Ben Tynan is set for his ONE Championship debut at ONE Fight Night 16. The heavyweight wrestler will get a chance to make an instant impact against Kang Ji Won on Friday, November 3rd. The Elevation Fight Team star will try to keep his record perfect in Bangkok, Thailand, and become a quick threat for the gold.
And in the classic striker vs. grappler matchup, Tynan says he is completely confident in taking out his striker counterpart. Tynan has worked on his standup but plans to rely on his wrestling to achieve dominant positions. Once on top, “Vanilla Thunder” is happy to have the ONE global rule set to give him more weapons to finish the action.
Ben Tynan: ““I plan on taking him out in the first round.”
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“For ONE, I’ve definitely been training more ground knee strikes. I’m really excited about that because that really helps out wrestlers. It gives me more weapons to use when I’m on top, working guys, drowning them, smothering them,” Tynan told ONE.
Tynan will not throw caution to the wind in order to get the takedown. After watching how “Mighty Warrior” has knocked out several wrestlers, he understands he must be wary of the South Korean’s power. Still, Tynan is confident ahead of this opportunity.
“He’s got great hooks. He’s good in the firing zone, countering shots, which is pretty cool. He moves light on his feet, too, which is more rare for heavyweights. A lot of these power strikers are usually more clumsy on their feet. He looks like he moves pretty smooth. He looks strong. So I’ll give him that. But yeah, I’m confident in beating up strikers, like I said,” Tynan assessed of Kang’s game.
“Mighty Warrior” has a perfect 100% finishing rate in ONE competition. Kang sports three wins on the global stage, with three KO/TKO finishes inside the first round. That penchant for finishing fights has Tynan excited for what could be a quick night at the office.
“I plan on taking him out in the first round. I don’t like long fights and looking at his record, he doesn’t like long fights either. So I plan on it being a short, exciting burst of a first round. If it goes to the second, I plan on drowning him in the second. I’ll come out strong and if he makes it to the second round, I plan on wearing him down, but if not, I really plan on taking him out in the first round,” Tynan said.
Tynan is not coming for a three-round match to get experience. “Vanilla Thunder” is arriving in ONE with the intent of announcing himself as a major player in the division and to pad his bank account. After seeing $50,000 performance bonuses being handed out for finishes, Tynan wants fans to expect a shootout on November 3.
“The ideal way, I’ve got to finish it. I want to get one of those bonuses, and you only get that from a nice finish. So I want to get a nice legendary submission, or just knock his head off and walk out some cash,” Tynan said.
ONE Fight Night 16 airs live on Friday, November 3rd. The action begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Prime Video. The event is free for all Amazon Prime subscribers based in the U.S. and Canada.
