Danny ‘The King’ Kingad will clash in an intriguing flyweight bout against Kairat ‘The Kazakh’ Akhmetov on December 17, 2021, at ONE: WINTER WARRIORS II. The pair couldn’t wait for their showdown as they engaged themselves in banter ahead of their fight. 

Both fighters have been slated to face each other multiple times in the past. The pair were initially scheduled to clash in the 2019 ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix semi-final. However, Akhmetov suffered an injury, resulting in him withdrawing from the Grand Prix. 

Since then, their fight had been rescheduled multiple times. Now that the two got a final scheduled date, they couldn’t help themselves but get into a war of words. 

Furthermore, Akhmetov recently took a dig at the Filipino fighter’s grappling and striking skills. In an interview with ONE Championship, ‘The Kazakh’ said that Kingad doesn’t have a good ground game and berated his striking as well.

Meanwhile, Kingad also had an interview with ONE Championship recently, where he had a befitting reply. It appeared that ‘The King’ remained unfazed by Akhmetov’s comments.

Kingad said – “I really don’t mind it. I’ll just use it as motivation. He’s been saying I’m not that good on the ground? I’ll be working on my ground game more than ever. All the things that he’s been saying, I’m just turning it into motivation to become a better athlete.”

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Danny Kingad on Kairat Akhmetov’s improving striking skills

Akhmetov started his combat sports career through wrestling. Furthermore, he claimed three Greco-Roman National Wrestling Championships before transitioning to MMA. Thus, there is no doubt that ‘The Kazakh’ is an elite grappler. 

Additionally, Akhmetov is also good on the feet. In his last couple of fights against Reece McLaren and Dae Hwan Kim, ‘The Kazakh’ didn’t hold back while he displayed his improved striking skills. 

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Moreover, Akhmetov’s foe, Kingad, also agrees with the above statement. However, the Filipino fighter claims he is superior in terms of striking between the two.

In the same interview, Kingad said – “Yeah, even I noticed that his striking has been improving. I watched his last fight and I got really excited because his improvement really impressed me. He’s also said that he wants to strike with me, so I’m really motivated by that. I hope he knows that he’s facing a deadly striker.”

“Maybe I’ll give him problems when we box. If he truly decides to strike with me, then he’s basically playing my game. That’s the match that I want, so I hope he knows what he wants.” – ‘The King’ added.

The banter between the two further adds to the intrigue of this fight. Thus, there is no doubt that fans can expect fireworks when Kingad and Akhmetov face off at ONE: WINTER WARRIORS II. 

What do you make of what Danny Kingad had to say? Do share with us your pick between the two in the comments section down below.

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