“I didn’t sleep one night” – Rade Opacic says he was sick heading into Iraj Azizpour bout at ONE 165

Rade Opacic didn’t have an easy time ahead of his return against Iraj Azizpour at ONE 165 last Sunday, January 28.

Though the Serbian put in another pristine showing to gain his seventh victory under the ONE Championship banner, he arrived inside the Japanese capital feeling out of sorts, having battled some undisclosed illness during his fight camp.

Speaking to Sportskeeda MMA after his striking clinic versus the Iranian athlete, Rade Opacic revealed he has only one thing in mind over the next week or so – to get some beauty sleep.

The 26-year-old said:

“I'm just going to relax. As I told you, it was a really tough time for me. I came here sick. I came here three days ago. I didn't sleep one night. So, you know, I'm just going to rest.”

Above all, the KBKS team representative is pleased he walked away from his pivotal heavyweight kickboxing showdown without any niggling injuries, one that could seriously impact his chances of vying for a ONE world title in 2024.

In the same interview, he added:

“To be honest, and yeah, you know, it's good that I don't have injuries. So, you know, in 10 days, I'm going to be training again and looking for a new chance to fight, and that's it.”

Watch the full interview here:

---

Rade Opacic’s next assignment could very well be a five-round scrap

The Serbian heavyweight kickboxing star has been steadily making a name for himself since inking a deal with the world’s largest martial arts organization. And he did the same inside the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

Since debuting in December 2020, the dedicated fighter has put five opponents to sleep inside the Circle – Errol Zimmerman, Bruno Susano, Patrick Schmid, Francesko Xhaja, Giannis Stoforidis – alongside successive decisions over Guto Inocente and Azizpour.

Having practically wiped out the biggest names in the division, Rade Opacic could land a shot at Roman Kryklia next.

The Ukrainian star can put his light heavyweight kickboxing gold or heavyweight Muay Thai world title on the line. If neither works out, a match between them for the inaugural heavyweight kickboxing world championship could be something in the offing.

ONE Championship fans can rewatch all the action from ONE 165 via the on-demand replay available at watch.onefc.com.