ONE 159 Preview: Muangthai vs. Vladimir Kuzmin
While there are some fantastic fights on ONE 159 like De Ridder vs. Bigdash, perhaps the best of them all is the Muay Thai bout between Muangthai and Vladimir Kuzmin. The bout puts one of the best prospects coming out of Eastern Europe against a tough and battle tested veteran out of Thailand.
Muangthai to Bounce Back
Muangthai is a legend in the sport of Muay Thai. Fighting out of Saenchai’s gym, Muangthai has over 200 fights to his name. A three time Lumpinee champion, Muangthai has been in competition with the best of the best out of Thailand and beyond. His last fight was a banger of a fight with Liam Harrison at ONE 156. That fight saw Muangthai knock down Harrison twice in the first round before Liam Harrison came roaring back to finish Muangthai in the first round.
Now Muangthai needs to bounce back. The Thai legend is 28 and has already taken a ton of damage. The Harrison fight was no difference. Muangthai, however, hits hard himself and it’s that power that he sometimes relies on too much. He hit Harrison with a high kick and knocked him down for Christ’s sake. He packs a punch. And while that punch will be his main weapon, he need not get too eager like he did against Harrison. While Kuzmin may not be a household name, he still hits incredibly hard and Muangthai will need to be weary of that.
Should Muangthai hurt Kuzmin, I look for him to be patient. Eventually the house of cards will fall and Muangthai, who is known for being in some great firefights, needs to adjust his fighting style. He need not go berzerk and go for the finish. Low and slow; this isn’t a stadium fight but he can still feel his opponent out early in the fight.
Vladimir Kuzmin Can Make A Statement at ONE 159
On the opposite side of the table, Russia’s Vladimir Kuzmin is looking to make a name for himself off the back of the three time stadium champion. At ONE 159, a win over a Thai such as Muangthai would make him an instant contender at featherweight. Kuzmin hits heavy and is calm, cool, and collected under fire.
We saw that against his last opponent, Chris Shaw, back in February this year. Shaw came forward and put tons of pressure on Kuzmin. But Kuzmin was patient and fought well under said pressure and bloodied Shaw up pretty bad, going on to take the unanimous decision win.
Kuzmin uses a variety of strikes and can hurt you from both southpaw as well as orthodox. Fans can expect a barrage of knees, spinning back elbows, hooks, 1-2’s and more from Kuzmin who will likely hurt Muangthai if the Thai brings a fight. This fight is super winnable for Kuzmin and should he beat Muangthai at ONE 159, I look for him to go out and get a big fight after this.
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In addition to covering the ONE Championship for My MMA News, Blaine Henry, the author, also analyzes fights from all combat sports across the globe.
Blaine Henry can be found on Twitter, on his podcast, and Discord.
