ONE Championship: Japan’s Kawahara says it’s ‘a matter of time’ before ‘real strawweight contenders’ dethrone Pacio
- Japan’s Kawahara will look to rebound from KO loss to Lito Adiwang against Danial Williams at ONE: Eersel vs. Sadikovic on April 22
- Team Alpha Male product will not be ‘too excited or happy’ until he wins strawweight belt currently held by ‘good fighter’ Pacio
Pacio, a product of the famed Team Lakay gym in Baguio City, Philippines, has held the division’s title since he knocked out Japan’s Yosuke Saruta in April 2019, and has defended it three times since then.
It has been an impressive championship reign for the Filipino, but Japan’s Kawahara believes that reign is nearing its expiration date, as the strawweight division becomes increasingly crowded with new and dangerous contenders.
“He’s a good fighter, but the real strawweight contenders are just starting to gather to the division – the real ones that are going up to the top, including myself,” Kawahara told the Post from his training home of Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, California. “I think it’s only a matter of time before a new champion emerges.”
Kawahara (7-4-2) made his ONE Championship debut in January 2021, succumbing to second-round strikes at the hands of Lito Adiwang, who was ranked in the strawweight top 5 until very recently.
It was not the debut the 32-year-old Osaka native wanted, but he accepted the fight with just over a week’s notice, and believes there are positives to be drawn from the experience in hindsight.
“The offer was on nine days’ notice,” he said. “[Adiwang] had been ready, he had been training, he’d had a full camp. It was especially hard during Covid and to be able to [take that fight] is something I’m proud of. But it was difficult nonetheless.”
Kawahara, who previously held strawweight gold in Japanese promotion DEEP, will have the opportunity to rebound from his short-notice loss to Adiwang on the main card of ONE Championship’s next event, slated for April 22 in Singapore.
His opponent will be Australia’s Danial Williams, who is 4-1 in MMA but more notably battled Thai juggernaut Rodtang Jitmuangnon to a competitive decision loss in a Muay Thai fight in April last year.
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“He went all the way with Rodtang, so he truly has the heart of a champion,” Kawahara said of his foe. “He’s fought in Japan. My impression of him is he’s a true fighter.
“I think it will be a tough battle, or I will overwhelm him,” he added, offering a prediction for the fight. “At the end of the day, I think I’m on another level.
“I think the people at ONE will finally see who Namiki Kawahara is. At the last fight, yes I fought as hard as I could, but it’s this fight that I’m going to show my true self.”
Do not expect to see an over-the-top celebration from Kawahara if things go his way against Williams.
While he is eager to score his first ONE Championship win, he says he will not be truly satisfied until the belt is being wrapped around his waist.
“I might not be too excited or happy,” he said. “I’ll be happy when I’m No 1 in the division and I’m the world champion.”
