MMA News: ONE Strawweight King Warns Against Counting Out Danny Kingad

Danny Kingad is set to make his return to the cage after almost two years of being away, going up against Kairat Akhmetov on Friday, December 17 at ONE: Winter Warriors II

ONE strawweight king and fellow Team Lakay comrade Joshua Pacio cautioned everyone against counting out Kingad in his bout with Akhmetov, revealing that his close friend has been in non-stop training despite not being booked to fight in recent months.

"A lot of people have been saying that Danny [Kingad] might deal with ring rust because he hasn't fought in a long time. But he never stopped training and actually, I believe that the time which was more than a year that Danny spent away from the cage even made him better because he put in the work,” Pacio remarked.

The No. 3-ranked flyweight was riding a massive six-fight winning streak before he faced one of the greatest fighters of all time in Demetrious Johnson in the finals of the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix in October 2019.

Curiously enough, the Filipino and Akhmetov were set to do battle in the semifinals of the tournament, but Akhmetov pulled out of the bout due to injury, which left Kingad to face and defeat Reece McLaren before going up against Johnson.

As for Akhmetov, the Kazakh is riding a three-fight win streak of his own but is also staring at a 12-month layoff himself, with his last fight being against Dae Hwan Kim in December 2020.

The long-awaited matchup between Kingad and Akhmetov is set to be the headliner for ONE: Winter Warriors II, but Kingad’s Team Lakay brothers will also be joining him at the event.

Kevin Belingon will be fighting South Korea’s Kwon Won Il in the co-main event, while promotion debutants Stephen Loman and Jhanlo Sangiao hold the honors of opening the card against Yusup Saadulaev and Paul Lumihi respectively.

"Everyone in the gym saw how much [he has] improved as a martial artist. Danny [Kingad] wants to prove that he's ready for primetime and he can't wait to mix it up with some of the best in his weight class. When I say Danny has made lots of improvements, it means that he still has a lot to show for the fans. And when he has said that he has a gift for Kairat, he's intent to show that because he still has a lot of weapons in his bag,” Pacio stated.

ONE: Winter Warriors II will be streaming live on the ONE Super App and official ONE Championship YouTube channel for fans in Asia on Friday, December 17 at 8:30 PM.

Meanwhile, the North American audience can catch the entire card via B/R Live at 7:30 AM ET.