21-year-old Igorot MMA fighter Danny Kingad is waiting to vie for the coveted gold-plated strap

In the upcoming ONE Flyweight World Championship, ONE: Conquest of Kings happening on July 29 in in Indonesia, a 21-year-old Igorot has the MMA world abuzz.

Remember his name: Danny Kingad.

A native of Baguio City, Kingad is one of the new members of Team Lakay fighters. He is a tremendous striker, who also possesses solid grappling skills. As such, he holds an unblemished professional record of 5-0, with one knockout victory and one submission triumph.

The July 29 fight night against China’s Hexigetu in the undercard of ONE-Conquest of Kings is only Kingad’s fourth assignment — and it’s a tall order.

Hexigetu is a 32-year-old Wushu Sanda practitioner who trains out of China Top Team. A native of Inner Mongolia, Hexigetu holds a 4-2 record, with three of those wins by way of submission.

“It will be an exciting fight. I will do my best,” Kingad says. “I cannot say I will knock him out, but I can say I will win this fight.”

Kingad believes that the three-round flyweight encounter with Hexigetu could be his stepping-stone to the upper echelon of ONE Championship’s 61.2-kilogram weight class.

In anticipation of his big match, Kingad trains twice a day, five days a week with respected veterans like Eduard Folayang, ONE Lightweight World Champion, Honorio Banario, former ONE Featherweight World Champion, and Kevin Belingon, a former bantamweight title challenger.

He tops it off with two-hour morning cardio session incorporation in the regime and follows that up with a more extensive three-hour afternoon session. Saturdays, he spends sparring.

While his focus is to improve his skills in training, he has his eyes and heart set on a long-term goal: that a championship belt will be tied around his waist someday.

“I am a fighter who always wishes to give you the best entertainment and the best show you will ever see inside the cage. I just want to savor each moment. That belt will be mine in God’s time,” Kingad said. — LA, GMA News