Photo from ONE Championship
BANGKOK — There’s no doubt in ONE Strawweight Champion Yoshitaka Naito’s mind that Alex Silva is a good fighter.
After the Brazilian fighter submitted fellow Japanese Hayato Suzuki last month, Naito gets his chance against the hungry SIiva at ONE: Warriors of the World Saturday here.
“Hayato is known as one of the best wrestlers in Japan, so I was shocked to see him lose against a jiu-jitsu champion,” Naito said.
Naito (12-0) is putting his title and his undefeated record on the line in the main event at Impact Arena here.
While Silva was able to stun Suzuki in their Manila clash, Naito believes he’s different beast for the 35-year-old challenger.
“Alex Silva’s grappling is extremely good. Silva’s strength is of course his ground techniques, but his striking is probably not a big threat. Silva has never gone five rounds, so if it goes the distance, it will be my time,” said Naito, who is reeking of confidence going into his title defense.
“I am confident in my abilities and that I will successfully defend my belt.”
Meanwhile, Silva (6-1) will be riding the wave of momentum after emerging the victor in his past five fights. And in his mind, he has no doubt that his time to be the champion is now.
“It’s most important that before you are even a champion, you have a good personality, and a good character, that you need to be humble. I’m grateful for the opportunity to challenge for the title, and will do my best to take home the win on Saturday night,” he said.
Aside from the main event, the card will also see hometown bet Shannon Wiratchai facing off against Rasul Yakhyaev figure in a ONE Lightweight Championship title eliminator.
Four Filipinos are also scheduled in the card, bannered by the return of Team Lakay bet April Osenio making her return to the cage against Xiong Jingnan.
Also seeing action are model-turned-fighter Rome Trinidad taking on Rika Ishige, Jimmy Yabo clashing against Sagetdao Petpayathai, and Rabin Catalan fighting Kritsada Kongsrichai.