Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson might still be the heavy favorite to win the prestigious ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix, but ONE ChampionshipChairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong believes it won’t be a walk in the park for the explosive American.
Johnson will meet Tatsumitsu “The Sweeper” Wada in the semifinals of the World Grand Prix, while Baguio City’s own Danny “The King” Kingad will battle former titleholder Kairat “The Kazakh” Akhmetov in the other bracket.
When asked about how he feels the semifinals would unfold, Sityodtong said that “Mighty Mouse” is still the favorite, but he has an interesting choice for the ‘dark horse’ of the tournament.
“Yes, I do believe DJ is the favorite, but I do believe the next two fights for DJ will be very tough,” said Sityodtong in an interview with ONEFC.com.
“I don’t think they are a walk in the park. I think the dark horse favorite right now is Danny Kingad.”
The 23-year old has won his last five matches, and he has looked better and better in every outing.
In his most recent match-up at ONE: A NEW ERA in Tokyo, Japan, Kingad out-worked Pancrase Flyweight World Champion Senzo Ikeda for all three rounds to earn a unanimous decision victory and book a spot in the tournament semifinals.
The Baguio City native’s string of impressive performances is certainly garnering attention, which earned praise from no-less than Sityodtong himself.
“He is an incredible athlete, super powerful, super explosive, and has big KO power. But also, he has improved so much,” shared Sityodtong.
“In Japan, I was just blown away by the level of his ground game, his sweeps, his reversals, and his cardio — he has endless cardio. He is a very tough competitor for anyone to face, and obviously, he is young. He is still only 23.”
Though there is still no date set for the semis, Kingad and Team Lakay bared that they’re already working double-time as they brace for a tough outing against Akhmetov.
Akhmetov advanced to the semifinals by defeating Reece McLaren, a bout which was also featured on the same card.
