It was the biggest fight of Danny Kingad’s career. After winning seven fights out of seven he was handed a shot at reigning ONE flyweight champion Adriano Moraes.
Kingad’s record was impressive enough. But, by his own admission, he was not ready
“Something was missing. He beat me,” he recalls.
The Team Lakay standout suggests that he lacked a little something in terms of self belief going into that 2017 contest,
“First and foremost, my shortcoming in that bout is related to my nervousness. It was my first time for the world title shot, so I really got nervous.”
As a result Kingad was unable to put into practise the things he had been working on in the gym,
“I was unable to follow my game plan because it slipped my mind when I was inside the cage competing.
Size the day
Kingad is set to face Demetrious Johnson at ONE: ‘Century’. His opponent t is widely regarded as being the best flyweight of all time, and the fight will be broadcast live on prime time television in the U.S.
There’s a lot to be nervous about. But Kingad claims that this time around it won’t be an issue,
“What I learned in that bout (the loss to Moraes) is to not have my nervousness get the best of me. Your mind and heart should not falter,” he said.
For Kingad the key at the Ryogoku Kokugikan on October 13th will be to seize the day,
“If you hesitate, everything will be lost. You will lose your game plan too. You will get weak. I also learned to keep your game plan in mind. You should stick with it and execute.”
He also knows it will be essential to keep calm and stick to the game plan,
“Do not panic, because if you panic, you will ruin your game plan.”
Different fighter
That loss to Moraes has clearly not affected Kingad’s form, at least not in a negative sense. He went right back to doing exactly what he had been doing before, winning every single fight.
However Kingad believes it made him a better fighter,
“It’s a different Danny Kingad after that defeat. In the last two years, I was able to develop as a mixed martial artist because I watch all my mistakes, and worked on them in the gym so I can prevent them from happening again in my next bouts,” he says.
Beating Johnson will be a tall task. The three men who have managed to do so are Brad Pickett, Dominick Cruz and Henry Cejudo while the list of fighters who have tried and failed is long and distinguished.
But this time around Kingad is not lacking in self belief. He feels everything has fallen into place perfectly and there will be a major upset on October 11th,
“I used to be very impulsive, but now I realize that I am more relaxed and tactical. I also improved my ground game. I am more focused now. I am more determined. I am ready to achieve that title.”
