Teen phenom Johan Ghazali said he has been getting advice from his older brother and fellow ONE fighter Elias ahead of his scheduled return to action this month. He said the pointers he has been getting have been helpful and should serve him well on fight night.
'Jojo' is featured in a flyweight Muay Thai showdown against fellow rising star Johan Estupinan of Colombia at ONE 170 on Jan. 24 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
Speaking during the virtual media day for ONE 170, Ghazali spoke about the role that Elias, who has had three matches in ONE since making his promotional debut in Jan. 2023, is playing in his preparation for his fight against Estupinan, who Elias faced back in 2021 in an amateur bout outside of ONE Championship.
The 18-year-old Rentap Muaythai Gym and Superbon Training Camp representative said:
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"And he gave me tips like, you know, don't fall into his traps, don't chase him too much, and stuff like these. So It's definitely an advantage to me to have my brother fighting him before."
Entering ONE 170, Johan Ghazali is coming off an impressive bounce-back opening-round KO victory over Mexican Josue Cruz at ONE 168: Denver in September. It was his sixth win in seven matches in ONE and fifth by knockout.
His opponent, Estupinan, meanwhile, continued his undefeated run in the ONE Championship last time around, racing to his fourth straight win with a second-round KO of Zakaria El Jamari of Morocco in Oct. 2024.
ONE 170 will be aired live and free in U.S. primetime to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
Johan Ghazali says he is in best shape heading into ONE 170
Three weeks out of his scheduled match at ONE 170 on Jan. 24, Johan Ghazali said he is in the best shape possible and looking forward to mixing it up against Johan Estupinan.
He made this known in an Instagram post as he gears up to start his 2025 campaign on a winning note. 'Jojo' shared a carousel of photos of himself in training and captioned the post:
"3 weeks out, best shape of my life. Physically and mentally ready let's go."
ONE 170 is the first of what Ghazali hopes to be one of many fights for him this year as he seeks to be active in competing. In 2024, he had two matches, where he went 1-1.