FORMER world title challenger Danny Kingad springs back to action next month in his first fight since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out.
Kingad takes on former ONE flyweight titleholder Kairat Akhmetov in the undercard of ONE Championship: “Big Bang” on Dec. 4 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.
Kingad looks to get another shot at ONE flyweight champion Adriano Moraes with a win over Akhmetov.
Kingad is currently rated No. 3 in the flyweight division, behind No. 1 contender and former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, while Akhmetov is ranked third.
Johnson will most likely get his shot at Moraes first, and the winner of the Kingad vs. Akhmetov fight will challenge the winner.
Kingad is one of the best flyweights in the organization and owns wins over Yuya Wakamatsu and Reece McLaren. His two career defeats are against Moraes via a rear-naked choke submission in 2017 and a unanimous decision loss to Johnson in the ONE Flyweight Tournament finals in 2019.
Akhmetov won the ONE flyweight belt in 2015 with a unanimous decision over Moraes in his ONE Championship debiut. He, however, lost the belt in his first title defense in a rematch with Moraes in 2017.
Akhmetov also had two fights with Kingad’s Team Lakay teammate Geje Eustaquio. He won the first fight by split decision in 2017 and lost in the rematch the following year by unanimous decision.
Kingad is 14-2, while Akhmetov is 26-2.
Meanwhile, Filipina Jomary Torres (4-4) is also fighting in the same event against unbeaten Indian prospect Ritu Phogat (3-0).
After an impressive 4-0 start to her MMA career, Torres dropped four of her last five contests. She’s in dire need of a win. Torres’ last fight ended in a no contest following a low blow by Jenny Huang on Jan. 31.
Phogat, who fights out of Evolve MMA in Singapore, has so far been impressive in her one-year MMA career. She’s coming off a second round stoppage of Nou Srey Pov on Oct. 30.