"He took the easy way out" - Chatri Sityodtong blasts Kaito Ono for pulling out of Marat Grigorian showdown at ONE 172

ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong wasn't happy with Kaito Ono pulling out of his scheduled featherweight kickboxing match against former two-time ONE featherweight kickboxing world title challenger Marat Grigorian last Sunday at ONE 172.

Ono was supposed to make his promotional debut against Grigorian in front of the packed Saitama Super Arena in Japan before ultimately withdrawing. Sityodtong went off against the Japanese contender during the ONE 172 post-event press conference and said that he was afraid of the Armenian striking superstar:

"You know, when a fighter wants to fight, they will fight. When a fighter is afraid of his opponent, they will find a reason not to fight. The entire card, card, the biggest underdog on the card, was Kiato versus Grigorian, so I'm not surprised that he took the easy way out."

Watch the ONE 172 post-event conference here:

Despite not competing on the card, Ono still received his full purse with additional compensation after Grigorian failed to send a sample of his urine for the hydration test.

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Marat Grigorian wants to continue fighting and is open to new challenges ahead of his pro career

At 33 years old, the former three-time GLORY Kickboxing world champion is not getting any younger and is heading towards the twilight zone of his professional career.

But during his recent interview with the South China Morning Post, the Hemmers Gym representative said that he doesn't have any plans of hanging up the gloves anytime soon because he always welcomes new challenges, especially the test that up-and-coming contenders will bring, as he stated:

"It never ends. Something else always comes. That is what is exciting. There is someone else always who wants your place."

Fans can rewatch all the action at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang PPV card via watch.onefc.com.