Ev Ting Plans To Pile The Pressure On ‘Dagi’ At ONE: Call To Greatness

Malaysian-Kiwi lightweight contender Ev “E.T.” Ting is raring to get back on track.

The 29-year old former ONE Lightweight World Championship challenger seemed to be on his way to another world title shot before he ran into Japanese submission machine and former world champion Shinya Aoki.

Now, “E.T.” is looking to bounce back and he gets the opportunity to do it as one of the eight competitors chosen to participate in the ONE Lightwieght World Grand Prix.

Ting’s first assignment will be against Russian Saygid “Dagi” Guseyn Arslanaliev in a quarterfinals match at ONE: CALL TO GREATNESS on Friday, February 22nd in Singapore.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Ting shared his thoughts on the upcoming tournament and what he thinks about his next opponent.

Obviously, being selected as one of the top eight lightweights in the promotion is a huge honor and Ting believes that the Lightweight World Grand Prix will definitely do wonders for the promotion.

“The ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix is great. The lightweight division was already stacked but now with the GP, it solidifies the division to the whole world” Ting stated.

Ting also spoke about what winning the tournament could do for one’s career.

“With Eddie Alvarez coming in, he’s top three in the whole world, so the winner will be as credible as one of the top guys in the world. It’s a stacked division and this is one of the biggest, most notable tournaments out there at the moment.”

As for his next opponent, Ting believes that “Dagi” pulled the surprising win out after being in danger early in the match.

“I watched the fight with Timofey and in the early exchanges he was losing until he got that leg and landed the short punches. He surprised everybody with that finish.”

Based on what he saw, Ting is confident that he has the advantage on the feet, while “Dagi” may be favoured if the action hits the ground.

“In a kickboxing fight, I think I’d beat [Arslanaliev] 10 times out of 10 times. In a wrestling battle, I think it would be maybe nine out of 10 for him, so I definitely respect that.”

“However, I’ve been training with really tough guys. Over here in Bali, I’ve been training with BJJ black belts and great wrestlers. I’ve got full confidence in my team and I really have confidence in my skills going into this one” he elaborated further.

The Auckland MMA product also noted that he has the edge in terms of experience, which could come into play in their crucial matchup.

“My experience is definitely key to victory here. He’s only six fights into his professional mixed martial arts career. My goal is to take him to places that he hasn’t been to. For example, putting him on his back, hitting him a few times, putting him on the back foot and into the corner of the ring, all kinds of movements that he’s yet to see” said Ting.

Confident as he may sound, Ting is simply excited to get back to action and move his way back up to a world title shot.

“I can’t stress how excited I am for this bout and how much trust I have in my camp and my training partners helping me for this fight” he expressed.

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