"I hope to do well in this new division" - Walter Goncalves eager to start fresh in strawweight bracket vs Aliff at ONE 169
Brazilian slugger Walter Goncalves may not have had the most enjoyable run throughout his tenure at ONE Championship, but he hopes to put that in the rear-view mirror come ONE 169 on November 8.
That evening inside the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, the 26-year-old Blackthai CT affiliate returns on the global stage to make his strawweight Muay Thai debut.
On the back of three consecutive defeats — against Jacob Smith, Banma Duoji, and Superlek Kiatmoo9 — many would assume that the man nicknamed 'Iron Hands' lacks self-confidence.
However, his mind isn't dwelling too much on results that haven't gone his way. He told ONE Championship that his focus is on getting things off and running as smoothly as possible against Aliff Sor Dechapan:
"I hope to do well in this new division at ONE and achieve everything on this new journey that I am starting in the organization."
Aliff seeks to ruin Walter Goncalves' dream inside the Lumpinee Stadium
Though he is gunning for a statement victory inside the Mecca of Muay Thai on fight night, Aliff isn't going to let that happen.
The in-form Thai-Malaysian warrior believes he is levels above Walter Goncalves, and he vows to put it to good use to take home his sixth W under the ONE banner.
Speaking to ONE Championship separately, Aliff shared:
"I'm taller than [Goncalves] and have a wider variety of Muay Thai weapons. I will try to use them to finish him inside the distance."
Find out who comes out on top in this must-watch strawweight Muay Thai duel that will be part of ONE 169. North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch the entire card live in U.S. primetime for free.