Kantharaj Agasa is the latest Indian fighter to sign with ONE Championship. He is a Super Fight League veteran who has also fought for promotions in the Middle East like UAE Warriors and Brave.
Agasa makes his promotional debut at ONE: ‘Full Blast’ which is being broadcast on Friday. He says it is a ‘dream come true’,
“ONE Championship is a huge organization, recognized, it’s really famous. I always dreamed of competing in the world’s best organization. It’s a dream-come-true moment for me. Hopefully, I will start with a win in my debut.
The Indian has been matched with Xie Wie. He expects his Chinese opponent to try and keep the fight standing,
“My preparation has been really great and I feel confident about the fight. From what I have seen, my opponent focuses on his striking. He is good, too, but in grappling, he is no match for me. My game plan is to play to my strengths,” he said.
Clear advantage
Agasa is confident he will be able to get the fight to the ground and if successful the Indian expects to be at a clear advantage,
“I think his weakness is his ground game. Since I am a grappler, he will definitely work on it before the match, but his preparation won’t matter because I am better than him.”
However he admits that Wie is a ‘good opponent’,
“Xie Wei is a really good opponent, but I trust my hard work and grappling. I am a born grappler, so I think the fight will be over on the ground. I always try to take the fight to the canvas and finish it there.”
First impressions
Agasa knows that first impressions count and he would like to announce himself to ONE Championship fans with a submission win,
“If everything goes according to my plan, I will finish Xie in the first round by submission,” Agasa says.
This may be his first fight for ONE Championship but Agasa already has his sights set on securing a bantamweight title shot by the end of the year,
“I am hoping to take part in at least three fights this year and win them all. By the end of next year, I would like to beat all my opponents in this division and hopefully get a title shot.”
