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Johan Estupinan is expecting his upcoming fight with Johan Ghazali to "be like two bombs crashing and exploding."
Estupinan, aged 22, and Ghazali, aged 18, have separated themselves as the future of the ONE Championship flyweight Muay Thai division. On Friday, January 24, the highly-touted prospects are scheduled to clash at ONE 170.
During an interview with ONE, Estupinan was asked if his matchup against Ghazali could be an early Fight of the Year contender. He responded by saying:
"Yes because ‘Jojo’ is well known, and the world loves him. That’s good for me because more people will know me after I defeat him. It’ll be like two bombs crashing and exploding. We will put on a great show."
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Johan Estupinan made his ONE Championship debut in May 2024. The Columbian striker has since secured wins against Kouta Omori (27-second knockout), Zafer Sayik (unanimous decision), Sean Climaco (second-round knockout), and Zakaria El Jamari (second-round knockout).
Meanwhile, Johan Ghazali started his promotional tenure with five consecutive wins before his lone loss against Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat. The Malaysian-American bounced back with a win against Josue Cruz in September 2024, pushing his ONE record to 6-1, including five knockouts.
ONE 170 will take place inside the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand. The upcoming event featuring three world title fights can be seen on watch.onefc.com.
In the main event, Tawanchai will defend his featherweight Muay Thai world title in a highly-anticipated rematch against Superbon. They first fought in December 2023, with Tawanchai emerging victorious by unanimous decision.
Watch Estupinan's latest finish against Jamari below:
What's at stake between Johan Estupinan and Johan Ghazali?
Johan Estupinan and Johan Ghazali remain unranked in the ONE flyweight Muay Thai division. With that said, it's only a matter of time before both young strikers are battling with the division's top contenders.
At ONE 170, Estupinan and Ghazali look to showcase who's the more polished prospect. The winner of Friday's intriguing matchup could find themselves facing a ranked opponent later this year.
There's also added motivation for Ghazali due to Estupinan holding an amateur win against his brother, Elias Ghazali.
