“Ottogi” Dae Hwan Kim, 31, of Seoul, South Korea will compete inside the ONE Championship cage for the seventh time. On April 20, 2018, he will face Masakazu “Ashikan Judan” Imanari, 42, of Tokyo, Japan will compete on the undercard of “ONE: Heroes of Honor” at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines.
Kim has won multiple national titles in various martial arts disciplines and is regarded with his incredible striking prowess and solid grappling ability. The Korean dynamite joined the promotion in 2013.
In Kim’s first two assignments in ONE Championship, which is based in Singapore, he posted impressive victories. He defeated Thanh “Aladdin” Vu, 26, of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon, 30, of Baguio City, Philippines.
However, Kim’s back is against the wall as he lost his last two outings, yielding to Leandro “Brodinho” Issa, 34, of Ubatuba, São Paulo, Brazil in November 2017 before suffering a disqualification defeat at the hands of Daichi Takenaka, 28, of Izumisano, Osaka, Japan. Now, the Korean MMA fighter seeks to break his losing spell at the expense of Imanari.
Like Kim, Imanari lost his most recent bout. The Japanese fighter lost to Yusup “Maestro” Saadulaev, 33, of Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russia via unanimous decision at “ONE: Kings of Courage” on January 20, 2018.
While Kim respects his Japanese opponent’s accomplishments, he simply believes that his skills are on a higher level. The Korean fighter acknowledged that Imanari is “definitely a strong warrior.”
“But I am a stronger warrior and I will be a historical warrior,” Kim added. “I think I can grapple with him, but I will proceed with a standing match. I will knock him out.”
Currently, Kim holds a professional record of 12 wins, 3 losses and 1 loss. On the other hand, Imanari has 36 wins and 17 losses.
CONAN Daily 