3 possible opponents for teenage sensation Johan Ghazali after his big win at ONE 168: Denver
After returning to the win column, Johan Ghazali wants to make up for lost time by targeting some big-name opponents. He suffered his first setback at ONE 167 where the rising star was taught some major lessons.
However, he was able to put his loss to Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat behind him by stopping Josue Cruz at ONE 168, potentially setting him up for some very exciting clashes next time out.
1. Denis Puric
One of the names that Ghazali mentioned immediately after the fight is striking veteran Denis Puric. 'The Bosnian Menace' provides a match-up that puts youth up against experience and with Puric's fan-friendly fighting style, you know that he's not going to back down from trading strikes with anyone.
This was best proven in his last fight at ONE 167 where he went toe-to-toe with Rodtang in a fight of the year contender. Puric doesn't seem too sold on the fight right now, but it's an exciting option to keep an eye on.
2. Freddie Haggerty
Another potential opponent that was name-dropped by Ghazali is Freddie Haggerty, another of the roster's most promising rising stars.
The younger brother of Jonathan Haggerty has gone undefeated under the ONE Championship banner thus far. Though there's the possibility that they could meet further down the line when both of them are at the very top of the food chain, it would be huge to see them meet this early on in their careers.
3. Elias Mahmoudi
In what would surely be yet another firefight, Elias Mahmoudi could be on the table as a flyweight contender who has got some real momentum behind him right now.
He's coming off of back-to-back wins and his last performance at ONE Fight Night 24 was particularly memorable.
Mahmoudi stopped Taiki Naito with a beautiful spinning knockout so if he's stepping in to take on Johan Ghazali, you can't afford to look away.
The replay of ONE 168: Denver is available on demand for those with a Prime Video subscription in North America.