MMA
ONE Strawweight World Champion Sam-A Reveals Thoughts On Tonna Matchup
Two-sport ONE World Champion Sam-A Gaiyanghadao is ready to defend his ONE Strawweight Muay Thai World Title against Australian heavy-hitter Josh “Timebomb” Tonna.
The two athletes will clash on Friday, 9 October, in the main event of ONE: REIGN OF DYNASTIES.
“I [heard] he had always wanted to fight with me, since before the COVID-19 outbreak,” Sam-A said. “Now, I’m glad I’ll be fighting him.”
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That knowledge meant Sam-A had plenty of time to research his upcoming opponent, and he discovered that Tonna looks a lot more dangerous at strawweight.
“I have been watching his fights. He did great in the last one, maybe it’s because it was his natural weight class,” Sam-A said.
“When he fought in the flyweight division, he was slower – way slower. But in this weight class, I think he got faster and stronger. His strikes were also harder.”
After joining his new weight class, Tonna stopped Muay Thai legend Andy “Punisher” Howson in February, which launched him to the top of the division.
The knockout also impressed the reigning ONE World Champion, who has seen and been through it all in the sport.
“He strikes in combinations, so I have to be able to defend myself and find a good way to hit him back,” Sam-A said.
“From what I have seen, he is good at punches and knee strikes. His kicks are alright, but his punches and knee strikes are powerful.”
With that said, the defending World Champion will fall back on what he does best, which is let his left legs fly.
“What I have better than Josh Tonna are probably my kicks, Muay Thai strikes, and elbow strikes,” Sam-A said.
“So, before he tries to use his knees on me, he’d get my kicks and elbows first.”
It sounds like the match may come down to whether or not Sam-A can counter before Tonna gets off one of his heavy attacks, and that’s okay for the Thai.
He’d rather win on points than make a mistake by forcing a knockout.
“Everyone wants to, if possible, knock his opponent out in order to save himself and make it a beautiful victory,” Sam-A said.
“But if that’s undoable, I want to win on points and with good self-defense because foreign boxers’ weapons are different from Thai boxers. You can’t be careless. You have to be careful all the time.”
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