"This one is a really important fight for me" - Marat Grigorian looks to impress against tough opponent Kaito Ono in Japan

Former two-time ONE featherweight kickboxing world title challenger Marat Grigorian thinks that the upcoming ONE 172 card on March 23 inside the Saitama Super Arena in Japan is a special card, which is why a win for him against Kaito Ono is a must.

Grigorian and Ono will face each other in a featherweight match, and the former revealed his mindset to ONE Championship during his pre-fight interview by saying:

"It's truly an honor to fight back in Japan against a fighter like Kaito. This one is really important for me because, yeah, everything seems to be special about [this card]."

The Armenian striking powerhouse guns for his second consecutive win after knocking Abdelali Zahidi during his last outing at ONE Friday Fights 92 last December 2024.

Grigorian will also be out there trying to give Ono a rude welcome to the world's largest martial arts organization and spoil his promotional debut.

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Marat Grigorian insists that he is a level above Kaito Ono because of his experience

During the same interview with ONE Championship, the former three-time GLORY Kickboxing world champion explained why he thinks that he's another level higher than the 27-year-old Japanese newcomer.

Grigorian said that his experience of constantly fighting against top names and world champions has made a massive gap between him and Ono, as he claimed:

"I think he's rarely fought the people that I've fought. I've always fought the best, the toughest guys in the world. He did fight some top guys, but he lost to them. He belongs at the top, but he's not so good as someone as who wants to take the next step to the World Title."

Fans can purchase the ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang PPV card via watch.onefc.com. The event goes down inside the iconic Saitama Super Arena in Japan on Sunday, March 23.