Danial Williams alternates between Muay Thai and MMA training

No. 5 ranked strawweight standout Danial Williams enjoys training in both Muay Thai and MMA.

The former WMC Muay Thai world champion returns to the circle on Friday, March 24 for a showdown with Rui Botelho in the art of eight limbs. Primarily known for his work in MMA under the ONE Championship banner, ‘Mini T’ will compete in his second Muay Thai bout, the first coming against ‘The Iron Man’ Rodtang Jitumangnon in 2021.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Danial Williams shared details regarding his training and how he is preparing himself for a Muay Thai competition:

“I still train at Scrappy's in the morning... Scrappy is in the morning because it's right next to my house. That's the thing I'm finding balance with because I don't want to lose like my improvement with MMA. So I do my afternoons at Kao Sok and my mornings at Scrappy's. But obviously, right now, it's two weeks of pure Muay Thai, no grappling, nothing, just full Muay Thai.”

Williams is 3-1 in MMA competition under the ONE banner but will seek his first win in Muay Thai. Outside of the promotion, ‘Mini-T has 24 career victories between Muay Thai and kickboxing. His opponent, Rui Botelho, has 19 career Muay Thai victories but is still seeking his first victory in ONE Championship.

Botelho did score a unanimous decision win in his promotional debut, a kickboxing bout against Yuta Watanabe in March 2019.

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Danial Williams trying to find balance between two sports

Danial Williams admitted in his interview with the promotion that there has been some difficulty balancing his training regimen between the two sports. Particularly after his last foray into MMA resulted in a third-round knockout loss to Marrok Force product Jeremy Miado.

However, Danial Williams believes he has found a balance between the two and believes that will show in his bout with Rui Botelho at ONE Fight Night 8 on Prime Video:

“I've tried to make a lot of time for training. And that's the most important thing. It is super hard. Don't get me wrong, like, you got a little hindered improvement on both sides. But, I think they can go together as well, because the body is still coming strong no matter what training you do. There's still massive holes in my games in MMA, especially after the last fight. That's on my mind every day. I don't want to lose any improvement there.”

‘Mini T’ continued, saying:

“But I have to cut back quite a bit because it's the Muay Thai fight coming and then going back to Kao Sok and being so rusty with it. It's like, ‘Alright, shit, better stick to Muay Thai a bit more.’ So it's pretty hard. Don't get me wrong, super hard on the body and the mindset, but I think I'm finding the balance. I'm going to prove that in my next fight in Muay Thai.”

Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch ONE Fight Night 8 live and for free in U.S. primetime.