"He's a very dominant grappler" - Bokang Masunyane says Mansur Malachiev's Dagestani style pressure wrestling is the real deal 

Mansur Malachiev comes from a long line of Dagestani-bred wrestlers who have taken mixed martial arts by storm in recent years.

Even his ONE Fight Night 25 counterpart Bokang Masunyane is highly impressed by the Russian's strong grappling pedigree.

'Little Giant' said in a ONE Championship interview:

"He’s a very dominant grappler and it was nice to use that fight to study. I also went to study his other more recent fights, so I’m really confident going into this fight."

Mansur Malachiev's superior wrestling has been on full display in his marvelous 12-1 start in MMA.

The Universal Fighters representative used that intense pressure to maul Jeremy Miado in his promotional debut. Malachiev is also coming off a huge unanimous decision victory against former strawweight MMA champ Yosuke Saruta last February.

Then again, Masunyane is also no slouch in the grappling department and has been known to bend his opponents to his will using his athleticism and physicality.

As such, the South African star believes he can overcome Malachiev's grueling style and survive in deep waters if need be:

"I’m very well prepared, from my striking to my bottom game and my fitness as well. I know myself, I’m a very fit guy."

ONE Fight Night 25 will air live in US primetime on Oct. 4 from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The event is free of charge for Prime Video subscribers in North America.

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Bokang Masunyane claims his style is much superior to Mansur Malachiev

While Mansur Malachiev's fearsome wrestling is worrisome, Masunyane feels his versatility should allow him to overcome the Russian's pressure.

Apart from having belief in his own grappling skills, 'Little Giant' said his striking is more advanced and should give the Russian problems for three rounds.

The No.2 ranked strawweight MMA contender told ONE:

"What I truly believe is that our styles of wrestling could kind of cancel each other out because we're similar, but I feel like my style is much more superior. There's much more tools and much more ammo in my wrestling skills. I've also worked on my stand-up skills with tweaks."