“Got the opponent I wanted” - Kwon Won Il hints at next fight on Instagram post

South Korean sensation Kwon Won Il is creeping up on a bantamweight world title shot. The hard-hitting rising star is 6-3 since joining ONE Championship, and has won his last three fights.

Kwon Won Il’s latest victory, a scintillating second-round knockout of former ONE bantamweight world champion Kevin Belingon in December, earned him a berth in the official rankings, where he now sits at the No. 2 spot just behind No. 1-ranked John ‘Hands of Stone’ Lineker.

In a recent Instagram post, Kwon hinted at his next bout, and says he got exactly who he was looking to fight next.

“Fight Announcement Coming Soon 🔥 Got the opponent I wanted and I’ll be proving to the world once again that I’m the Best Bantamweight in the World 💯🙏🏼”

With eight knockouts out of 10 wins on his resume, there’s no doubt that whoever Kwon Won Il steps into the Circle against, it’s going to be fireworks.

Options for Kwon Won Il's next fight

It’s highly unlikely that Kwon would take a step down in competition and fight someone outside of the top five. He’s worked hard and long to get to this point in his career, after all.

With reigning ONE bantamweight world champion Bibiano ‘The Flash’ Fernandes and No. 2-ranked John Lineker already scheduled to face off at ONE: Bad Blood on February 11, that leaves only No. 3-ranked Stephen ‘The Sniper’ Loman and No. 4-ranked Fabricio ‘Wonder Boy’ Andrade on Kwon’s radar.

Loman, a former Brave FC champion, joined ONE last December. He defeated highly ranked bantamweight Yusup ‘Maestro’ Saadulaev via impressive technical knockout at ONE: Winter Warriors II. The performance announced Loman’s arrival on the global stage and re-established his stock as a force to be reckoned with in the division.

Andrade, on the other hand, is one of the fastest rising stars to come out of Brazil. ‘Wonder Boy’ is unbeaten in ONE Championship, taking out top opponents Mark Abelardo and Shoko Sato, and most recently, dangerous Chinese foe Li Kai Wen.

Both are great matchups for Kwon, and will surely bring out the best in the heavy-handed Korean fighter.