“A little bit rusty” – Striker Danial Williams admits he felt like a fish out of water after ‘jumping back’ to grappling classes

Multi-sport phenom and former ONE world title challenger ‘Mini T’ Danial Williams of Australia and Thailand is returning to mixed martial arts and planning to stay put for the time being. This means taking more grappling classes than he’s used to to bring himself up to speed in ground exchanges.

Williams has dabbled in Muay Thai and kickboxing in the past, competing against high-level opponents with a couple of world title shots here and there. But now the 30-year-old says he is solely focused on MMA and wants to make a splash this weekend.

‘Mini T’ is set to face Filipino firecracker and former Team Lakay standout ‘Thunder Kid’ Lito Adiwang at ONE Fight Night 19: Haggerty vs. Lobo on Prime Video. The event will broadcast live from the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, February 16th.

Speaking to ONE Championship in a recent interview, Williams had this to say about returning to grappling training.

‘Mini T’ said:

“Of course, man. Like it's just the soreness in the body and engaging the new muscles. So yeah, definitely a little bit rusty jumping back in, but I am being consistent with it now. So, the goal is to just keep it going. So, it is just the norm.”

---

Danial Williams says he’s pinned down Lito Adiwang’s fighting rhythm: “High burst of energy”

One thing that has always been tricky about fighting Lito Adiwang is figuring out his timing. Danial Williams says he has studied his upcoming foe extensively and may have decoded ‘Thunder Kid’s fighting style.

‘Mini T’ told ONE Championship:

“I think he’s a really good counter striker. He's good at drawing you in, right? And then he flurries. So you if he draws you in, then you know he wants to counter you and he flurries it. So, I'm going to be wary of that. Not just like the 1-2 shots. Just like the three fours. And just like his high burst of energy. If you throw and you miss him and then he's going to come back with a big combo.”

ONE Fight Night 19: Haggerty vs. Lobo airs live on U.S. primetime on Friday, February 16. Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action absolutely free with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription. Stay tuned to Sportskeeda MMA for all the latest news and updates surrounding the event.