Taiki Naito has “high expectations” for remapped striking style at ONE Fight Night 32
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.”
Taiki Naito believes he has plenty more to give in return at ONE Fight Night 32
Despite being only 29 years old, Taiki Naito is considered a veteran of ONE Championship.
He holds 13 bouts to his name in the promotion, having competed across both Muay Thai and kickboxing divisions. Naito even took ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 the distance at ONE 157 in May 2022.
He also pushed future ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion Jonathan Haggerty to the brink at ONE: BIG BANG II in December 2020. However, he feels he has plenty more to offer to the flyweight division.
Coming up against a foe like Estupinan who’s unbeaten in 27 professional outings gives him the chance to show his new improvements. And given the body of work he’s put in over the last 12 months, he’s excited to see the fruits of his labor flourish.
“I’m in the latter part of my career now, and I can actually feel myself growing. But after 50 fights, incorporating new elements takes courage. I’ve been the type who didn’t want to disrupt certain aspects of my style, but by putting aside that kind of pride and embracing new elements, I feel like I’ve discovered a new version of myself,” he said.
“So this time, I want people to think I’m different from before, and I have high expectations for myself.”
