Johan Ghazali gives props to Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat for halting his momentum: "He was very prepared"

Johan Ghazali became a breakout star under the ONE Championship banner during his undefeated winning streak in 2023. The teenage striking prodigy was stopping opponents left, right, and center on the ONE Friday Fights series.

With ambitions to compete at the highest level, the big question was always going to be how well he would fare once the fights started getting harder.

It's all well and good to be stopping every opponent but in combat sports, it's important to find out how well an exciting talent fairs when things stop going their way.

This is a lesson that Ghazali had to learn in his last outing at ONE 167 where he suffered his first loss. He was defeated by Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat who was able to use his experience to stay composed in the face of a powerful but overly aggressive Ghazali.

Before he looks to right the wrongs of his latest contest, the rising star spoke highly of his previous opponent in an interview with ONE Championship:

"Nguyen was very experienced. His experience showed and he was very prepared."

Johan Ghazali will benefit from this setback

Suffering a defeat at this stage in his career could end up being the making of Johan Ghazali in the long run. He will have learned some vital lessons from this defeat, lessons that he may not have learned had he still got his hand raised at the end of the three rounds.

Ghazali is now set to be back in action at ONE 168 on Sept. 6 where he will look to bounce back against Josue Cruz.

Keeping his composure and fighting smart are absolutely key for him in this fight even if producing a big finish at the Ball Arena in Denver would be a massive moment for him.

Getting the win by any means necessary is always the most important thing.

Tickets for ONE 168: Denver are available via Ticketmaster.