Without question, Miao Li Tao is treating this upcoming match against Jeremy Miado at ONE: NEXTGEN this October 29 in Singapore like his life depended on it.
So driven is Miao to exact revenge from Miado that if given a chance for a title shot or a rematch, he’s firm in choosing this match without any second thoughts.
“If you’ll let me choose between a title shot or this fight, I wouldn’t even say no. That‘s how much this fight means to me,” he said.
And he’s not going to be satisfied by just having his arms raised, as Miao truly wants to return the favor on Miado and be the one to score the knockout win.
“I got finished last time, so there’s no excuse for me to not finish him this time,” he said. “I will put on a show and knock him unconscious for good.”
And he has every reason to.
It’s been two years since he suffered a shock first round knockout loss to the Filipino at ONE: AGE OF DRAGONS back in November 2019 and it was a defeat that never really sat well with the Chinese grappler.
Miao who found himself at the wrong end of a Miado flying knee that connected straight to his chin and knocked him out cold.
That’s why one can’t blame Miao for being this razor-sharp in his focus in the leadup to this bout, even regarding this as the most important fight in his career.
“For me personally, this fight is probably bigger than any other fights I’ve ever had before,” he said.
“As a fighter, I want to get my revenge especially after my heartbreaking loss. And doing so is the most important thing for me right now, so I’m 100-percent focused on this fight and nothing and no one could stop me from avenging my defeat to Jeremy.”
Miao acknowledges that with both of them outside of the official rankings, this fight won’t really matter much in boosting their cases to crack the top five.
But this match means the world to him as he looks at this battle as his chance to redeem himself and show that the first match was really nothing more but a fluke win.
“I don’t think beating Miado would help me getting any higher at the rankings, but it would definitely help me with my heart and spirit,” said the Chinese fighter.
“I never believed that Miado is the better fighter between the two of us. I was just going too rough and I wasn’t careful enough in that first match and that’s why he caught me. This time I’ll just stick to my game plan and do my thing and I believe that I will be the winner without a doubt.”
With Miado knowing what its like to be ahead in the tally and aware that a second victory will seal any doubts on who won their duel, an explosive bout is expected in the offing.
Miado acknowledges his rival’s intense desire to make up for the loss and the winner of their fight gets to continue his ascend march in probably the most talent stacked division in ONE.
“This won’t be an easy fight for me because we already know each other very well and I know that he’s motivated to redeem himself from that knockout loss and get back at me.”, Miado said earlier.
Armando M. Bolislis with ONE Championship
