"One of my biggest rivals" - Marat Grigorian weighs in on epic rivalry with kickboxing great Superbon
Current second-ranked ONE featherweight kickboxing contender Marat Grigorian is convinced that he and Superbon are forever intertwined because of their long-time rivalry, which spanned six years. The two first crossed paths in 2018 and are still fighting each other today.
Grigorian and Superbon are scheduled to be the main attractions of the upcoming ONE Friday Fights 58 card on April 5 inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, where they will battle for the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world title.
Speaking to ONE Championship ahead of their rematch under the ONE Championship banner, the Armenian striking star admits that the Thai combat sports icon is one of the biggest nemeses in his professional career as a fighter, as he said:
"We fought each other a [couple] of times. And they were always on the top, always for the title or some super fight. So yeah, he is one of my biggest rivals in this division."
The two kickboxing superstars have split their head-to-head matchup at one apiece, with Marat Grigorian drawing first blood in 2018 and Superbon exacting revenge in 2022. Now, they are bound to put this rivalry to an end and identify the rightful challenger to the current reign of the division's undisputed king, Chingiz Allazov.
Marat Grigorian vows to beat Superbon in upcoming clash because of his stronger mindset
During their 2022 encounter, Marat Grigorian revealed that he was having difficulty dealing with different factors outside of fighting, which affected his performance inside the ring. But this time, he has fixed these issues and promises to have a better showing.
The Hemmers gym representative also reiterated that having a strong mental game is very important when competing at the highest level because physical strength and prowess will not be enough to achieve great things.
ONE Friday Fights 58 will be available on global pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com in Asia primetime on April 5.