“I always bring the fire and the war” - Marat Grigorian hoping Kaito Ono will give him the mayhem he seeks at ONE 172

Veteran Armenian kickboxer Marat Grigorian hopes upcoming opponent Kaito Ono brings the heat in their scheduled fight this week to give fans a great match.

The 33-year-old Hemmers Gym standout spoke about it in an interview with the South China Morning Post ahead of his clash with Kaito at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang on March 23 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

He shared that his goal, apart from winning, is to give a good performance for fans to bask in and that he is hoping it is the same for his Japanese opponent, saying:

"If Kaito comes to fight, our fight will be one of the best fights of the evening. So, it’s a little bit not only on my end because I always bring the fire and the war in myself. But if my opponent is also like that, it’ll be one of the best fights of the night."

Watch the interview below:

Marat Grigorian is coming off an impressive performance heading into ONE 172, scoring a second-round knockout win over Abdelali Zahidi of Morocco in their kickboxing clash in December.

Kaito, 24, will be making his ONE Championship debut but is an accomplished kickboxer and shoot boxer with a decade-long professional experience.

ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang is available live on pay-per-view via watch.onefc.com.

Marat Grigorian says extensive experience against top fighters gives him advantage over Kaito Ono

Marat Grigorian is not taking Kaito Ono lightly for their match at ONE 172, but he believes his extensive experience competing against top fighters gives him the advantage in their showdown.

He pointed that out in his interview with ONE Championship, touting that as far as high-level matches are concerned, he has a better CV than his opponent. Grigorian said:

“Kaito is a complete fighter. He’s really fast. He has really good speed. He has good skills. But I don’t think he’s had that many good opponents in his career. I think I’ll be on a different level than him."

Grigorian has been competing in ONE Championship since 2020 and has fought many top-notch fighters, including champions Chingiz Allazov and Superbon in world title settings. Before joining the promotion, he was a three-time Glory kickboxing champion.