"It was a long and tough journey" - Kwon Won Il reflects on his road to world title shot vs. Fabricio Andrade

Kwon Won Il has had to rightfully earn his spot to compete for a ONE world title, and the South Korean superstar hopes to make the most of this opportunity when it arrives early next year.

'Pretty Boy' meets divisional king Fabricio Andrade in a ONE bantamweight MMA world championship matchup at ONE 170 inside the Impact Arena on Jan. 24.

Before his first five-round dance, which takes place in Bangkok, Thailand, Kwon Won Il made an appearance on the Anything Goes podcast to talk about his run to 26 pounds of gold.

Though he hoped the chance would have arrived sooner, the Extreme Combat and P-Boy MMA athlete doesn't mind having to prove himself on martial arts' biggest stage.

He said:

"All I can say is that - it was a tough journey. It was a very tough journey. If I look back at it now, I've been with ONE Championship for six or seven years now, I'm not sure. But yeah, I finally got the world title shot. You can see how long it took. So all I can say is that it was a long and tough journey."

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Kwon Won Il vows to exact revenge and secure his spot atop the throne at ONE 170

Given his wait to challenge for the biggest prize in MMA, Kwon Won Il hopes not to put a step wrong in his rematch against the Brazilian knockout machine.

Moreover, with his knockout loss to Fabricio Andrade serving as motivation, the 29-year-old vows to make history when all is said and done at ONE 170.

In an Instagram post shortly after the bout was confirmed, he wrote:

"👑AND NEW WORLD CHAMPION👑 It was a rough path. But I will be the Champion and I will get that revenge this time. Started from the bottom, now we’re here. Please be with me in this journey. I will WIN. Hey Chicken Dance Andrade, you’re dead 💯. And NEW WORLD CHAMPION."

North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch the entire ONE 170 card live and for free.