After exchanging wins and a loss in his first three bouts in ONE Championship, Sean Climaco is ready to start building momentum. The American striker will go for back-to-back wins at ONE Fight Night 31 on Friday, May 2. Trying to derail those plans in the flyweight Muay Thai scrap will be Akif Guluzada.
Sean Climaco on Akif Guluzada
“I see he’s an explosive fighter. He likes to go for the finish. He’s young and hungry, which excites me right there. I think it makes it more of an exciting fight for the fans. And, with fighting guys like that, I think getting a finish is easier and just more of an exciting fight for me and the fans,” Sean Climaco said to ONE.
“The One” has full faith in his power. That belief is so strong that he doubts the Azerbaijan athlete will want to trade with him after experiencing it. The Filipino-American plans to stun the 19-year-old and take another step forward in the jam-packed division.
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“My main advantage, I feel like, is gonna be the power. I don’t think he’s tasted the power that I have in my hands. I always say in every fight, I’m a different fighter than everyone, that all my opponents face until they face me. A lot of times, I feel like guys can’t trade with me. They can’t really prepare for me unless they’ve been in there with me before,” the Californian stated.
Sean Climaco Will Capitalize on Opponent’s Errors Should They Arise
The allure of a finish is always there for athletes, but after his most recent win, Sean Climaco feels more comfortable going the distance. Still, he expects his younger opposition to make costly mistakes. If that happens, he’ll gladly take the chance to end the match early and even possibly cash an additional check at night’s end.
“I just feel like he’s gonna run into something he doesn’t see coming. He’ll dart in, and I’ll catch him. After my last fight, it’s been a while since I had won a decision, and I realized, like, ‘Dang.’ It felt kinda off to me. I’ve always been finishing all my opponents every time I get a win. But after that, I realized, ‘Oh, it’s okay to not get the knockout.’ But, of course, for the fans and to get the bonuses, you wanna get the knockout. So I’m not necessarily gonna say I’m gonna be looking for it, but it will present itself when it’s there. And, of course, I’m gonna go for the finish still,” the flyweight detailed.
Sean Climaco Willing to Take His Time on May 2
Sean Climaco enjoys a brawl as much as the next person. However, the Bay Area native understands that is often not the smartest decision and tries to remain fundamentally sound. The Smash Fighter representative feels he can blend those two together to be at his most dangerous.
“I’m at this stage of my career now, I feel like guys who are young and hungry that come guns blazing – I’m more like the patient fighter. Because back then, I used to be that type of fighter that always wants to go forward and go guns blazing. I’m still that kind of fighter now, but I’m also a little bit more patient with that now and have more experience,” Climaco commented.
Can Veteran Sean Climaco Defeat 19-Year-Old Guluzada?
Although Guluzada has a lengthy history of matches during his amateur career, Sean Climaco still believes he has the experience advantage. The 30-year-old is in his athletic prime and feels he can take advantage of the developing prospect. On May 2, Climaco plans to show that maturity trumps youthful exuberance.
“I guess the advantage of age is I’ve been training with a lot of high-level guys here in the Bay Area, and I’ve been training a lot longer. I have experience and, yes, he’s young. I saw that he has, like, over 200 amateur fights, but those are probably against other young guys his age that he’s had all that experience against. So I feel like this is a step up for him to be facing a guy in his prime and more of a mature fighter,” Climaco said.
ONE Fight Night 31 airs live on Prime Video on Friday, May 2. The action begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The event is free for all Amazon Prime subscribers in the U.S. and Canada.
