The saying "real recognize real" is something that combat sports fans love applying to fighters showing respect for one another and ONE Muay Thai star Johan Ghazali certainly fits the description.
'Jojo' is gearing up for his upcoming flyweight Muay Thai bout at ONE 167 on June 7 against Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat, but still had time to send flowers towards ONE women's atomweight MMA star Jihin Radzuan.
Speaking with Sportskeeda MMA, Johan Ghazali commented on Radzuan's future since joining the vaunted Fairtex Training Center in 2023:
"It's been good. She's really improved her striking from what I can see in her past two fights. It was good. Although she lost one, but it's alright. You can see the improvement from her end compared to training in Malaysia and moving to Fairtex. So it's the right move."
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
The 17-year-old Malaysian-American continued:
"Besides, she has good training partners like Stamp there too. So all in all, yeah, she's in a good spot to continue evolving. She can only go up from there. She is a pioneer of women's mixed martial arts here in Malaysia."
Johan Ghazali has no regrets about not living a "normal teenage life"
Johan Ghazali decided to commit his life to Muay Thai at an early age and while that came with its sacrifices, the Rentap Muaythai Gym product said it was an easy decision.
Ghazali said as much in an interview with Sportskeeda MMA:
"There are pros and cons not to living a normal teenage life. I do regret not being able to spend time hanging out with my friends, but this is what I love doing the most. Who wants to have fun when you're doing what I'm doing?"
ONE 167 will air live from the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand. The full card will be available for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.