Pongsiri Mitsatit is back to winning ways. The 23 year old snapped a two flight losing skid when he beat Robin Catalan at ONE: ‘Warriors of Light’.
Losing two fights in a row is something that most fighters will experience sooner or later. But they were the first two defeats of the Thai strawweight’s career and he had six months to dwell on the second loss.
Fortunately for Mitsatit he bounced back with a win that takes his record to 10-2 and confidence is flowing through his veins ahead of ONE: ‘Dawn of Heroes’.
Mitsatit feels he is back to his best after the win over Catalan,
“After that win, I felt a lot more confident about my abilities. It got me excited about fighting again,” he said.
Title ambitions
The Thai, who faces Miao Li Tao in Manila on Friday night, is not short of confidence or ambition. The strawweight title keeps changing hands and he wants to get his on it,
“I’m definitely a lot more confident going into this fight, and I feel that I am getting closer to a title shot,” he said.
Tao is coming off a KO win over former champion Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke. Mitsatit has seen that fight and knows what to expect from his Chinese opponent at ONE: ‘Dawn of Heroes’,
“My opponent is a boxer. I think my clinch will work well against his style (because) from what I’ve seen he doesn’t really like knees to the body.”
No mistakes
Given his Muay Thai background Mitsatit is not about to back down from a striking battle. He’s ready to go toe to toe with Tao but knows that composure is key,
“His punches are his biggest weapon. I’m not scared to trade, but I won’t be careless and I need to listen to my coaches. I’m working on takedown defense, I want to keep the fight standing.”
Tao has won two fights out of two for ONE Championship, stopping both opponents in the opening round. Mitsatit expects his opponent to start fast thinks he will fade down the stretch,
“For the first round I plan to be tentative, unless the opportunity for a knockout presents itself and then I’ll go for it! I think he will only be strong for the first round, and then he will fade after that,” he said.
Clash of styles
He’s been working with George Hickman at Tiger Muay Thai and says the coach has been pushing him hard,
“I’m training hard (and) I believe that I can knock him out. George is really pushing me on the pads.”
Tao has the proven one punch knockout power. One swish of his right hand has accounted for two opponents in ONE Championship bouts, one of them a former champion.
Meanwhile Mitsatit is more of an all rounder and can use all eight of the traditional Muay Thai weapons. He’s particularly dangerous with his knees and thinks the ingredients are in place for Friday’s fight to be a memorable one for the fans,
“Our clash of styles will really make for an exciting match-up. I think it is going to be a great fight, and something the fans will really enjoy.”
