Ev Ting fixated on winning ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix

On the surface, ONE lightweight athlete Ev "E.T" Ting's path to becoming a professional martial artist was fairly conventional.

While Ting's love for the art of fighting began with an addiction to watching DVDs of famous Japan league Pride, which starred the likes of countryman Mark Hunt, when you dig a bit deeper, the Kiwi-Malaysian's approach has a subtle yet significant edge to it.

Most fighters will tell you they realised the kind of exceptional ability after an extended period of training, even a couple of fights.

In Ting's case, he appeared at the gym's front doorstep on day one adamant that he was going to make martial arts his job - without even having thrown a single strike.

"I showed up and told coach Hamish Robertson at Auckland MMA, 'hey I really want to give this a shot, I want to make this a career'," Ting recalls.

"Most people want to try it out and do it for fitness and have one fight and take a lot of pictures. For me, it was how do I get there? I knew exactly what I wanted. I set the big goals from day one."

READ: Ev Ting is getting ready to roar in Lion City

READ: Ev Ting booked for ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix bout in Singapore

Robertson - his head trainer to this day - put him on the right track, and the rest is history.

"He put me through a fundamental program and then a few grappling matches, then developed me through the journey. All the props to him, he's definitely been a big guidance through my career."

It's testament to Ting's drive and determination that he was able to achieve what seemed - at the time - such a lofty goal.

Now, 21 professional fights deep, he'll take his talents to the big stage at ONE Championship's Call to Greatness in Singapore on Friday against dangerous Dagestani Saygid "Dagi" Arslanaliev.

The bout will open proceedings for the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix - an eight-man tournament to decide who will become the number one contender for the division's title.

Ting has his target firmly set on the strap to which he's come close to on a couple of occasions but never quite managed to grasp.

"There's a new belt on the line for this GP and there nothing I'd like more than that and I feel like I'm in a good position to get it. Unleash and show my skills on fight night, and I should be alright,” Ting concluded.