Come October 13, Malaysian mixed martial arts (MMA) star Agilan Thani will be battling it out against Japan's finest, Yushin 'Thunder' Okami in Tokyo, Japan.
Well aware that his opponent is a formidable one, the 24-year-old lad hopes that his bout with Okami would end up a 'war'.
"I definitely want to go for war. The last fight (with Yoshihiro Akiyama) was war too, so I hope this fight can be one too," said Agilan when met at Monarchy MMA gym here recently.
Nevertheless, the hometown hero also said he wouldn't mind making a quick win in the first round.
"But a finish would be nice (too), the first round finish always the best. But I'll do my best, no promises," he said.
Describing about his opponent, Agilan admitted that Okami seems 'very intimidating' due to the fact that the latter has 17 wins by decision.
"I have watched him and I think he's a very good grappler and MMA fighter. He has 17 wins by decision which is very intimidating because he dominates his opponent for 15 minutes, so it puts him at a very high place.
"You have to be in good cardio and have a good game plan to fight like that," said 'The Alligator'.
When asked about his expectations for the fight, Agilan said he expects nothing but to put on a good show and to bring out the best version of Okami.
"That's all I expect. Nothing else," he added.
Agilan has fought quite a number of the world's toughest opponents, including Akiyama whom he defeated during their bout in Shanghai, China on June 15. He won via unanimous decision.
With a MMA record of 10-3, Agilan captured the Malaysia Invasion (MIMMA) amateur championship title before turning professional, winning six bouts in a row on the global stage of ONE Championship to earn a shot at Ben Askren’s coveted title.
ONE: Century takes places at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, and is the single greatest world championship martial arts event in the last 100 years.
With 28 World Champions featured across various martial arts, ONE: Century is also the first martial arts event in history to host two full-scale World Championship events on the same day.
It features world championship title bouts, World Grand Prix Championship Finals, and world champion versus world champion match-ups.
Haider Yutim
Sun Oct 06 2019

Agilan says he expects nothing but to put on a good show and to bring out the best version of Okami. - Filepic/ONE

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