Colombian sensation Johan Estupinan has been steadily building a reputation as a juggernaut with electrifying skills since making his ONE Championship debut last year. It was something he highlighted in his second outing in the promotion against Turkish fighter Zafer Sayik.
'Panda Kick' met Zayik at ONE 167 back in June in a bantamweight Muay Thai joust at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand. Fresh off a first-round knockout win in his debut, the 22-year-old JCFernandez/Team CSK standout showed that he, too, can handle himself in full-route matches and dominate in his unanimous decision win over the Gumushane native.
Estupinan put presssure on his opponent right from the get-go, scoring two knockdowns in the opening round and never relent after on his way to the impressive one-sided victory.
ONE Championship looked back at Johan Estupinan's win by posting highlights of the match on Instagram. The post was in line with his scheduled return to action later this month against fellow rising Muay Thai star Johan Ghazali.
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Check out the post below:
Johan Estupinan followed up on his victory over Sayik with two more wins, both by way of knockout in the second round. The most recent of the wins was over Moroccan fighter Zakaria El Jamari in October.
Johan Ghazali points to Johan Estupinan's striking as something to take of
Johan Estupinan flashy and effective striking has his upcoming opponent John Ghazali taking notice, something he said he has not encountered so far in his young career.
The two rising Muay Thai stars are featured in a flyweight Muay Thai battle at ONE 170 on Jan. 24, part of a stacked card happening at Bangkok's Impact Arena.
During the virtual media day for the event, Ghazali shared his thoughts on Estupinan and what he brings come fight night, saying:
"Yeah, yeah. Of course, Estupinan, I'm not saying he's an easy opponent, but he's very unorthodox, very different, not like a usual fighter you'd see all the time."
Both fighters are coming off spectacular KO wins in their previous matches, something they are out to build on in their scheduled match.
ONE 170 is available on the ONE YouTube channel and Facebook (geo-restrictions may apply) as well as on watch.ONEFC.com.