Johan Ghazali's star grew even brighter after an eventful 2024.
The young phenom showed he has the fortitude to overcome adversity, and ended his campaign on a high note when he secured a comeback knockout win against Mexican slugger Josue Cruz as ONE 168: Denver in September.
A potential superstar, Ghazali looked back at a rollercoaster year where he graduated high school, suffered his first loss in ONE Championship, and bounced back with a huge win in his mother's Denver hometown.
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Johan Ghazali wrote on Instagram:
"Happy New Year! Another incredible year down. Alhamdullilah for everything, from finishing high school to being taken down by Khabib [Nurmagomedov]. 2024 is the best year yet and 2025 will be the next best. Thank you to everyone who has been supporting my journey throughout this year and I will continue to do my absolute best in 2025 Let's go!"
Ghazali holds a stellar 6-1 record in ONE Championship, with five of those wins coming via knockout.
His impressive run also made him one of Malaysia's most recognizable stars, and he even got to share the training mats with MMA legend Khabib Nurmagomedov when the former UFC lightweight world champion visited Kuala Lumpur.
More than his notable promotional record, the 18-year-old captured the fans' attention with his youthful energy and penchant for the dramatic.
Ghazali suffered his first loss in ONE Championship when he fell short against five-time Muay Thai world champion Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat at ONE 167.
Nevertheless, 'Jojo' recovered and scored a first-round knockout win against Cruz in his next assignment at ONE 168.
Ghazali now looks to add another highlight reel win to his resume when he faces fellow rising star Johan Estupinan in a flyweight Muay Thai match at ONE 170 on Jan. 24 at Impact Arena.
Johan Ghazali trains under Superbon ahead of ONE 170
Johan Ghazali found the perfect mentor to upgrade his game heading into the New Year.
The Malaysian-American phenom has spent almost two months training with Thai megastar Superbon at the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world champion's Bangkok gym.
During a virtual press conference for ONE 170, Ghazali said Superbon is one of the fighters he's always admired and it's been an honor for him to train alongside the former featherweight kickboxing king:
"One of them is Superbon. I'm training alongside him now. [He's a] very technical, very smooth, very smart fighter, you know. I look up to a lot of people, but Superbon stands out."