Danny Kingad Dissects Own Performance In Win At ONE Fight Night 7

Danny Kingad made his return to the fight game after a year-plus layoff and surprised many by his domination of Eko Roni Saputra at ONE Fight Night 7.

"The King" was able to easily land a takedown and control his Indonesian foe on the ground mainly despite Saputra's strong wrestling background.

The Team Lakay star from Sadanga, Philippines revealed that he and his team had prepared for the worst when it came to Saputra.

"We really did prepare for it. Wrestling, striking, the ground game, I should really be prepared for all those things so I can still continue fighting regardless of where the fight goes," Kingad explained in his post-fight interview with the media.

He later explained that the original game plan was focused on a stand-up heavy affair against Saputra, but he decided to keep the fight on the ground as best he can when he saw how easy it was to take down Saputra.

Kingad pulling off a bodylock suplex on Saputra with ease early in the first round was a sign of things to come in the three-round affair and threatened submissions whenever he could.

When the fight did go into the stand-up, Kingad and Saputra were more than happy to trade leather with one another.

The Indonesian had his shining moments, which featured a big right-hand late in the first round and strong ground-and-pound attacks in the second stanza.

Kingad landed big shots of his own throughout the fight; from leg kicks to a spinning elbow that rocked Saputra.

"The King" was out to prove that he deserved to keep his No. 3 ranking since his last fight – a losing effort to Kairat Akhmetov in December 2021.

In their grappling exchanges on the ground, it became evident that Kingad was the stronger of the two and was awarded the unanimous decision victory.

Team Lakay had long been criticized by outside observers for being perceived as a "striker-only" gym with Kingad being fully aware of such labels.

"Of course, we were keen to prove that Team Lakay is not just a strikers-only gym. Ground game, wrestling, striking, all of that, we have it now and we can do it in the cage [or in the ring]," Kingad proudly stated.

Such a dominant victory would have pleased most other fighters, but for the man who has faced the likes of current ONE flyweight king Demetrious Johnson and former titlist Adriano Moreno, it still was not enough for him personally as he had chances to finish Saputra.

"I think I lacked in following up on my attacks. I'm gonna rewatch the fight and will take a look at what I can improve on in my training," Kingad explained.