After a year away from the global stage, Sorgraw Petchyindee Academy is ready to make his return to ONE Championship.
The 27-year-old Thai faces compatriot Pongsiri PK.Saenchai Muaythaigym at ONE: NO SURRENDER II in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, 14 August.
Ahead of his featherweight Muay Thai clash in Thailand’s capital, Sorgraw talks about his return to the ring and sizes up his challenger.
“I felt very happy coming back to fight again after such a long break from the COVID-19 pandemic. I left home in Buriram and came back to the camp for training,” he said.
Sorgraw has been grinding away in preparation for Pongsiri, who, by the sound of it, will take the bout to the Petchyindee representative as soon as the opening bell sounds.
“I have never fought Pongsiri before, but I watched him fight many times. He is a stubborn fighter,” the Buriram native explained.
“He likes to go crazy and walk forward. He normally motivates his opponent to fight back and fall into his game.”
As for Sorgraw’s strategy, he admits he’ll have to wait for fight night and work on the fly.
But the man who previously beat ONE’s Samy Sana and George Mann plans to avoid the aggression of Pongsiri by using his feints and counters.
“He doesn’t have a sign as to which weapon he will use,” he said. “It’s difficult to predict his game plan sometimes.
“What I have to do is wait and fight back using my elbows, knees, or left kicks, which are my strongest weapons. I also have to fake him out with my techniques and confuse him.”
When the two men meet in the center of the ring, Sorgraw will have an 11-centimeter height advantage over his rival, yet, he isn’t looking down on his opponent. In fact, he’s going to calculate every one of Pongsiri’s steps so he can keep the bout in his favor.
“I can not underestimate him even though he is shorter than me because he has a lot of power,” Sorgraw said. “I will try to control the game the way I like to.”
Watch Sorgraw battle Pongsiri at ONE: NO SURRENDER II on 14 August in Bangkok, Thailand.
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