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Isi Fitikefu used his experience growing up with self-conscious issues to explain why his children should pursue sports.
Fitikefu, a contender in the ONE Championship welterweight MMA division, wasn't always confident and outgoing, two qualities needed to be a fighter.
While speaking to ONE, the Tongan-Australian welterweight had this to say about gaining confidence through sports, a path that he hopes his children will follow:
“When I was a kid, I was real shy. I was a super shy kid. And it took me a while to trust people. I had trust problems, and I was really self-conscious and shy. But I feel like through sports it helped me open up a bit, and I wanted to give that to them so they could be the opposite – be more confident in themselves.”
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Isi Fitikefu, a training partner of the legendary Robert Whittaker, made his ONE Championship debut in November 2022, losing a split decision against Ruslan Emilbek Uulu.
The 32-year-old has since bounced back with consecutive wins against Valmir da Silva (first-round submission) and Hiroyuki Tetsuka (unanimous decision). He now looks to continue his winning ways in his toughest test yet.
Isi Fitikefu looks for the biggest win of his fighting career at ONE Fight Night 31
On Friday, May 2, Isi Fitikefu plans to put the welterweight MMA division on notice when he faces Zebaztian Kadestam at ONE Fight Night 31.
Kadestam, a former ONE welterweight MMA world champion, is riding a three-fight winning streak, all by knockout. He last fought in May 2023, defeating Roberto Soldic with a second-round highlight-reel knockout.
Two-sport world champion Christian Lee plans to defend his welterweight strap in his next fight, increasing the stakes for contenders Kadestam and Fitikefu.
ONE Fight Night 31 takes place inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Friday's event can be seen live and for free by North American and Canadian viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
Friday's event also features Kongthoranee vs. Nong-O 2 (flyweight Muay Thai main event), Tye Ruotolo vs. Dante Leon (welterweight submission grappling world-title co-main event), Nauzet Trujillo vs. Liam Nolan 2 (lightweight Muay Thai), and more.
Check out the entire ONE Fight Night 31 bout lineup below:
