“I can surprise him" - Yuki Yoza targets statement victory over "Muay Thai legend" Petchtanong

Yuki Yoza is aware that he is up against a Thai legend in Petchtanong Petchfergus in his scheduled match this week in Thailand. It, however, is not stopping him from going for an emphatic victory come fight night.

The 27-year-old Japanese kickboxing star is set to take on former ONE world champion Petchtanong in a bantamweight kickboxing showdown at ONE Friday Fights 116 on July 18 at Bangkok's Lumpinee Stadium.

It will be the second outing of Yoza in ONE Championship after his winning promotional debut in May. He is out to sustain the momentum he has built and underline his push as one of the emerging fighters to contend with in ONE's bantamweight kickboxing division.

Speaking on his official YouTube channel in line with his scheduled match at ONE Friday Fights 116, Yuki Yoza gave his opinion on Petchtanong and his game as well as how he is approaching their match, saying:

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"He’s really good. But I think I can surprise him. He has really good skills that make him dangerous from everywhere. He’s a true Muay Thai legend, so I want to knock him down."

Check out what he had to say below:

Yuki Yoza long competed in Japan at K-1, where he was the lightweight champion, before coming on board ONE Championship earlier this year. In his promotional debut, he impressed with a dominant decision victory over erstwhile streaking Elbrus 'The Samurai' Osmanov of Russia.

Meanwhile, looking to clip his ascent is Petchtanong, the former ONE bantamweight kickboxing king out to sustain his solid form of late in his quest to make another run at the world title he used to hold.

ONE Friday Fights 116 is available live via ONE Championship's official YouTube and Facebook channels, the ONE Super App, and watch.onefc.com.

Yuki Yoza eyeing a possible match against bantamweight superstar Nabil Anane

Yuki Yoza wants to thoroughly challenge himself now that he is competing in ONE Championship. Among the things he is keeping an eye on is testing bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Nabil Anane.

He made it known prior to making his ONE Championship debut in May, highlighting how the Algerian-Thai sensation has piqued his interest, seeing a possible match between them as a solid challenge for him.

Yoza told Sportskeeda MMA in an interview:

"We all know how strong Nabil is. We all know that he has a great character. And I simply want to beat Nabil out of interest. Nothing more."

Anane was recently elevated as the undisputed ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion after holding the interim belt. He has signified his intention to defend his world title against any challenger who dares to take it from him.

One of those possible challengers is Yuki Yoza, who is hell-bent on making waves in ONE Championship's bantamweight lane.

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Edited by Aziel Karthak