Lito Adiwang gave his honest opinion about his former teammate and third-ranked flyweight contender Danny Kingad’s chances of beating top contender Adriano Moraes in their pivotal rematch.
Kingad and Moraes will battle in a crucial fight in the flyweight MMA division at ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug this Saturday, November 9, inside Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
The SOMA Fight Club representative believes the outcome will depend on how “sharp” Kingad is for this fight.
“I’m hoping that he will silence all his critics that he can’t finish fights, so I’m pushing Danny. Facing a high-level fighter against Moraes, you better finish him and shut the critics up,” he said.
“But if he doesn’t come out sharp – I think that’s the right word for this fight, sharp – and he moves like in his last fight, even though I’ve been saying that Moraes is on a decline, with his experience and fight craft, he’ll find a way to win and get that submission.”
Adiwang expects Moraes to pressure the Lions Nation MMA representative from the get-go, and that’s all the more reason why Kingad should be on his toes from the very start.
“Danny must be sharp, he must be aware of Moraes diving for those submissions. If Moraes can sink in his submission, especially his rear-naked choke, he’ll submit Danny in the second round,” Adiwang predicted.
“So I hope Danny comes out really confident from the first round. Because if he doesn’t, and there’s no adjustment in between rounds, then Moraes will submit him in the second round,” he added.
“But if it goes past that, it’s Danny’s time. The first two rounds will be critical. Danny has to be very careful and play smart in the first two rounds.”
When asked to give a specific number on Kingad’s chances, Adiwang favored his Filipino compatriot ever so slightly.
“I’ll give Danny a 60 percent chance of winning this bout,” he said. “That 40 percent is the chance of him committing a mistake in the early round.”
