Hard work brings rewards, and for Malaysia’s “Jungle Cat” Muhammad Aiman (5-2), the 23-year-old’s commitment to the grind has paid off.
On the back of three straight victories, the ONE Championship bantamweight has earned himself a coveted spot at ONE: HEART OF THE LION, arguably the most anticipated ONE event of 2018.
Taking place on Friday, 9 November at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, the blockbuster card will feature a number of the promotion’s brightest talents and will be headlined by two World Champion versus World Champion super-bouts.
Aiman will be stepping into the cage against Japan’s Shuya Kamikubo (8-1-1), currently on a four-bout winning streak, and their anticipated bantamweight clash will be one of the opening bouts of the evening.
“I am really happy to be on this card and to be recognized,” Aiman said in a recent interview.
“ONE is recognizing me as a good fighter, by putting me on a card this big.”
The world’s largest martial arts organization has been receiving more media coverage than ever due to its recent acquisition of star signings Eddie Alvarez and Demetrious Johnson.
The upside of all this extra attention for the “Jungle Cat” is that he now has a chance to showcase his exceptional striking abilities to not only a massive global audience but also the world’s mixed martial arts media who will be attending the event in droves.
“This year’s been a really good year,” Aiman said.
“I have been pretty lucky with training being all good, and all the stuff I do in training I have been able to do in my bouts.”
Aiman’s recent outing inside the ONE cage resulted in a second-round submission victory over the formerly undefeated Chinese athlete Chen Lei, at ONE: BEYOND THE HORIZON.
“I was working on my takedown defense before that bout and was trying to win every second [of the round] and not give up position,” he said discussing the matchup.
“I knew he was going to come hard in the first round. So I just did my best in the first–round and thought about what I had trained for, our plan was to get him tired and eventually the finish would come.”
Aiman’s drive to continually develop himself as an athlete, as well as his natural attacking flair, keeps his fans in a state of suspense as to what new technique or maneuver the 23-year-old will unleash during his matches.
“I always try to show my style in the cage, that’s the way I train, and that’s the way I fight.”
It is this creative almost artistic aspect of Aiman’s game that gives his bouts a unique aura. You may not know what he is going to do when the cage doors close, but when it does happen; you will thank yourself for not missing out on seeing it unfold.
Aiman, who trains out of Bali MMA one of South East Asia’s premier gyms, has not watched any footage of his upcoming opponent. Instead, he trusts his coaching team to again come up with the right blueprint that will enable him to continue his good form and stretch his winning streak out to four.
In the meantime, Aiman continues to focus his efforts on becoming that little bit sharper that little bit quicker, the types of incremental gains that give an athlete an extra edge when competing.
Singapore may be known as the “Lion City” but on Friday 9 November it may witness a “Jungle Cat” that has everybody talking.
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