Kingad unfazed by sudden replacement of opponent

Danny Kingad of Baguio City's Team Lakay is not bothered by a sudden change of opponent for his first cage appearance this year on the undercard of 'ONE: Visions of Victory' on March 9 at Axiata Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The 22-year-old Kingad was originally slated to face local favorite Gianna Subba, but the latter was tapped to feature in the main event against Fil-Aussie Reece McLaren after ONE flyweight champion Adriano Moraes withdrew from the card due to injury.

Kingad is now set to face grappling specialist Sotir Kichukov of Bulgaria.

"It happened a little less than two weeks before the bout, so it was certainly nerve-wracking. I am happy that he stepped up to take this bout. My preparations for my return to action will not be futile," said Kingad.

"It's a different opponent, so there are definitely some things you have to change up. But anything can happen in a bout and that's always my outlook on it. You go into a match, [and] you have to adapt inside the cage. Surely, I will exert a great effort to win this bout," he added.

Kingad last saw action inside the cage this past November when he tapped out to Moraes in his first bid for a world title.

The young fighter promises to be a better fighter inside the cage come fight night, knowing too well that he cannot afford even the slightest mistake against Kichukov.

"There shouldn’t be room even for a single mistake in this bout. Expect that I will be a better competitor inside the cage. My team has prepared a good strength and conditioning program to level up my cardio. I made sure to sharpen my striking. I also invested time in my ground game," says Kingad.

"The end of my 2017 left a bad taste in my mouth. My desire is to redeem myself and start my 2018 by winning my match against my Bulgarian opponent. I don’t want to sit here and be relaxed. I don’t want him to take my winning moment away from me. My mind is focused on getting that victory." — BAP, GMA News