Despite recent skid, Malaysia's Ev Ting still chasing his dreams

The lightweight athlete has 16 victories on his resume, and he is proudly flying the flags of Malaysia and New Zealand every time he competes in ONE Championship.

Lately, however, the 29-year-old has experienced some tough times.

For the time in his career, he has suffered successive defeats and finds himself on a losing skid. However, he plans to turn his career around quickly, and he is already training at his gym home, Auckland MMA, once again.

“It’s been the same work on a different day,” Ting said.

“It’s my first time coming off two losses, and it’s definitely a reality check to step my game up. I accept the lows as part of the journey, and I’m excited to return to the cage again.”

What separates Ting from the rest of the Malaysian contingent is his vast experience inside the cage.

Currently, he is the most active ONE athlete from Malaysia with 14 appearances in The Home of Martial Arts.

Despite the recent setbacks, Ting admitted he would not rest until he becomes the ONE Lightweight World Champion.

With the support he has received from the members at both Auckland MMA and his other main training hub, Bali MMA, he is confident he will accomplish his goal.

“I’m just back to my casual contract work, spending time at home, and developing and chilling with the Auckland MMA team,” he explained.

“Everyone’s shared their comfort words, but to me, it’s just going back to the lab, to reflect and improvise on various strategies. It was easy to get back up and continue to coach.”

The ONE lightweight division is one of the promotion’s most stacked weight classes, and it will come to life again in less than two weeks when ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang defends the gold against former titleholder Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki at ONE: A NEW ERA in Tokyo, Japan on 31 March.

Also, on the main card, American megastar Eddie “The Underground King” Alvarez battles Russian knockout artist Timofey Nastyukhin in a ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix quarter-final bout.

All of those men could be future opponents for “E.T.,” who will be watching the two match-ups closely.

“I’ve got no predictions on the matches,” Ting said. “But I’m going to enjoy it from the side with some popcorn.”