“I have been ready for a long time” - Danny Kingad says he was always in fight shape ahead of Adriano Moraes rematch at ONE 169

Danny Kingad doesn't plan on missing a beat when he steps between the ONE Championship ring for his next match.

The Filipino standout will face familiar foe Adriano Moraes in a critical flyweight MMA contest at the stacked ONE 169 card on November 8, US primetime, at the historic Lumpinee Stadium.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Kingad said he practically lived at the gym while waiting for the call for a fight against Moraes.

Kingad added he's been toiling away at Lion's Nation MMA in Baguio City, Philippines, preparing for his return.

He said:

"Actually, I have been ready for a long time. I’ve just been waiting for a call."

Danny Kingad is the number three contender in the flyweight MMA rankings and has been on a rough path in his previous four fights.

'The King' split his previous four matches with wins over Xie Wei and Eko Roni Saputra.

Nevertheless, a win over Moraes could do massive dividends in his quest to capture the ONE flyweight MMA world title that Demetrious Johnson vacated earlier this year due to retirement.

Moraes, though, is one of the most dangerous submission experts on the planet and is an eight-time ONE flyweight MMA world champion.

The former flyweight MMA king has 11 wins in ONE Championship, with his eight finishes scattered into seven submission wins and one knockout.

His lone knockout in the promotion came at the expense of Johnson when he sent the MMA legend to the shadow realm with a nasty knee strike at ONE Fight Night 21 in April 2021.

ONE 169 is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

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Danny Kingad admits he's determined to chalk up more knockouts at this stage in his career

Danny Kingad has always been one of the most technically gifted fighters, but his style often made him an anomaly among Filipino fighters.

Unlike his countrymen Joshua Pacio, Eduard Folayang, and Lito Adiwang, Kingad's style is more grounded and heavily relies on grappling rather than striking.

In the same interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Kingad revealed his lack of that mind-shattering knockout often bothered him.

He said:

"It's one of the things that I've always wanted because since I turned pro in MMA, I haven't really picked up a big knockout win. I really want to notch more knockouts in my record, so I'm going to be looking for it, for sure."