Team Lakay rides on Kingad for optimistic start to 2023

MANILA, Philippines — Famed MMA Baguio stable Team Lakay will be looking to have a winning start to the year as Danny Kingad opens the action for the gym in ONE Fight Night 7: Lineker vs Andrade in Bangkok on February 25.

After a mixed bag of results for Team Lakay in ONE Championship's return to Manila last December in ONE 164, Kingad will hope to give him and his stablemates a step in the right direction with his bout against Indonesia's Eko Roni Saputra.

Kingad, an erstwhile contender for the flyweight crown, will collide against a streaking Saputra who is riding a seven-bout win streak.

Despite Kingad himself coming off from a long layoff — and a loss at that — in his last fight back in December 2021, Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao believes that his ward is ripe for a victory against the Indonesian.

"Maganda yung preparation ni Danny ngayon and makikita niyo yung change sa kanya ngayon, pati yung katawan. Ang ganda ng kanyang physique ngayon," said Sangiao, who flies with Kingad to Bangkok on Monday. 

"Pineprepare natin siya nung husto and nasa peak na siya ngayon, nasa peak na siya ng training," he added.

Kingad was supposed to see action in the December card in Manila, before an injury to his foe forced him to watch from the sidelines as the Singapore promotion returned to the country for the first time in more than two years.

The flyweight contender, though, saw it as a blessing in disguise as he had more time to prepare.

Against Saputra, Kingad believes there's no more excuses to not come out with the victory.

"From December nagtuluy-tuloy talaga yung training ko doon and ayun nga, kahit man ganun yung nangyari na may na-cancel yung fight, tapos at least sinabi pa rin nila na maimove yung fight ko kaya tinuloy tuloy ko parin yung training," said Kingad.

"Talagang ano, parang binigyan pa ako ng ilang buwan para prepared lahat. And of course, walang reason na talagang matatalo ako this fight and ibibigay ko lahat ng aking makakaya," he added.

ONE Fight Night 7: Lineker vs Andrade II will feature John Lineker and Fabricio Andrade in the main event as they compete for the now vacant ONE bantamweight world championship.

Lineker, the erstwhile titlist, lost his belt at the weighing scale last year before his initial fight with Andrade. In their actual bout, Andrade hit an unintentional low blow which rendered Lineker unable to continue due to injury.