“My striking gives me the edge” - Johan Ghazali assesses his main advantage ahead of Denver fight

Simply put, Johan Ghazali knows he's a better striker than Josue Cruz.

On Friday, September 6, the 17-year-old phenom will have the opportunity to prove it when he squares off with the Mexican slugger as part of a loaded ONE 168 card in The Mile High City—Denver, Colorado.

Speaking with Sportskeeda MMA in an exclusive interview, Ghazali offered some honest thoughts about his opponent and how he sees things playing out when they step inside the Circle later this year.

“Not trying to sound too confident or anything, but I believe my striking gives me the edge against Cruz," Ghazali said. "For sure. I can’t see how he’d deal with me when we exchange.”

Johan Ghazali goes into the ONE 168 clash coming off the first loss of his career, suffering a unanimous decision loss at the hands of Vietnamese standout Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat in June. 'Jojo' is 5-1 under the ONE Championship banner with 24 career wins overall.

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Johan Ghazali recognizes the experience disadvantage he'll have against most of his opponents

Being just 17 years old, Johan Ghazali recognizes that every time he steps inside the Circle, he'll likely be facing someone with much more experience than himself.

With that in mind, the American-Malaysian sensation is doing everything possible to lessen the gap and give himself the best chance to win no matter who stands across from him.

"I just came into this realization that every opponent I face inside the ONE Circle, they're all going to have more experience than me," Ghazali added. "So I just work with what I have, I use the advantages of my game and I'm just going to fight because yeah, I love to fight."

Will Ghazali add another highlight-reel win to his resume at ONE 168, or will Josue Cruz shock fight fans and hand 'Jojo' his second-straight loss on martial arts' biggest global stage?

Follow this link for tickets for ONE 168: Denver on September 6 at Ball Arena.