When Kang Ji Won, also known as “Mighty Warrior,” makes his return at ONE Fight Night 18, which will take place on Friday, January 13, he will be looking to get back into the winning mix.
It is planned that the South Korean superstar would compete against Mikhail Jamal Abdul-Latif, a newbie to the world of mixed martial arts (MMA), in a heavyweight fight that will be broadcast live from the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
This match, along with four others, was revealed by the organization on its website on Monday, January 8th. After a spectacular 2023 for ONE Championship, this event signals the beginning of a new campaign for the organization.
As a result of his tremendous punching power, the 28-year-old has been able to secure three remarkable victories inside the ring. He is hopeful that this power will translate into another successful outcome when he faces the Dutch-American challenger.
In his first two bouts, the Wang Ho athlete ripped his way to a pair of first-round finishes over the Iranian combination Mehdi Barghi and Amir Aliakbari. Both of these encounters took place in Kazakhstan.
He was defeated by Marcus Almeida’s inch-perfect grappling game in the opening round of their fight at ONE: Winter Warriors in December 2021. Unfortunately, his third promotional excursion did not go as planned, as he was defeated by Almeida.
Even though he had suffered a defeat, Kang Ji Won did not let that deter him from pursuing his goals of reaching the highest level in the heavyweight division. At ONE X, he knocked out Paul Elliott in 58 seconds, making it the quickest victory of his career. This victory came just three months after his previous triumph.
Despite the fact that he was riding a wave of positive momentum, “Mighty Warrior” was unsuccessful in his comeback to competition against Ben Tynan, who was making his debut. Tynan was the only heavyweight fighter in his career to take the heavyweight favorite past the opening round.
With the defeat by submission that he suffered at the hands of Tynan fresh in his mind, Kang Ji Won, a knockout specialist who has a perfect finishing percentage, promises to be back better than before. He is aware that a victory might put him in a position to become a heavyweight world title contender in the future.
Kang Ji Won needs to showcase an improved grappling game in his return
The only way that Kang Ji Won knows how to punch a ticket to success is through his massive fists and his ability to discover an opening in the stand-up department.
On the other hand, the heavyweight superstar needs to dedicate more of his attention to improving his wrestling and jiu-jitsu skills. This is evidenced by the fact that he has lost to Tynan and Almeida via submission over the course of the past two years.
Since Kang Ji Won has improved his skill set on the canvas, he has the potential to be a fighter to keep an eye on when ONE Championship returns to Bangkok, Thailand, on January 13.
Those fans in North America who have an active subscription to Amazon Prime Video will be able to watch the whole ONE Fight Night 18 event live and for free throughout the primetime hours of the United States this coming Friday.
