MIXED Martial Arts fighter Agilan Thani is staying clear of the "big bombs" in Hiroyuki Tetsuka's arsenal, but remains optimistic of overpowering the Japanese when the two lock horns at ONE Championships' Nextgen 2 event.
Taking a revolutionary approach, Nextgen 2 will be aired on television tomorrow, but due to Covid-19 restrictions, it has been pre-recorded in Singapore on an undisclosed date or time.
Agilan, who lost his last fight against American Tyler McGuire at Big Bang 2 (December 2020), said he has prepared well for the Hiroyuki fight.
"I've made a lot of improvements since my last fight against McGuire, especially in the way we have trained on this (preparation) camp," said Agilan.
"This time around, my game plan has a lot of focus on footwork and on getting in and out. This is because we know that Hiroyuki has really "big bombs" - he is known for knocking out people.
"I have good wrestling skill and will look to use my footwork to get into wall wrestling (situations)."
Agilan, whose fight record stands at 11 wins and five losses, is looking to finish on a decisive note through submission or knockout.
The middleweight fighter believes he has an advantage in terms of experience.
"My last three fights have really motivated me to finish fights (early) because all of them have been decided through (split or unanimous) decisions. I'm not happy with that," said the 26-year-old.
"Although I am younger than Hiroyuki, I have fought more than him and have faced stronger opponents than he has.
"A lot of the guys I have fought are either title challengers or world champions.
"I may have had a slight hiccup in my career as my wins have been inconsistent (recently) but I know I am capable of beating Hiroyuki."
Hiroyuki, who is five years older than Agilan, has nine wins and four losses to date.
He lost his last fight against Murad Ramazanov (October 2020) but before that, had won five fights in a row between August 2018 and September 2020.