After an upset win over the young Malay-American Muay Thai star Johan Ghazali, Diego Paez spoke about his second experience in the ONE Championship ring in Lumpinee stadium at ONE Fight Night 32. As a California native, I believe that the reason Ghazali lost was due to his looking past him. In an interview with Nick Aktin, he would say the following:
“I know he fights with a lot of ego – I saw right through that. I can read people like an empath,”
“He looked right past me and was already focused on what was to come after. That’s why I told you before the fight – I’m focused on the present moment.”
“I’m so happy to do it against such a respectable name. I know that the organisation loves him. He’s a star boy. They invested a lot in promoting him for this fight. But I hope I earned some respect.”
Diego Paez has truly arrived in ONE Championship
Despite losing to fellow American Sean Climaco in his debut, due to a low output. Paez decided to make things right, as he outworked “Jojo” and would use his full Muay Thai arsenal of kicks, knees, elbows, and clinch strikes to sway the judges to a split decision win over Johan.
Now with a win on the biggest stage in striking, Diego Paez has finally arrived in ONE Championship.
