“He probably has more impact force” - Aliff wary of Walter Goncalves’ power in his strawweight debut
Thai-Malaysian star Aliff Sor Dechapan will be wary of Walter Goncalves' power when the two strikers square off at ONE 169.
Aside from a closely contested split decision loss against Ellis Badr Barboza at ONE Fight Night 23 in July, Aliff has looked nothing short of spectacular inside the Circle, securing five impressive victories, including four highlight-reel KOs.
On Friday, Nov. 8, he'll look to add another big win to his resume when he meets Goncalves as part of a loaded ONE 169 card inside the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Speaking with ONE Championship ahead of their showdown on martial arts' biggest global stage, Aliff doesn't see Goncalves' size being an issue but believes the Brazilian probably packs a more powerful punch than himself:
“I don’t think [him moving down in weight] matters because I don’t see him as having a great size. He’s probably in the right shape to fight in the 135 or 125 divisions, similar to Zakaria El Jamari. But he probably has more impact force than me.”
Walter Goncalves in desperate need of a win against Aliff at ONE 169
While Aliff has been stacking bodies inside the Circle since making his promotional debut last year, Walter Goncalves has struggled to find the win column in recent years—though to be fair, his strength of schedule has been among the toughest in all of ONE Championship.
Goncalves made his promotional debut at ONE: Century Part II against Rodtang Jitmuangnon and nearly dethroned 'The Iron Man.'
Since then, he's lost three of his last four, though those losses came against former WBC Muay Thai champion Momotaro, reigning two-sport king Superlek Kiatmoo9, and Jacob Smith—the man who will challenge Rodtang for the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title at ONE 169.
Will Goncalves climb back into the win column inside the Mecca of Muay Thai, or will Aliff earn his sixth career win in ONE?
Fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE 169: Malykhin vs. ‘Reug Reug’ live on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, Nov. 8 in U.S. primetime.