Taiki Naito believes that winning the ONE flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix will quickly put him among the top fighters in the sport.
In an interview with ONE Championship, Naito hailed the participating fighters in the tournament and vowed to finish on top. Taiki Naito said:
“There’s no fake fighters in this tournament, and I can be a real champion if I win this tournament. From the first round of the tournament, I’ll face such a strong and tough guy, Superlek. But if you want to be the champion, there’s no easy way anyway. I will focus on this first match and move to next stage. And eventually, I will be the champion.”
‘Silent Sniper’ has collected five wins in six matches inside the circle, with his only loss coming at the hands of Jonathan Haggerty in 2020.
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
At ONE 157, Naito will face No.2-ranked Superlek Kiatmoo9 in the tournament's quarterfinal round. Superlek is one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in Muay Thai and has four of his five fights in the ONE Super Series.
In 2021, the Thai star switched to kickboxing to challenge ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Ilias Ennahachi. Unfortunately, Superlek suffered a controversial split decision loss to the Dutch-Moroccan striker.
Naito will surely have his hands full when he faces a motivated Superlek who will no doubt be looking to bounce back strong after losing his last match in the circle.
Taiki Naito wants to face the best of the best
Taiki Naito feeds off doubters and wants to compete against the best to silence them. The top three fighters in the ONE flyweight Muay Thai division are participating in the ONE flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix and Naito wants the chance to compete against all of them. In the interview, he said:
“Haggerty, Rodtang, and Superlek are popular and famous in Japan, and fans know who they are. But [against] those fighters, [I] will win. To be honest, I guess 90 percent of fans think, ‘Oh, Naito cannot get it.’ But if I win this tournament, I can shut them up.”
Should Naito get past Superlek at ONE 157, he may get his wish as the road to the tournament’s championship could pass through both Haggerty and Rodtang.