Brian Choi’s long awaited ONE FC debut will arrive sooner than expected on Saturday night when he steps up to take on Arnaud Lepont at the sold out Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur. He was in preparation to fight on the Manila card when his Evolve MMA team mate Eddie Ng suffered a shoulder injury in training and the call came in,
“As soon as Eddie got injured they were looking for a replacement and One FC asked me and my coaches thought it would be a good fight so right away I just accepted,” explained Choi in a conversation with Fighters.com. “I was in pretty good shape at the time because I was preparing to fight on the next One FC card in Manila so I was training hard and I was lifting weights and doing normal stuff as if I had a fight.”
As well as having to accelerate his training schedule Choi, whose record currently stands at 3-1, was also required to move up in weight to face the French fighter. It is not a move he plans to make permanently but the Korean has no problem with fighting at 155 pounds.
“Not cutting weight is good but I am more comfortable at featherweight because I’m short. I am more suited to 145 but if I have a chance to fight at 155 I can do that. I have fought different weight classes my entire career it doesn’t matter,” said Choi.
His last fight was for Road FC in December where he suffered a disappointing decision loss to outstanding Korean featherweight Bae Young Kwon. Choi has been desperate to get back into the cage ever since and is delighted that this unexpected opportunity has arisen, stating, “I’m just happy I can fight because my last fight was in December which is a long time ago so I am happy to fight and to have this chance. It’s every fighters dream to fight on a big show like ONE FC and I am beyond excited, I cannot even explain.”
Fighting at an unfamiliar weight class against a more experienced opponent with only a few weeks to prepare makes Choi the underdog in most people’s eyes but it is a situation he is used to.
“When I fight I am almost always the underdog, I just want to go in the cage and do my job. I don’t care what other people think. I know I have the best training partners in the world at Evolve MMA and I am prepared for anything my opponent might do.”
Lepont is 8-1 and riding a five fight win streak. He has never been to a decision and is renowned for his heavy hands but Choi does not believe that his power will pose him too many problems, admitting, “I don’t watch my opponent’s fight but all my team mates watch them and Heath (Sims) and Chatri (Sityodtong) watched his fights and they gave me the strategy, round by round, so I could prepare what was coming. When I spar with somebody they advise him how to be like Arnaud so whatever he does I will be used to it.”
The French fighter lives and trains in Kuala Lumpur and will probably be the fan favorite but the prospect of having an entire stadium against him does not phase Choi.
“I’m only focused on the fight so when I go inside the cage I don’t care about the crowd I only listen to my coaches, I probably won’t even see how many people are there. If he has a lot of supporters that is good for him but it won’t affect me, the only people I will be listening to are my coaches.”
Since the loss to Kwon one significant difference to Choi’s training routine has been the arrival at Evolve MMA of Dan Henderson’s long term trainer Sims. The former US Olympian wrestler has been working intensively with the fight team and Choi feels he has become a completely different fighter as a result, saying, “As soon as Heath arrived he started giving us a lot of advice and for me my game has been changed and I am on a completely different level since Heath started teaching, he has made a huge difference.”
Sims was the latest addition to a team of trainers which is already recognized as the most decorated in the world and Choi has been preparing at Evolve MMA along with four other fighters doing battle on June 23 including ONE FC’s Zorobabel Moreira, Leandro Issa and Mitch Chilson, as well as the UFC’s Rich Franklin.
He believes that this preparation could make all the difference in this coming contest and believes that he is capable of scoring a surprise KO victory.
“I work every day on my Muay Thai with Kongtranee Payakron, he was Lumpinee Champion at five different weights and he has very fast hands so whenever we do the padwork he uses his speed and I get used to getting hit and he understands MMA and he touches my knee so it is like a takedown and I sprawl.”
Choi has also been getting some high caliber help from another Thai and is confident that come fight night he will be ready for whatever his French opponent can throw at him, adding, “My sparring partner was former WBA Champion Yodsanan Sityodtong. He has more power than Arnaud and I can take a couple of hits from him so I am not too worries about his punching. I don’t want to go to a decision, this time I want to finish the fight as soon as possible. I am training for that.”
MMA fans from around the world can witness the action of ONE Fighting Championship: Destiny of Warriors online via live streaming on www.onefc.com. The first four under card fights are available for viewing free of charge. The remaining six main card fights are now available for purchase on Pay-Per-View at just $9.99. Catch real time excitement of Asia’s largest mixed martial arts (MMA) event as it all goes down on June 23 at the historic Stadium Negara in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Interview courtesy of Evolve MMA