ONE Championship: ‘The Fighting God’ Kim Jae-woong plans to break Martin Nguyen down, earn title shot
- Summer spent training with Team Alpha Male in California helps sharpen mental side of South Korean’s game going into ONE: Revolution
- ‘I now know I can be one of those world-class fighters,’ says Kim, who faces crucial clash against former two-division champion Nguyen
Kim Jae-woong has insisted the fundamentals of fighting will be the downfall of former two division champion Martin Nguyen.
South Korea’s Kim (11-4) is set to face off against Vietnamese-Australian powerhouse Nguyen (13-4) at ONE Championship: Revolution on September 24 in Singapore. The pair were set to fight in April but Covid safety protocols threw a wrench into those plans at the eleventh hour – twice.
The much-anticipated featherweight bout is finally about to go down – barring any more unforeseen mishaps – and “The Fighting God” has used the extra time to prepare on the mental side of his game, rather than the physical.
“After I trained with Team Alpha Male, I got a lot of confidence in myself because I now know I can be one of those world-class fighters,” Kim told the Post. “And I believe in myself more now. That’s the biggest difference between April and now.”
A summer spent in Sacramento, California has seen Kim take full advantage, hitting the mats with prospects, veterans and legends alike.
“Song Yadong was my main training partner,” Kim said. “He was helping me out with training so much. Guys like Cody Garbrandt … he came to sparring. He would do like four or five consecutive rounds with me just to help me out.
