JEREMY Miado only has one goal this 2022: to barge into the top five of the strawweight contenders in the ONE Athlete Rankings.
Jeremy Miado on becoming strawweight contender
But to do so, he understands that he has to continue racking up wins to present himself as a legitimate title contender to the reigning ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua Pacio.
"I know I deserve it if I win here," he said.
Step one of accomplishing that goal is beating Senzo Ikeda when they face off at ONE: Heavy Hitters on Jan. 14 in Singapore.
For the Filipino, it's a perfect example of a striker versus a grappler and it's up to him to neutralize the Japanese veteran's grappling game.
"He's a pressure fighter. I feel like that's one thing that could give me a hard time, but I'm ready for that. We've been preparing for that for a long time," said Miado.
"I think his main game plan is to focus on grappling and use his wrestling to frustrate me. They know that I'm a striker, so I expect them to cut the distance and not give me a chance to get a rhythm on the feet."
Miado knows what his edge is, with the 29-year-old being 10 years younger than the 39-year-old Ikeda.
It's with that advantage that the Albay native will look to exploit as he tries to stun the Pancrase Flyweight Champion.
"One advantage that I think I have is my age. I'm relatively younger than him, he's getting up there in age, and I think cardio-wise, that's an advantage for me. I know he can still work on it during training, but it's hard to catch up," he shared.
"I know I'll have an advantage with my boxing and my age while I'm preparing for his pressure and grappling. But we're prepared for everything. Wherever this match goes, I know I'm prepared."
It also helps that Miado's confidence is on a high after his back-to-back wins over Miao Li Tao for his first win streak in the promotion, one that he credits largely to his new home Marrok Force MMA Gym.
That's why Miado has no other plans but to have his hands raised at the end of that bout, all while hoping to soon be in the conversation of those potential challengers to the throne.
"I don't have a problem facing Ikeda because I know this is an opportunity to showcase myself and prove that I belong in the rankings. I need to beat Ikeda to prove that I deserve a ranked opponent. I know there are a lot of great fighters in this weight class," he said.
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