Confident Danny Kingad Gunning For Finish In ONE Championship Return Fight

Filipino flyweight mixed martial arts (MMA) star Danny Kingad is set to finally make his return to the cage in late February at ONE Fight Night 7 and he has grown more confident than ever.

"The King" has been on a year-long layoff from fighting due to no fault of his own.

He recently caught up with International Business Times sports editor and combat sports analyst Nissi Icasiano to bare his thoughts on finally getting to fight once again.

"Finally, after one year. I thought I was going to make a comeback in December 2022, but I simply wasn't able to be on that card. I'm really excited to enter the cage again and eager to get back into fighting," he told Icasiano.

Kingad, 27, was originally on track to end his time away from the cage when he was scheduled to face Gurdarshan Mangat at ONE 164 on December 3, 2022.

The fight fell through in late October, however, when it was later confirmed to the International Business Times that Mangat had been forced to withdraw from the bout, citing an undisclosed injury.

While ONE Championship scrambled to find an opponent for Kingad on the card that featured multiple Filipino talents, it soon became apparent that no one was willing to fight him then, eventually being left off the card altogether.

It was not a setback in his eyes though as he was still able to remain active outside of the cage, even going so far as to be one of the representatives of the Philippines at the 2022 Asian Kickboxing Championships.

"It was very important for me to be part of the national team and I'm happy to be a part of it. It's very important to me because even though my fight did not push through, I was still training with the national team, so I didn't get any hang-ups in training," Kingad stated in the interview.

"I do slightly believe in ring rust, actually. The pro league is just so different from the amateurs. Although when you combine the two, it gives you a weirdly good feeling."

The Team Lakay standout was not alone in his quest as he was just one of seven representatives to be in the tournament.

Kingad, alongside Carlo Von Buminaang and fellow ONE Championship fighter Honorio Banario, failed to secure medals due to an early exit.

"The King" is now slated to face a streaking Eko Roni Saputra of Indonesia at ONE Fight Night 7 after recording seven straight victories since 2019.

But for the former ONE flyweight title contender, Kingad is chomping at the bit to simply be back in the Circle and admitted that he is feeling some pressure to protect his No. 3 spot in the divisional rankings.

"Yeah, there is a bit of it. That pressure is really pushing me to keep training so that in case I fight another unranked man, I have to finish him. I need to just win and do it convincingly. The one I'm fighting is not even ranked in the Top Five yet, so I need to finish him to prove my point," an eager Kingad admitted.

In his last foray at ONE: Winter Warriors 2 in December 2021, Kingad was unable to overcome the wrestling-heavy style of Kairat Akhmetov and was defeated by unanimous decision–an outcome that he hopes to avoid against Saputra.

As both Saputra and Akhmetov both rely on their wrestling to gain the advantage, Kingad is adamant that the latter "is a lot stronger" and even jovially stressed that he will bring Saputra to the ground himself.

But as for the outcome, Kingad was a little bit cheekier in his response.

"It's really hard to predict the outcome, but the way I see it, I'm going to finish him off in any round. That's my plan. I won't let it go into the judges' hands, but if it goes that way, well, I can't do anything about it," he declared.

Overall, ONE Championship fans can expect to witness a reenergized Kingad on February 24 as he aims to fend off the streaking Saputra from potentially kicking him off the rankings.