“Yamakita had an edge” – Jeremy Miado impressed by Keito Yamakita’s performance against Bokang Masunyane at ONE 165

Filipino strawweight fighter Jeremy Miado is not sleeping on upcoming opponent Keito Yamakita of Japan, taking a cue from the latter's impressive showing in his previous fight.

‘The Jaguar’ takes on the ‘Pocket Monk’ in a strawweight MMA clash at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1. It is part of a 10-fight offering marking ONE Championship’s first-ever live on-ground event in Qatar, happening at the Lusail Sports Arena.

In an interview with One Sports, 31-year-old Miado shared that he studied the game of Yamakita and came away impressed. He cited, in particular, the Japanese’s most recent fight in January at ONE 165 in Japan, where, despite losing by unanimous decision to South African Bokang Masunyane, he displayed solid techniques.

The Marrok Force affiliate said:

“In his last fight, I still felt like Yamakita had an edge in the techniques, but [Bokang] Masunyane is very athletic, he’s got such a strong body, and he has a wrestling base, so it was tough to pin him to the mat. It ended with Masunyane controlling him on the ground.”

At ONE 166, Jeremy Miado is looking to halt a two-fight skid. His most recent defeat came at the hands of compatriot Lito Adiwang by unanimous decision in their rematch back in November.

The landmark ONE Qatar event is available to Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America live and for free on Friday, March 1.

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Jeremy Miado still pushes to take his MMA career to another level

Since making his ONE Championship debut in 2017, Jeremy Miado has had it a roller-coaster. But he is still staying the course as he continues to make a push at elevating his standing in the game.

In an interview with the promotion last year, ‘The Jaguar’ said that just like many Filipino MMA fighters, he, too, dreams of making it big in the multi-faceted sport, especially in ONE. While the road has been littered with challenges, he remains committed to what he had set out to do, saying:

“Well, we know a lot of famous Filipino fighters in ONE Championship and even in other organizations, but me being myself, I strive really to prove to everyone that I can fight at a high level every single time. People appreciating my work inside the cage will come in time.”

Next challenge for Jeremy Miado is a clash with Japanese Keito Yamakita at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1, where he looks to halt a two-fight losing streak.

ONE 166 is ONE’s first-ever live on-ground event in Qatar, part of the promotion’s thrust to bring its world-class brand of martial arts action to more people in different parts of the world this year.