“He’s phenomenal” - Bokang Masunyane expects to get into a grappling contest against Mansur Malachiev in Bangkok

Bokang Masunyane has seen all manners of fighting styles in his tenure in ONE Championship, and the next one is right up his alley.

The South African dynamo will face fellow grappling savant Mansur Malachiev in a pivotal strawweight MMA matchup at ONE Fight Night 25 on Oct. 4, US primetime, at the historic Lumpinee Stadium.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Masunyane said he and Malachiev share similar offensive styles and expect their wrestling to play a huge factor in the Bangkok matchup.

Bokang Masunyane, however, maintained that his wrestling would still be better grappler than the Russian wrestling machine.

He said:

"Mansur is a very good grappler. He’s phenomenal. He’s got some great skills. His wrestling game is very good. I feel the same about my skills. My wrestling and grappling play a big part in it.”

Masunyane, the number two-ranked strawweight MMA contender, is a natural grappler who will take the match to the ground any chance he gets.

'Little Giant', however, doesn't rely solely on his grappling and would gladly send anyone to the shadow realm if he gets the opportunity to do so.

Of his four wins in ONE Championship, his lone finish was a head-kick knockout of Filipino brawler Rene Catalan at ONE: Big Bang in Singapore.

Malachiev, meanwhile, is the fifth-ranked contender in the division and has two wins in ONE Championship.

The Dagestani star is coming off a dominant unanimous decision win over former ONE strawweight MMA world champion Yosuke Saruta at ONE Fight Night 19 this past February.

ONE Fight Night 25, just like all of ONE Championship's Amazon cards, is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

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Bokang Masunyane doubles down that he's the better grappler over Mansur Malachiev

While Mansur Malachiev's effortless grappling impressed Bokang Masunyane, the 30-year-old from Johannesburg believes he's still the superior grappler ahead of their matchup.

Masunyane said in the same interview with ONE Championship:

"I definitely feel like my wrestling is much more superior. My scrambling and getting on top is quicker, and he won't be able to handle that pressure."