Danial Williams is always excited to put on a show and he’s happy to be paired with an equally explosive fighter in his next outing. On Friday, February 16, “Mini-T” is set to face Filipino fireball Lito Adiwang in a strawweight MMA bout at ONE Fight Night 19: Haggerty vs. Lobo inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. 

In an interview with ONE, the Australian-Thai fighter says his desire to fight “Thunder Kid” stems from admiration rather than animosity. “It’s going to be an absolute banger. Fire meets fire. Big respect to Lito. I’m so happy to get a match with him. It’s an honor to fight him. He’s a guy that’s just going to bring the fire, and he’s going to be a hard opponent,” he said.  

Danial Williams enjoys the “art of war”

“He’s someone that throws with intent, and that’s what excites me because it almost goes back to why I love martial arts. It’s the art of war. I feel like this is an art of war fight. This is someone who wants to kill me and I want to kill him as well. It’s a good style of fight that I enjoy.” 

Both fighters have electrified crowds whenever they stepped into the ring. While competing in ONE’s MMA ranks, Adiwang has finished opponents in four of his six wins in the biggest stage while Williams has finished two opponents in his three victories.

With plenty of fight tape to watch, the Kor Sok Muay Thai and Scrappy MMA representative believes he has a good grasp of what to expect from his upcoming opponent. ​​“Lito is a really good counter-striker. He’s good at drawing you in and then he flurries.”

“So, I’m going to be wary of that. If you throw and you miss him, then he’s going to come back with a big combo. Of course, his wrestling is good as well. He’s an all-rounder,” he said. He predicts it to be a blow-for-blow matchup with strikes landing everywhere. 

The center of the cage

“I think I’m just going to meet him in the middle. If he’s going to try countering me, I’ll try countering back and get him with a flurry. I just want to be busy, have a higher work rate, and when I hit him, hit him hard. Show him that if he hits me, I’m not going to back down.” While he will be ready to go the distance with Adiwang, Williams is very open to the possibility that their showdown will end prematurely. 

Also Read: “I Felt Like the Black Sheep” – Wondergirl Opens Up on Her Emotional Journey of Competing at ONE Championship

Pressed for a prediction, he said he cannot guarantee a finish, but it will not be for lack of trying. “I’ll be disappointed if I don’t get the finish. So, round one, round two, round three, it doesn’t matter. But I always fight for the finish, and I’ll make sure I fight the best fight I can.” 

Also Read: “He’s Teaching Me a Lot” Nat “Wondergirl” Jaroonsak Reveals Insight From the Training Camp With Olympic Gold Medalist