"I showed people I can strike" - Ben Tynan says Duke Didier TKO proves that his striking is on par with his grappling
When Ben Tynan arrived in ONE Championship, fans were excited to see how well the grappling prospect would fare in the heavyweight MMA division.
'Vanilla Thunder' comes from a prestigious wrestling background that will always be the foundation of his game, but that doesn't mean he isn't a very capable mixed martial artist.
His wrestling was key to securing his debut win at ONE Fight Night 16, where he took on power puncher Kang Ji Won. However, in his second outing, it was the striking of Tynan that got the fans out of their seats inside the Lumpinee Stadium.
A first-round finish over Duke Didier allowed the heavyweight contender to showcase a bit more of his overall game, which he was happy to let fans in on.
In a post-fight interview with Nick Atkin for Sportskeeda MMA, Ben Tynan spoke about putting his striking into the spotlight at ONE Fight Night 21:
"Yeah, yeah. I showed people I can strike. Especially with my elbow and my clinch work, I think it really like shows people, like not only do they have to worry about me taking their legs, but they shouldn't be close to me because yeah those big shots are coming."
Watch the full interview below:
Ben Tynan saw his stock go up after ONE Fight Night 21
Seeing more of his overall game has only helped to increase the stock of Ben Tynan following his back-to-back wins in ONE Championship.
Anyone who had concerns or doubts over his ability to strike had their questions answered in impressive fashion on April 5.
Now that he has shown that he can win fights in multiple ways and is a problem whilst the fight stays standing, Tynan is only more of a danger to the other heavyweights.
With his sights set on the very top of the division, the Canadian fighter continues to climb the ranks in search of greatness.
North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription can rewatch all the action from ONE Fight Night 21 via the free event replay.