“I was ready for it” - Bokang Masunyane on pivotal strawweight war with Mansur Malachiev at ONE Fight Night 25

Bokang Masunyane is feeling very good ahead of his strawweight scrap with fellow top-five-ranked contender Mansur Malachiev.

'Little Giant' is on the cusp of earning a shot at the division's top prize, but to get there, he'll have to go through a dangerous Russian standout who—like him—only has one loss on his record.

Emanating from the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, Masunyane and Malachiev will meet as part of a stacked ONE Fight Night 25 card airing live on Amazon Prime Video in the United States and Canada.

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Having won back-to-back bouts against Hiroba Minowa and Keito Yamakita in his last two outings, Masunyane is feeling pretty good about his chance against Malachiev inside the Mecca of Muay Thai.

Bokang told ONE Championship:

"I feel very good about this fight with Mansur. The goal was always to stay active and keep fighting as much as I can to get the experience, so as soon as they offered me the fight I was ready for it."

Bokang Masunyane and Mansur Malachiev vie for a potential title opportunity at ONE Fight Night 25

Apart from a loss to interim ONE strawweight MMA world champion Jarred 'The Monkey God' Brooks, Bokang Masunyane is a near-perfect 10-1 in his mixed martial arts career, with four of those victories coming inside the Circle. With another big win at ONE Fight Night 25, 'Little Giant' could very well find himself as the next man in line for a shot at the strawweight MMA title.

Of course, Malachiev has that same goal in mind.

Winner of two of his last three, the Russian is on the verge of his first title shot, but to get there, he'll have to get past his toughest test yet against the South African sensation.

ONE Fight Night 25 will air live via Amazon Prime Video in the United States and Canada on Friday, October 4 in U.S. primetime.