Since making his debut in ONE Championship earlier this year, the sensational Muay Thai fighter Johan Ghazali has won five consecutive battles in a row, accumulating a total of five victories. However, he stated that this is only the beginning for him.
Beginning when he demonstrated his abilities in the weekly ONE Friday Fights series, the Malaysian-American fighter, who is only 17 years old, has taken the promotion by storm. As a result of his convincing performance in each of his first four matches, he was offered a contract of one hundred thousand dollars to become a regular performer on ONE Championship’s main lineup of events.
“Jojo” did not disappoint in his main roster debut at ONE Fight Night 17 on Prime Video on December 8 in Thailand. He knocked out his Mexican opponent Edgar Tabares in a catchweight (141 lbs) Muay Thai match just 36 seconds into the scheduled three-rounder. The fight was set to take place in Thailand.
Johan Ghazali made quick work of veteran Tabares, demonstrating his enormous punching power and killing instinct in the process.
During the interview session that took place after the bout, the Rentap Muaythai Gym standout voiced his pleasure over his ongoing success while simultaneously sounding a caution that he is only getting started.
As Ghazali put it:
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has been there from the very beginning. To everyone who is just beginning to get to know me, I wanted to express my gratitude. I am grateful to you everyone, regardless of where you are. I would appreciate it if you would continue to show your support for me because this is just the beginning. Thank you very much.
Follow the link below to read what he had to say:
As a result of the manner in which he rules over those who are in his way, many people are imagining the possibility of a future confrontation between him and Rodtang Jitmuangnon, who has been the reigning champion of the flyweight division of Muay Thai for a very long time. Because he considers “The Ironman” to be a fighter of the highest caliber, he has expressed that he is looking forward to this opportunity.
Customers in North America who have Prime Video subscriptions can watch the replay of ONE Fight Night 17 whenever they want, free of charge.
Johan Ghazali misses out on $50,000 performance bonus
Despite the fact that he was once again dominant in his most recent fight, Johan Ghazali was unable to make it fully compact because he did not make weight, which resulted in him missing out on a potential performance bonus of $50,000.
As a result of his inability to maintain a weight that was within the prescribed range, “Jojo” was forced to compete against Edgar Tabares, an experienced Mexican fighter, at a catchweight of 141 pounds. Initially, the fight was scheduled to take place at a flyweight (135 pounds) Muay Thai bout.
It was because of this that he was not eligible for the $1,000 incentive that was offered by the promotion for outstanding performances. His knockout of Tabares, which took only 36 seconds, would have easily qualified him for the reward.
Ghazali, on the other hand, stated that he was content with the situation, admitting that he had made a mistake by failing to account for weight, and stating that the victory itself was already a prize.
In the aftermath of his triumph, he disclosed the following to the South China Morning Post:
It’s not a problem. I will tell you the truth: I do not fight for money. One thing I want to make sure you all are aware of is that I fight because I enjoy fighting. My desire to receive the bonus was obvious. The fact of the matter is, who doesn’t want money, right? Having money is a lot of joy. To answer your question, I do not fight for money. When I do it again, I will, without a doubt, make it better.