“It never ends” - Kickboxing legend Marat Grigorian has no plans of hanging up the gloves anytime soon

Marat Grigorian doesn't seem to be considering his retirement from kickboxing anytime soon.

At 33 years old, Grigorian has solidified his place in kickboxing history by becoming a three-time Glory Kickboxing world champion.

The Armenian striker has endured mixed results over the past few years in ONE Championship, raising questions about him considering retirement.

During an interview with the South China Morning Post, Grigorian shut down any retirement talk by discussing his excitement for new challenges in kickboxing:

"It never ends. Something else always comes. That is what is exciting. There is someone else always who wants your place."

Marat Grigorian started his ONE Championship tenure with consecutive knockout wins against Ivan Kondratev and Andy Souwer.

Grigorian's momentum was halted in March 2022 due to a unanimous decision loss against Superbon for the featherweight kickboxing world title.

The Armenian superstar has since alternated between wins and losses against Tayfun Ozcan (unanimous decision win), Chingiz Allazov (unanimous decision loss), Sitthichai (third-round knockout win), Superbon (unanimous decision loss), and Abdelali Zahidi (second-round knockout win).

Allazov's latest win against Zahidi took place in December 2024 at ONE Friday Fights 92.

Watch Grigorian's entire interview with the South China Morning Post below:

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Marat Grigorian looks to continue building momentum with win at ONE 172

On Sunday, March 23, Marat Grigorian will return to action in the featherweight kickboxing division at ONE 172.

The former two-time ONE world title challenger has been matched up against promotional newcomer Kaito Ono, who's captured titles across various promotions.

Ono will have a hometown advantage against Grigorian, as ONE 172 takes place inside the historic Saitama Super Arena in the former's home country of Japan.

Ono won't be the only Japanese fighter looking to make his country proud at Sunday's spectacle.

In the main event, Japanese legend Takeru Segawa will battle Thai superstar Rodtang in a non-title flyweight kickboxing bout.

Meanwhile, Japanese title challengers Masaaki Noiri (interim featherweight kickboxing), Yuya Wakamatsu (vacant flyweight MMA), and Kana Morimoto (women's atomweight kickboxing) have an opportunity to capture gold.

Other Japanese fighters featured at the event are Nadaka Yoshinari, Shinya Aoki, Hiroki Akimoto, Takeharu Ogawa, Shimon Yoshinari, Hyu Iwata, and Ryusei.

Fight fans can catch the entire card live via pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com this Sunday, March 23.