Results haven’t recently favored Japanese striking standout Taiki Naito. So this year, “Silent Sniper” has been honing his craft in to reinvent himself.
Naito duels with #5-ranked flyweight Muay Thai contender Johan Estupinan at ONE Fight Night 32 this Friday, 6 June, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium.
It’s been almost a year since Naito last appeared ONE Championship. Last August, he lost to Elias Mahmoudi at ONE Fight Night 24. He suffered a third-round knockout in their flyweight kickboxing affair.
He played his part in the three-round firefight, causing a slugfest to ensue. But the inventive ways of Mahmoudi got the best of him once again as he fell to a spinning backfist that saw Naito embark on a two-fight skid.
In the time since, Naito has taken his talents back to the drawing board. His kicks have always been his strong suit, given his success as former Shoot Boxing Super Bantamweight Champion. But to sharpen things up, he’s been working with professional boxing coaches three times a week to make his style much more frightening.
“I’ve been training during this time, and I’ve incorporated some new elements since my last loss,” he said.
“I’m naturally more skilled with kicks. In my previous fights, I think I used significantly more kicks than punches, but now, I’ve become better at balancing kicks and punches together.
“As a fighter, I do feel that it’s been quite a long gap, but I believe this time away has actually helped me grow in certain ways, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
