When it comes to Superlek, a traditional Thai fighter, Danial Williams claims to know “what to expect.”
Danial Williams is confident he can defeat Superlek Kiatmoo9, aka “The Kicking Machine,” in the ONE world championship matchup’s main event this Friday.
When Superlek’s initial opponent Rodtang Jitmuangnon withdrew from the fight due to an injury, Williams was given the opportunity to win his first ONE world championship. Williams had been scheduled to fight Rui Botelho at ONE Fight Night 8 on Prime Video. However, “Mini T” received the call that Jitmuangnon had withdrawn due to an injury.
Given the short notice of the fight and the fact that Danial Williams will be moving up a complete weight class to take advantage of the chance, “Mini T” thinks his opponent is under the most pressure. Williams added that his skill set might be the ideal formula to terminate Superlek’s reign as the ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion:
“I think Superlek is a real traditional Thai [striker]. I know what to expect from him. He has a really heavy base and power shots. But because I feel like he has a really traditional Thai style and it’s kickboxing rules, I think I’ve got a really, really good chance.”
Despite having kickboxing expertise outside of ONE Championship, Australian-Thai fighter Danial Williams has never put on the 8oz gloves inside the ring. This is just one more thing that will be against “Mini-T” when he enters the ring on Friday, but when the promotion offers a chance to win the championship, you take it regardless of the situation.
Regardless of the result, Danial Williams will savor his time in the spotlight.
The champion and challenger of a ONE world championship fight typically experience some anxiety in the days and hours preceding the crucial contest. However, none of that is felt by Danial Williams. He is as assured as ever and plans to savor the occasion, whatever transpires:
“I’m super confident about the fight and the pressure’s off because I’m going to embrace this week and I’m just going to go for it. I feel like I’ve sort of manifested things like this, so I’ve just got to make the most of it.”
When it comes to manifesting things, Mini-T’ might be onto something. Williams acknowledged having daydreamed about entering the fight if one of the two initially scheduled opponents withdrew during his training building up to ONE Fight Night 8. In the end, that’s precisely what happened:
“I’ll be completely honest. Through this whole camp I was like, ‘Oh, Rodtang and Superlek are on the card. If one of them pulls out, I’m gonna jump straight in there, that would be awesome.’ I was sort of fantasizing about that.”
As the favorite, Superlek is under pressure, according to Danial Williams.
When the two Muay Thai fighters enter the circle on Friday night, Danial Williams thinks Superlek “The Kicking Machine” Kiatmoo9 will be under a lot of pressure.
Danial Williams thinks Superlek will be under pressure to win despite the considerably higher stakes of their main event matchup. ‘Mini T’ stated in a ONE Championship interview:
“I think the pressure is on Superlek. I’m the strawweight guy. I’ve got nothing to lose,” Williams admitted. “He’s got to put on a show, he’s got to make sure he gets the win, he’s the favorite. So, I feel like that’s my advantage. For me, that just gives me massive confidence, because I’m just not stressed about it. This is life-changing for me, so I’m going to put on the best performance I can possibly give.”
Rui Botehlo, a Portuguese scrapper, was initially scheduled to fight William at the event. However, with his move to the main event, Botelho will now compete against the promotion’s No. 2 strawweight Muay Thai contender, Aslanbek Zikreev.
