“Your confidence level will go down” - Lito Adiwang believes Danny Kingad’s hunger will be his edge against Adriano Moraes
Lito Adiwang thinks Danny Kingad's desire to become a ONE world champion will be his best weapon against former eight-time titleholder Adriano Moraes.
Emanating from the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, ONE 169 will see Kingad make his long-awaited return to martial arts' biggest global stage for a high-stakes scrap with Moraes—the winner potentially emerging as the next man in line for a shot at the vacant ONE flyweight MMA world championship.
Offering his take on their impending showdown on Friday, Nov. 8, strawweight standout Adiwang suggested that Kingad's hunger could be the deciding factor against his 36-year-old opponent:
"Unlike when it’s been a while since you lost, so you kind of moved on already and accepted the loss already. Your confidence level will go down, so I think that’s Danny’s edge in this fight. The hope is that it’s not the other way around, where Adriano cultivated that fire for a longer time".
"But I think over the past year, Adriano has settled on teaching mostly more than training."
Danny Kingad looks to even the score with Adriano Moraes at ONE 169
ONE 169 won't be the first time Danny Kingad and Adriano Moraes have met under the ONE Championship banner.
The two previously met at ONE: Legends of the World in November 2017. On that night, Moraes successfully defended the ONE flyweight MMA world title via a first-round submission victory over 'The King.'
Kingad bounced back winning six straight before seeing his streak snapped against P4P great Demetrious Johnson two years later.
Since then, 'The King' has alternated wins and losses, but a victory over the division's top-ranked contender could put him right back into title contention.
Who comes out on top when two of the best flyweights in the world meet inside the Mecca of Muay Thai?
Fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE 169: Malykhin vs. ‘Reug Reug’ live on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, Nov. 8 in U.S. primetime.