Danny Kingad. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Danny “The King” Kingad is ready to mix up the flyweight division rankings when he takes on 12-time flyweight world champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson in the historic ONE: Century.
The pair tangle in a three-round contest in the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Championship Final on October 13 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo Japan.
The 24-year-old prodigy out of Team Lakay, however, insists he is ready if this match goes into deep waters.
“I’m always ready no matter how many rounds we go. Our training isn’t just for three or five rounds, it’s for 10. We always train for more rounds than we’re scheduled for,” Kingad said.
“I will be able to show the result of training at high altitude, the unconventional training that we do, and our routine runs where we improve our cardio,” he added. “I hope to show everyone that Baguio is a world-class destination to train.”
The Sadanga, Mountain Province native knows Johnson has been nearly untouchable in his illustrious, hall-of-fame worthy career. But the Filipino is confident he can exploit the gaps in the American athlete’s game.
“I think his defenses can be attacked. He’s a very technical fighter with incredible stamina, and he usually gets his way in matches – which lead to unanimous decisions favoring him,” Kingad said.
“Even if he has never been stopped, he lost matches when he wasn’t able to assert his dominance.”
Kingad has long-expected this showdown with arguably the greatest athlete in mixed martial arts history, and he is excited to get the opportunity to conquer the flyweight division for the longest time.
The 24-year-old might be coming in as the underdog, but he knows when the Circle door closes it is going to be even footing from there.
“Ever since he came over to join ONE Championship, I knew that I would have to face him one day, so I’ve always trained hard to prepare for this day,” Kingad said.
“It doesn’t matter who the underdog or the favorite is, because I believe all of us athletes train well with the goal of winning.”