Diego Paez ONE Fight Night 32: "Get the respect that I deserve" - Diego Paez aims for 'fight of the night' performance vs Johan Ghazali in Bangkok

Muay Thai veteran Diego Paez fully understands that many are counting him out ahead of his upcoming bout with 18-year-old rising star Johan Ghazali, and this underdog status is all the motivation he needs.

Before they trade leather in the undercard of ONE Fight Night 32: Rodrigues vs. Cohen, next Friday, June 6, Paez laid out his goal for his second bout under the ONE banner in a recent interview with the promotion.

The Colombian-American declared:

"This is my second fight under ONE, and I didn't get the performance that I would like to get in the first one, but I'm excited to go out there and really establish myself in this promotion and get the respect I deserve. I think this fight is going to be probably the best fight of the night."

Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more

Paez left a strong, positive impression on fans in his promotional debut outing this past February against rival Sean Climaco, despite ultimately losing to 'The One' via split decision.

Like his game plan against the Filipino-American, Paez will need to trust in his championship-winning experience to outsmart the uber-aggressive Malaysian-American inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

ONE Fight Night 32 will air live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

Diego Paez prepared to turn Johan Ghazali's aggression against him

Diego Paez can sense that Johan Ghazali will come out swinging in his pursuit of another highlight-reel finish. As such, the former is already prepared to turn this approach against him.

Speaking recently with Combat Sports Today, the Classic Fight Team star said:

"They just respected him too much, in my opinion. I don't think that's going to be the case for me. I think those are going to be actually my opportunities to catch something big and then from there, [I can] fight my fight."

Watch the entire interview below:

About the author

Karl has been an MMA writer at Sportskeeda since 2023. He holds a Bachelor of Arts major in history, which helps him pay attention to the finer details while writing, and also has first-hand experience in boxing. He has a total experience of 5 years, and has worked for the International Business Times.

Karl turned into an MMA fan back in 2011 after watching Tito Ortiz defeat Ryan Bader via first-round submission at UFC 132. He has interviewed ONE world champions like Eduard Folayang, Joshua Pacio, Stamp Fairtex, and Tawanchai in his career so far.

On the non-MMA side of things, he interviewed WWE superstar Matt Riddle in 2021 and his question about Roman Reigns elicited an interesting answer which was widely covered by outlets like Sportskeeda and Cultaholic Wrestling's YouTube channel. He has also interviewed NBA stars Dwight Howard, Nick Young, Andre Roberson, Shabazz Muhammad, Jason Williams and Brian Scalabrine plus Filipino women's volleyball star Alyssa Valdez.

Karl ensures to double-check facts before using them in articles, and reads up on potential topics for pieces a day before. In his off time, he likes to play video games, and keep up with basketball and pro wrestling.

Know More

Follow One Championship News, Schedule & Results at Sportskeeda.

Edited by Tejas Rathi