Kingad vows to showcase Lakay 'warrior spirit' vs Japanese foe

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Danny Kingad can enjoy the luxury of turning to his Team Lakay peers for counsel for his fight against a Japanese opponent in ONE Championship showpiece here on Saturday.

After all, most of them have faced and won over their respective assignments.

But more than strategies and techniques, the Team Lakay ward said that his seniors at the famed fight stable, and even batchmate Joshua Pacio, told him that he needs only to look within.

“‘Yung talagang naituro nila sakin ay ‘yung meron silang tinatawag na ‘Warrior Spirit.’” Kingad told a handful of Filipino scribes on Friday ahead of the “Conquest of Heroes” card at the Jakarta Convention Center.

“Mas malakas nga lang ‘yung atin sa kanila,” he furthered. “‘Yun ‘yung parati ko ring isinasaisip.”

Kingad belongs to one of the most popular ethnic groups of the Philippines, the Cordillerans or what most people refer to as the Igorots. Specifically, the 22-year-old is of the Kankanaeys.

Kingad will enjoy plenty of motivation as well as he looks to honor his departed grandfather and his newborn daughter Gleuordan Adrian who just turned a month old last 14th. To top it off, a win could also propel him as a contender for the flyweight title which is currently ruled by stablemate Geje Eustaquio.

The young fighter will take on Yuya Wakamatsu, who like him is enjoying a 9-1 record professionally. 

“‘Yung nakikita kong advantage ko is ‘yung wrestling ko talaga,” Kingad offed. “Pero ‘yun nga, MMA ‘to. Kung puwedeng ma-knockout, knockout-in na. Striker siya kasi.

“Gusto ko, ‘yung larong ‘to, sa ground. Take-down. Kung ‘di ko man matake-down, eh ‘di sa striking na,” he closed.

Kingad joins Pacio — who takes on Yoshitaka Naito anew for the strawweight title, and Zomboanga’s unbeaten Jomary Torres in the event