to the drawing board, and continue to learn. Right now, I’m working with boxing coach, Don Colas, to work on my power,” the flyweight contender commented.
Kingad believes he has improved mentally as well as physically. At ONE 169, the Team Lakay star says tactics will be the ultimate decider in this flyweight matchup. If he follows his game plan to the letter, Kingad expects his hand will be raised at the match’s conclusion.
“I feel like I’ll adjust well in this fight. I’ve trained everything. I think it all boils down to formulating a perfect game plan and executing it to perfection. This is going to be a great fight. I’m looking for that knockout win. I’m going to get my hand raised,” Kingad said.
ONE 169 airs live on Prime Video on Friday, November 8. The action begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The event is free for all Amazon Prime subscribers based in the U.S. and Canada.
