KUALA LUMPUR: Saiful Merican believes Muay Thai phenom Johan Ghazali Zulfikar should take his time to develop himself into a "complete fighter" before moving on to mixed martial arts (MMA) competitions in the future.
Saiful said it was best for Johan to learn at least two or three different martial arts to complement his Muay Thai skills, stressing that this process could not be rushed.
Saiful, who is a former world No. 1 Muay Thai fighter, also transitioned to MMA during his career, fighting in the ONE Championship series.
The 35-year-old retired in August after battling injuries over the past few seasons.
"I think he can do well in MMA. If he does have plans to do so, the most important thing is to not rush," said Saiful recently.
"He will have to learn at least two or three additional disciplines, such as wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and be strong in them to become a complete fighter.
"For me, personally, it took me about a year to learn (new disciplines) before starting to fight in MMA events. It takes time.
"He is still very young and has a long career ahead of him so there is no need to rush.
"I like watching him fight and he also has a good team around him."
Johan, better known by his nickname Jojo, has in recent interviews expressed his intent to try out other sports, such as kickboxing and MMA, in the future but stressed that his main focus for now is Muay Thai.
The 17-year-old has won five fights in a row in ONE Championship's Muay Thai events this year, most recently defeating Mexican Edgar Tabares earlier this month.
He signed a lucrative US$100,000 (RM427,000) contract with ONE Championship in October.