Former ONE World Title challenger Agilan “Alligator” Thani of Malaysia is looking to make it two in a row when he steps back inside the ONE Circle against American Tyler McGuire.

Thani and McGuire are set to face off at ONE: BIG BANG II, a previously recorded event from the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore scheduled for global broadcast this Friday, 11 December.

Thani believes a victory over McGuire could bring him back into the World Title conversation.

“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 told ONE Championship.

“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.”

McGuire joined ONE Championship in July of 2018, beating the dangerous Luis Santos in a dominant performance which earned him a shot at then ONE Welterweight World Champion Zebaztian Kadestam. Unfortunately, the American fell to Kadestam via 5th round knockout and lost his perfect record.

Thani believes he has a good chance to do the same to McGuire, if he can follow his game plan.

“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. 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,” said Thani.

“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.”

Since making his ONE Championship debut in 2015, Thani has been a fixture in the biggest bouts at welterweight, representing his home country of Malaysia on the global stage of competition.

Throughout the years, Thani has faced some incredible names in the sport, including UFC legends Yoshihiro Akiyama and Yushin Okami. He’s also taken on former and current World Champions including Ben Askren, Zebaztian Kadestam, and Kiamrian Abbasov.

There’s nothing more that Thani would like than to challenge for the title once again, and he’s looking to use McGuire as a springboard up the rankings.

“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,” said Thani.

“What keeps me pushing forward now is trying to perform at my best in every fight. I’ve had fights where I’ve been flat and done nothing, so I got beat up. But now, I want to show what I am capable of every time.”

ONE Championship earlier this year announced a partnership with food delivery service, Foodpanda. The two companies are working together on a variety of initiatives and activations, aimed at bringing fans closer to their favorite Malaysian athletes.

Agilan has been tapped as part of this initiative, to become a champion for proper nutrition, and to satisfy cravings through the popular food delivery app. The “Alligator” is thankful for how Foodpanda has become part of Malaysian society, helping nourish families with good food and excellent service.

“Honestly, Foodpanda has been an amazing part of our lives here in Malaysia,” said Agilan.

“When the lockdowns hit, we all tried our best to make our own food, which is great and all but being able to have the convenience of ordering your favorite dishes online in a quick and easy way has been amazing. It’s easy and saves a lot of time without being too expensive. My family always orders through Foodpanda.”

ONE Championship returns with ONE: BIG BANG II, a previously recorded event for global broadcast on Friday, 11 December. In the main event, former ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion and current #3-ranked contender Jonathan “The General” Haggerty of the United Kingdom takes on Taiki “Silent Sniper” Naito of Japan.