“I can’t slack” - Young phenom Johan Ghazali reveals the poignant advice MMA legend Khabib Nurmagomedov gave him

Johan Ghazali's steady rise to superstardom will never go unnoticed.

The young phenom didn't just capture the attention of the Muay Thai community but also piqued the interest of MMA legend Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The former UFC lightweight world champion met Ghazali when he appeared on a speaking engagement in Kuala Lumpur, an event the Malaysian-American rising star also attended.

Ghazali and Nurmagomedov trained together after the event, with the Russian icon sharing an important piece of advice.

In his virtual media day for ONE 170, Ghazali revealed what Nurmagomedov told him during their brief but impactful meeting.

Johan Ghazali said:

"Actually, Khabib's message to me wasn't anything special. He just told me that since I'm still young, I have to really put focus on my training. I can't slack. If I want to chase fights, I have to focus on that."

Ghazali has yet to crack the top-five rankings of the stacked flyweight Muay Thai division, but the 18-year-old quickly captured the fans' imagination with his personality and destructive power.

'Jojo' is an impressive 6-1 in ONE Championship with knockout wins over Padetsuk Fairtex, Tai Sor Jor Piek Uthai, Temirlan Bekmurzaev, Edgar Tabares, and Josue Cruz.

A win in his next match, though, could give Ghazali enough of an argument to crack the upper fold of the flyweight Muay Thai division.

Ghazali will take on fellow rising star Johan Estupinan in a potential barnburner at ONE 170 on January 24 at Impact Arena in Bangkok.

Estupinan is a perfect 4-0 in ONE Championship and has knockout wins over Kouta Omori, Sean Climaco, and Zakaria El Jamari.

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Johan Ghazali raves about his development while training under Superbon

Khabib Nurmagomedov isn't the only combat sports legend Johan Ghazali trained with.

While he only spent a brief moment with Nurmagomedov, Ghazali has been training for several months under the tutelage of ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Superbon and famed coach Trainer Gae.

Ghazali has set up camp at Superbon's gym, Superbon Training Camp, in Bangkok in preparation for Johan Estupinan at ONE 170.

On the same virtual media day, Ghazali raved about the development he's had training under the Thai icon.

"I wouldn't deem it special, but I have focused on different parts of training. For now, I'm focused on strength and conditioning, toughening up my body to make my punches, knees, and kicks much faster. And, at the same time, I've had so much more sparring."