For Danny ‘The King’ Kingad, his upcoming bout at ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLD on 10 November in Manila offers a golden opportunity.
The 22-year-old Filipino will step into the ONE Championship cage for the fourth time, but this time will be different – the ONE Flyweight World Championship will be up for grabs.
“This has been my dream for such a long time,” he explained ahead of the contest. “All the opponents I have faced, even early in my career, have brought me to this moment. It is my biggest match ever.
“All my experience has led me to this. It is the next step in my time as a professional. Every athlete dreams of becoming a world champion, and now I have the opportunity.”
That opportunity seems a world apart from his humble beginnings as the youngest of five children in Manila’s Baguio City.
Money was tight, and Kingad’s parents had to work hard to scrape together a living and keep a roof over their children’s heads.
“I grew up with a poor family, and it certainly was not easy growing up,” remembers Kingad. “There was not always enough food when your family could not find work.”
Kingad’s rough childhood got even tougher when tragedy struck and his father passed away. Kingad was just 8 years old at the time.
“Losing my father was very difficult, because I cannot see him anymore,” he said. “I get some of my motivation from the stories my mom tells me about my dad. My dad and I were very close when he was alive.
“I am very grateful that I still have my mom, and we are very close.”
Following the loss of his father, Kingad moved in with his older brother and discovered the striking art of wushu.
“I really like how the art of wushu pushes you to discipline yourself,” he said. “I desired to learn more about the techniques of wushu and to learn more about myself, as well.
“I needed discipline, because before wushu, my friends encouraged me to go to parties and drink alcohol.”
Kingad’s wushu skills saw him join the University of Cordilleras, where under the guidance of Mark Sangiao, he took the 2015 Regional Wushu Champtionship.
It was there that he heard about ONE Championship, and with his competitive spirit fired by the thought of competing in the cage, he joined Sangiao’s Team Lakay with the aim of becoming a champion under the bright lights of ONE.
“I used wushu to help me with my discipline, and I am now training in other martial arts, because it is a big motivation for me,” said Kingad. “I saw some of the seniors at school competing, and they are champions now. I wanted to become a champion too.”
Now, Kingad stands on the edge of that achievement, as he prepares to take on defending ONE Flyweight World Champion Brazilian Adriano Moraes for the title on 10 November in his home country of the Philippines in Manila.
While he has high hopes for his martial arts career, Kingad’s main aim is to provide for those who helped keep him on the straight and narrow as a youngster.
“The biggest hope I have for the future is to help my family,” he admitted. “I want to get closer to God and help my friends and family who are suffering.
“I also want to help my brother as a way to pay him back for the support he has given me.”
Kingad knows that he faces the toughest test of his martial arts career when he steps into the cage to face Moraes, a seasoned world champion with twice the experience of the young Filipino.
While he has a relative lack of cage time compared to the champion, Kingad still has landmark moments in his career he can draw from if he finds himself in a difficult predicament during the contest.
“Muhammad Aiman gave me my toughest test. I honestly thought he had me at one point,” recalled Kingad, who was close to being submitted by a triangle choke in his most recent outing.
“I just stayed calm and remembered what we practiced in training, and I was able to escape and survive. It was a learning experience for me and an eye-opener.
“I know Moraes will be 100 times as skilful on the ground, so I cannot get caught in a situation like that.”
Kingad went on to earn a unanimous decision victory to set up his title tilt at Moraes in Manila.
It’s a title shot he wasn’t expecting to receive so early in his martial arts career, but an athlete doesn’t get to choose the timetable of their career. Now that his chance has arrived, he’s ready to grasp it with both hands.
“I did not think it would come so soon, but I am here now, and I have to face this whether I am ready or not,” he said. “Some of the greatest world champions in sports faced their biggest challenges far before they were ready, and it brought out the best in them.
“I live for these ‘dare to be great’ situations, and I will bring my best to the cage on 10 November. Whatever happens, I will leave it all in there, and give the performance of a lifetime.
“Moraes and I are going to war, and I’m stepping onto the battlefield as a soldier of destiny.”
