"I know Joseph will want to defend his title and that’s what I’m mentally chasing right now" - Danial Williams targets Joseph Lasiri's gold

Danial Williams is setting his sights on newly-crowned ONE strawweight Muay Thai world champion Joseph Lasiri.

Williams, who competes in both mixed martial arts and Muay Thai, is coming off a dominant unanimous decision win over Namiki Kawahara last month.

While the match against Kawahara was fought under MMA, Williams has no problems jumping immediately to Muay Thai to challenge Lasiri.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Williams said he should be the one to challenge Lasiri for the gold.

Danial Williams said:

“I feel I should be his next match. I’ve always accepted a challenge – I fought Rodtang [Jitmuangnon] on really short notice. I know Joseph will want to defend his title, and that’s what I’m mentally chasing right now.”

He added:

“I know it will be a wicked fight. Similar style, similar build, similar forward pressure, it will be a Fight of the Year contender.”

Williams has three fights under his belt in ONE Championship and two of those were victories in MMA. His first foray into the promotion was an absolute barnburner against Rodtang, the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion, at ONE on TNT I in April 2021.

Despite the loss, Williams cemented himself as one of the toughest fighters in the promotion. He also sits as the No.5 contender in the strawweight Muay Thai rankings.

Lasiri, meanwhile, became the ONE strawweight world Muay Thai world champion when he stopped Prajanchai PK.Saenchai in the third round in the co-main event of ONE 157: Petchmorakot vs. Vienot last Friday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

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Danial Williams says Lasiri is predictable

Lasiri was a rampaging machine when he beat Prajanchai for the title. The Italian-Moroccan star went on a relentless attack that had Prajanchai on the backfoot for much of the match.

However, Danial Williams said Lasiri's style was too predictable. 'Mini T' said that if he ever faced the champ, the Italian would keep second-guessing what to do next.

“I’ve seen pretty much all of his fights, and I still think he’s quite predictable. I don’t think that he has anything that comes off as a shock to me. His constant forward pressure and ability to take one or two [shots] is like his superpower, but I think my game will be a little bit too tricky for him, a little bit too different in terms of movement and technique.”

He added:

“Congratulations and all the respect to the new champ. Enjoy it while you can because I’m coming for you, and I won’t be taking a step back.”