Mansur Malachiev happy to duke out with Bokang Masunyane than to hunt for highlight-reel moment: “It’s not important”
The most important thing to Mansur Malachiev is winning. Whether that happens in the first round or the third round, it makes no difference. On Friday, Oct. 4, the Russian standout will look to land his third win under the ONE Championship banner when he heads to the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand for a high-stakes showdown with fellow top-five strawweight MMA contender Bokang Masunyane.
It will be the first-ever meeting between the two and could very well establish the next man in line for a shot at the ONE strawweight MMA world championship.
Speaking with ONE Championship ahead of his return to action inside the Mecca of Muay Thai, Mansur Malachiev made it clear that getting the win is the most important thing and he's not overly considered with netting an early finish or a highlight-reel KO. He said:
"I don't like to talk too much before the fight, but I will do everything to win this fight...and for me, it's not important to finish him early. The most important thing for me is to win this fight and prove that I'm the best."
Bokang Masunyane heading into his fight with Mansur Malachiev having won back-to-back bouts
Getting a win over Bokang Masunyane has proven to be no easy task. In fact, only one man has bested him since 'Little Giant' made his promotional debut five years ago. That lone loss just so happens to have come against the current interim ONE strawweight MMA world champion, Jarred Brooks.
Speaking to ONE, Masunyane said:
"Losing against Jarred Brooks was a bitter pill to swallow...It was my only loss and I had to go back home, fix a lot of stuff, and make sure that I was mentally and physically prepared. I felt like the weight cut played a role, so I made changes to that and to my diet and everything, so leading up to the other fights it was much easier for me."
Since the loss to Brooks, Masunyane has won back-to-back bouts against Hiroba Minowa and Keito Yamakita. If he can snatch a third straight win over Mansur Malachiev, 'Little Giant' could find himself once again matched up with 'The Monkey God' on martial arts' biggest global stage.
ONE Fight Night 25 will air live via Amazon Prime Video in the United States and Canada on Friday, Oct. 4 at U.S. primetime.