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ONE: Next Gen II combatant quotes (Thani, Kai, Zi Hao, and more)
Former ONE welterweight world championship contender Agilan Thani, former ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title challenger Han Zi Hao, Hiroyuki Tetsuka, Tang Kai, and Yoon Chang Min engaged in Q&A ahead of their respective ONE: Next Gen II matchups.
This is a pre-taped ONE Championship card that emanated from the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The broadcast for ONE: Next Gen II first airs on Friday, November 12th.
Below are several excerpts from the interviews with these martial artists as the event looms closer.
ONE: Next Gen II combatant quotes
Agilan Thani: “I think pretty much my last three fights motivated me to finish fights because it’s been either going to split decision or I lose the fight. So I’m not so happy with that but you’ve got to roll with whatever comes your way, right? So that’s what’s up. I think I have fought as many dangerous opponents. Have more experience than this guy even though I’m younger than him. I think I’ve fought better opponents, I think I’m just having a hiccup in my career. Like win-lose, win-lose. I think I know I’m capable of beating this guy. I don’t know why but I know I’m capable.”
Hiroyuki Tetsuka: “This weight division is tough, [there are] tough guys. They are mostly grapplers, I think, but I’m a striker. So I want to knock them out and I want to be the champion in the future. I’m actually confident with grappling too. If I have the chance I want to take him down. I think my ground-and-pound is good too. So I want to show all my skills, not only striking but also my ground skills. He’s so tough but I think I am a better striker and I have better stamina. I want to strike his body until he gets gassed out, maybe knock him out.”
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Tang Kai: “I think he looks like an amateur CrossFit lover. He looks very big and very strong, but he’s way more slower than me. And he can’t hit harder than me. I don’t know that much, I just know that I will knock him out. I would use my perfect boxing skills to knock him out, for sure. My techniques, my skill sets, my movement are all better than him. I’m faster. I’m quicker. I think the only area where he is better than me is that he’s bigger than me. Outside the Circle, I don’t talk that much at all. But inside the Circle, I have the confidence to knock everybody out.”
ONE: Next Gen series
Yoon Chang Min: “The main point in this bout for me is to not get fooled by his boring style. I believe he’s a very boring fighter. If you look at the other opponents that he was able to finish, they got bored in that Circle. Lost focus and got hit by that one shot. They couldn’t keep the focus because he was so boring. For me, right now, my focus is even if he fights so boring, I’m never going to lose my focus. And I’m never going to let him land that one shot. I’m going to keep my focus on him. He probably studied me, and he probably trained a lot in defending the choke. So if he’s so focused on defending my choke, I think I’m going to be able to knock him out.”
Han Zi Hao: “I’ve just gone through a month and a half of training camp, and I’ve been focused on [improving] my boxing skills. I think that’s going to show in the fight. The two losses definitely affected my confidence a little bit. I’ve always thought about continuing to win and keeping a good record so that I can get vengeance on Nong-O [Gaiyanghadao]. But that hasn’t gone well. Now, I’m back on a winning streak, so I have my confidence back. I know Pinto very well, I know that he’s a very technical fighter. He has more experience than me, maybe. But I think my boxing skills are way better than him. That’s my advantage.”
