When the main event of ONE Friday Fights 58 arrives, Marat Grigorian will be the first man to walk to the ring inside Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.
The Armenian star is set to take on Superbon Singha Mawynn for the ONE Interim Featherweight Kickboxing World Championship at the Friday, April 5, event in Bangkok, Thailand, and it’s a rematch two years in the making.
After starting his 2024 campaign strong by gaining a win over Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong at ONE 165, Grigorian is preparing to put it all on the line against Superbon to get to where he wants to go.
“Life is a risk. This year, I’m going to risk everything. I really need and want to win. That’s all there is. The only thing on my mind is to beat him. Finish or not, it doesn’t matter how it will end. I just want to win,” Grigorian told ONE.
“My goal is to be the World Champion of ONE Championship. That’s the only goal in my mind. So it means everything to me. I will do my best to get there.”
The pair have met twice before, with Grigorian scoring a quick win in their first battle, which happened outside of ONE Championship. They last met at ONE X in 2022, when Superbon held the undisputed ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Title.
The Thai striking superstar retained the gold by unanimous decision that evening, leaving the score of their rivalry tied at 1-1, and Grigorian has been itching for a shot at putting a cap on it ever since.
“The first fight was really short because it took only 29 seconds. The second fight was five rounds of fighting. I saw everything that he throws. I was just very, very slow that night, and he improved a lot. But I have also improved a lot. So every fight is different. We need to stay sharp because one mistake, and it can end very fast,” he detailed.
“I think he will do the same game plan as the last time, just teeping me away and throwing some knees. I think that’s the only thing that he can do against me. I will work on distance, take my points, and that’s it.”
Rematches are always difficult, but elite athletes learn a new lesson every time they face a familiar foe. Grigorian is no different in this regard.
He has adjusted what he needs to and knows exactly where to focus his attention in order to leave with the featherweight kickboxing crown.
“The last fight with Superbon, I was really well prepared. But on the day itself, I didn’t recover. My body was not working. It’s not an excuse that I lost against him. I don’t like excuses. But one of the reasons was I didn’t recover well. You can see it in my fight. I was really slow. I was throwing everything like slow motion,” Grigorian said.
“So that’s why now we are here [in Thailand] for longer. To get healthy and recover. It’s helping me to get used to the time. I’m sleeping well and things like that. So I think it will be a different night.”
Relocating from his home base in the Netherlands to Thailand has been key for Grigorian’s preparation.
His bout with Superbon at ONE Friday Fights 58 will be the third time he has taken a crack at winning a World Title in ONE, and this time, he wants to leave nothing to chance.
“Everything is going good. I’m here with my team, six or seven people, including my coach, Nick Hemmers, and some of my sparring partners,” Grigorian said.
“We are just focused on me for now. There are no other people with us who are going to fight, so the focus stays on me. Every day, we are training or working on some different game plan. It’s heavy, and we’re sparring a lot of times.”
ONE Friday Fights 58 airs live on watch.onefc.com for $24.99 on Friday, April 5, at 8:30 a.m. ET/5:30 a.m. PT.