“I’m going out there to risk it all” - Bokang Masunyane aims for first finish in ONE
Bokang Masunyane is back with another thing in mind: taking the first finish in his career with the organization.
The high-flying strawweight fighter is on a two-bout winning streak over Hiroba Minowa and Keito Yamakita, but none of those ended early, as well as his previous fights in ONE Championship.
Therefore, he is confident that this time would be different at ONE Fight Night 25, where Masunyane is slated to face Mansur Malachiev on October 4 inside the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
In a recent interview, 'Little Giant' told ONE about his determination to claim a finish over his opponent this time:
"I’ve been playing a safe game, and I’ve been beating the guys, but every time I look at the tape, I’m very disappointed I wasn’t able to finish, even when I’ve been dominant."
He added:
"So this time, I’m going out there to risk it all. The more you risk it, the better opportunities you get to win."
Nonetheless, with an opponent like Malachiev, a finish would be something of a tall order for Masunyane, as both fighters has only lost once in the promotion.
ONE Fight Night 25 will air live and free of charge via Amazon Prime Video in the United States and Canada on Friday, Oct. 4, in US primetime.
Bokang Masunyane wants to show he's a 'finisher'
The second-ranked ONE strawweight MMA contender Bokang Masunyane is headed to war, and this time, he'll face a dangerous grappler in Russia's Mansur Malachiev.
Knowing this would be a tough task in his career with the promotion, Masunyane still believes that he can still set up an empathic victory with a finish, although it will require him to take more risks.
He told ONE Championship in the same interview:
"I haven’t really changed much of my game plan because I know it’s good, but I do want to start finishing fights. I know I can take my opponents to the deep end, so why not risk it and go to finish the fight?"
Bokang Masunyane is currently holding a 4-1 record with ONE Championship, as his only loss came from the ONE interim strawweight MMA world champion Jarred Brooks.