"I'm blessed to be able to feel this pressure" - Johan Ghazali happy to bear the weight on his way to becoming a superstar

Johan Ghazali has not followed the usual path of a young, up-and-coming competitor in combat sports.

Most fighters will undergo a long process of gaining experience and ticking off boxes with each passing contest and year.

For Ghazali, he emerged as a major name in Muay Thai back in 2023 where he produced an impressive win streak in ONE Championship. His rise was one of the biggest talking points of the year but it can be easy to forget that he is still so young.

The 18-year-old is learning on the job and with that in mind, he's bound to make mistakes and learn from them from fight-to-fight.

Ghazali is set to return at ONE 170 on Jan. 24 where he will compete on another huge card for striking fans.

The young star spoke about the weight of expectation and how it has both helped and hindered him throughout his career to date during a virtual media day, saying:

"Of course, it gives me motivation. Of course, it gives me pressure as well, right? Imagine being 18 and everyone who watches you expects so much from you. So it's good - pressure makes diamonds. I'm blessed to be able to feel this pressure, and it motivates me every day."

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Johan Ghazali has the right mentality

It was immediately clear that Johan Ghazali had the potential to be a special talent in Muay Thai based on his first few performances.

The biggest question marks regarding his potential would come over time as fans saw how he responded to adversity and how he was able to handle the mental side of combat sports.

Though he did suffer his first setback in 2024 at ONE 167 where he was defeated by Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat, that doesn't appear to have shaken 'Jojo'. He has the chance to put it behind him for good in his clash against Johan Estupinan at the Impact Arena.