Kwon Won Il on balancing the roles of a coach and a professional MMA athlete: "It's about how I teach them"

Kwon Won Il have been playing a difficult balancing act during the preparations for his first outing of 2025. 'Pretty Boy' has been involved in some big fights throughout his career, but nothing that is as significant as the contest that awaits him at ONE 170.

On Jan. 24 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, the No. 3-ranked bantamweight MMA contender will face off with Fabricio Andrade for a second time. On this occasion, the ONE bantamweight world championship will be on the line.

A fight of this magnitude means putting other priorities on the backburner, but for the challenger, he can't just drop everything in an instant.

When he isn't working on his own skills, Kwon Won Il is helping others to improve by taking on the role of a coach and instructor.

He spoke in a recent interview with Anything Goes about how being a coach has changed the way that he prepares:

"I just have to focus on myself because I'm the one fighting. I'm the one who has to do well. But now that I'm teaching students and preparing my fighters for fights, and sometimes my students join amateur fights also, it's not about how I do it anymore - it's about how I teach them and how they do it."

Watch the full interview below:

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Kwon Won Il won't let this moment pass him by

Kwon Won Il may have other important duties to attend to, but you can be sure that he isn't taking his eye off the ball.

The bantamweight MMA mainstay has wanted to run it back with Andrade for some time following his devastating loss to 'Wonder Boy' back in 2022.

Now that he has secured the rematch on a stacked card, he won't let the moment pass him by due to other distractions.

The challenger will be dialled in come Jan. 24 in one of three world title matchups set for ONE 170 inside the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.