ONE: Late replacement Donayre braces for fight of his life vs Khan

Filipino fighter Vaughn Donayre, right, stands eye-to-eye with Singaporean Amir Khan during the ONE: Defending Honor: Official Face-off at Clark Quay in Singapore. Photo from ONE Championship’s Facebook account

Despite having limited time to prepare, Filipino bet Vaughn Donayre is confident he will emerge victorious against hometown fighter Amir Khan.

Donayre was added into the ONE: Defending Honor as a late replacement for the injured Samir Mrabet.

The 37-year-old Donayre, a Cebuano who is based in Dubai, was only called up a week ago but had no second thoughts in seizing the opportunity.

“I was actually ready for combat, but not just MMA. So when I got the call, I was on weight, and I was already training—specific, jiu jitsu. So when I talked to my coaches, they said, “You ready?” and we went for it,” Donayre said.

Donayre said the only edge Khan has over him is that he will come into the fight more prepared.

Other than that, Donayre stressed he’s the better fighter especially when the bout is taken to the ground.

“That’s the only advantage he has. His preparation and his team. He’s with a good team ever since. But I think I’ve got edge on the ground—an advantage. And he hasn’t been tested,” he said. “Like what I’ve told everyone, this is gonna be his test and this is gonna be my stand. Three losses and no wins? Come on, man. I gotta do something. So this is is my stand and his test.”

“I think [my biggest advantage is] gonna be on the grappling. I’m gonna exploit that. I’m gonna exploit his jiu jitsu game,” said Donayre, a purple belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu. “I know he’s gonna throw a lot of kicks, which is good for me, because if you throw one, one leg’s on the floor and I’m gonna go for that.”

Donayre has dropped five of his last six fights and at this stage of his career, he can’t afford another setback.

He considers his bout with Khan as his final stand if he winds up on the losing end anew.

That, though, remains a big if. After hearing his opponent predicting a first round victory, Donayre found more reasons to go all out.

“He already talked s**t saying he’s gonna knock me in the first round. A former world champion couldn’t do that to me. I almost knocked him out twice!” said Donayre, referring to his countryman Honorio Banario whom he lost to by unanimous decision last April. “He (Khan) is not gonna do that to me. If he’s not gonna do that, I’ll do that to him.”

“He walks like a gangster. He’s gonna be in for a rude awakening. For me, this is just not about winning. Like I said this is my stand. This is gonna be the fight of my life.”