Gianni Subba has spent his entire career with ONE Championship
That will all change on Friday night because he’s facing Reece Mclaren in the main event of ONE: Visions of Victory. Subba was always scheduled to be on the card, but when the opportunity to headline came up, he didn’t hesitate.
“I had no hesitations in accepting, fighting in KL in my hometown as the main event was a goal of mine ever since I signed with ONE. I welcome the challenge and the expectations.”
He had initially been slated to face Danny Kingad, a Filipino Wushu specialist. Mclaren is a BJJ black belt who brings a very different skill set, but Subba feels the training he received at Bali MMA will stand him in good stead.
“I train with some high level black belts in Bali in Andrew and Anthony Leone. I’ve been preparing to fight grapplers pretty much my whole career, so his style is something I’m used to. We just had to make little adjustments.”
An injury to reigning flyweight champion Adriano Moraes opened the door for Subba to headline this event. The winner has been promised a title shot and the Malaysian would love to secure a rematch with interim champion Geje Eustaquio.
“This is for the number one contender status. There are no talks on who is next, but if I could choose I would like to get that rematch with Geje.”
Subba is a veteran of 11 ONE Championship fights. Stepping inside the promotion’s cage is an experience he has become very familiar with and the 25-year-old feels he has improved dramatically since making his professional debut.
“I’m used to the environment. I know what it feels like to walk out and the pressure leading up to it. It definitely helps me channel the energy into the right places.”
Having headlined an event at the MOA Arena in Manila, his opponent is unlikely to be intimidated by the Kuala Lumpur crowd. But Subba feels that his experience could be key going into ONE: Visions of Victory.
This article first appeared at News – MMAWeekly.com
