Filipino-Indonesian Aziz “The Krauser” Calim knows the odds will be stacked against him when he makes his ONE Championship return at the Singapore Indoor Stadium this Friday.
But when a window of opportunity opens, he plans to take advantage.
Calim battles undefeated Roshan Mainam in a three-round flyweight mixed martial arts bout at the previously recorded ONE: Fists of Fury III, which airs this Friday, March 19 — a match that could tow him back to the winning track.
Mainam was originally slated to face Abro “The Black Komodo” Fernandes. But Fernandes had to withdraw due to visa problems, leaving Mainam without an opponent.
This is where Calim comes in. Having trained with Fernandes for this bout, “The Krauser” didn’t think twice when he received the offer for the match.
“[As far as] the game plan, we haven’t fully completed it because I am the replacement fighter, and this is on short notice. However, I will go heavy on the striking like I always do,” Calim said.
“Previously, I also helped Abro in his preparation ahead of this Roshan bout, so I will use what I have learned from his drills in my fight.”
On paper, the match is clearly a classic striker versus grappler match, something that Calim doesn’t plan on disputing. In fact, he’s banking on it unfolding that way.
“I see that he’s lacking in striking. I believe that I still have better abilities in terms of a stand-up fight compared to what he has at the moment,” Calim said.
“What I am concerned about is his ground and wrestling skills. However, I still think that with the drills I took [in the training camp] to assist Abro, I feel that I can deal with his ground game.”
Make no mistake, he doesn’t think that he will come in and dominate Mainam. Still, at the end of the day, he believes he has the great equalizer — his hands.
“At best, I want to use my boxing for a KO, because I have been drilling a lot in the striking area and prepared myself with my boxing skills.”
Catch the previously recorded ONE: FISTS OF FURY III on One Sports and One Sports+ at 8:30 p.m. Philippine Standard Time (PHT) this Friday, March 19. It will also simultaneously air on the ONE Super App.
Also, TV5 will air an encore presentation of the event at 12 a.m. PHT on Sunday, March 21.
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