Johan Ghazali came away from his last fight with a lot of lessons and improvements to get to work on.
The teenage star had a rapid trajectory that meant whilst his stock was continuing to grow, he was unable to really go back to the drawing board.
That’s exactly what happened following his last outing at ONE 167 where he was shockingly upset by Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat.
Ghazali’s trademark pressure and aggression were on full display but unlike his other opponents, Duy Nhat wasn’t going anywhere.
One of the key takeaways for the future star in this fight was the differences he needs to learn about how to cut off opponents.
He believes that due to competing in the cage for the first time, he wasn’t able to adapt his footwork and gameplans which led to him chasing his opponent around at points rather than pushing him back.
In a recent interview with the South China Morning Post, Ghazali spoke about the key lesson he learned in defeat:
“The difference between the Circle and the traditional ring. I underestimated that, and a few other things gameplan-wise.”
Johan Ghazali will benefit from this setback
Losing a fight at a time like this is far from the worst thing that could happen to Johan Ghazali.
At 17 years old, he’s still learning and coming into his own as a competitor and sometimes, lessons have to be learned the hard way.
He won’t make the same mistake again after having it cost him the fight which means that when he returns at ONE 168, fans can expect an even more dangerous Ghazali.
Josue Cruz presents another interesting challenge for him at the Ball Arena on September 6 but he will know that catching Ghazali off guard probably isn’t going to be an option after what he just went through.
Tickets for ONE 168: Denver are available via Ticketmaster.
