It’s been one year since Agilan “Alligator” Thani last competed in the ONE Championship Circle. But on Friday, he’ll finally step back onto the global stage.
Thani will take on former ONE Welterweight World Title challenger Tyler McGuire at ONE: BIG BANG II, a previously recorded event from the Singapore Indoor Stadium that airs on 11 December.
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A former welterweight challenger himself, Thani is ecstatic to be competing after such a long layoff due to COVID-19. And he’s even more excited to be facing an elite opponent like McGuire.
“Tyler is a top contender. I was offered a different opponent at first, but because of the travel bans and COVID situation, it was changed to him, and I was happy that I was offered another opportunity to compete,” Thani said.
“Beating Tyler will definitely put me in a better place in the division because he was one of the last guys to fight for the title. But there are some really new guys who look super dangerous now, so it would be up to ONE [as far as] where we go after that.”
Thani would move further up the division with a win over the American, but beating the superb grappler won’t be easy.
“I’ve got to be ready to adapt. I need to have the advantage everywhere. I have to use my mind and be smart with the game plan — don’t let him play his A-game,” Thani said.
“I’ve got to stop him from getting what he wants, which is usually his wrestling. I’ve got to keep moving to stop him from doing that, but when he doesn’t want to wrestle, I’ve got to wrestle him.”
Thani doesn’t only want to outwrestle his foe. He wants to finish him decisively – and not by submission.
“Obviously, the ideal scenario would be a finish because I haven’t had one in the past two years, so a finish against McGuire would be a dream performance to me,” the Malaysian said.
“He keeps his hands down low when he is moving a lot, and I think that’s when I can catch him with my punches and my kicks.”
Watch ONE: BIG BANG II, a previously recorded event from the Singapore Indoor Stadium, on 11 December on meWATCH or the ONE Super App at 8:30 p.m. Singapore Standard Time (SGT). Also, Channel 5 will cut into the broadcast at 10 p.m. SGT.
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