Santino Verbeek Plans To Make A Big Statement In ONE Debut
Hard-hitting Dutchman Santino Verbeek says Juan Cervantes‘s skills will be no match for his in their respective ONE Championship debuts.
However, the man from Hoorn, Netherlands does not want an easy match – he hopes his rival brings his A-game to ONE: IMMORTAL TRIUMPH in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam this Friday, 6 September so he can make a big impression in The Home Of Martial Arts.
The welterweight from Sokudo Gym believes he is ready to handle anything the Englishman throws at him – thanks to his training under top coaches including the legendary Ernesto “Mr. Perfect” Hoost – and he can finish him after giving the fans a thriller.
Before he steps into the ring on the global stage for the first time, the 24-year-old World Fighting League World Champion reveals how he intends to get his hand raised in the Phu Tho Indoor Stadium.
ONE Championship: How are you feeling ahead of your debut in ONE Championship?
Santino Verbeek: My wife is pregnant, I’m going to be a dad in November, and now I’m going to fight for the first time in ONE, so I am a happy man!
ONE: What were your thoughts when you found out that you had earned a ONE Super Series contract?
SV: It’s one of the biggest things in my career. ONE Championship is the biggest in the world now. It’s a big opportunity, and now it is going to start for real in Vietnam. I have one goal, and that’s to be the next World Champion of ONE in the welterweight division.
ONE: What do you know about your opponent?
SV: He is a Muay Thai fighter, and I think he is the number one in England. His style is very Muay Thai based and I think kickboxing is more my thing.
I know how to play this game, and I know it better than him. His career has been more about Muay Thai, and I’m a real kickboxer first, and that is an advantage for me.
I think he kicks a lot. I’m good at kicking, and I’m also good at boxing. I can fight forwards, I can fight backwards. I am all-round, and I think he is not all-round.
ONE: What do you think your key to defeating him is?
SV: I saw his fights and I saw his opponents, and they’re not the best level. I think if I move forward and put the pressure on, it will make it very difficult for him.
ONE: Cervantes likes to throw some unorthodox strikes like flying knees. How do you prepare for that?
SV: It will be different, but I also train unorthodox attacks. First, I need to go with my own plan.
I want Juan to go with my style, not his style. I want to make it my fight, and not his. That is a very important thing.
ONE: Do you think your experience in three-round kickboxing bouts will help you push the pace?
SV: I’ve also fought five rounds in title fights, so I like that, but mostly, I have fought three rounds.
Normally he might do the five, but my conditioning is good for three or five rounds – it is not an issue. I train very hard with my conditioning.
ONE: What is the most important thing for you to show the fans in Vietnam?
SV: I would love to knock out my opponent, but not in the first round [laughs].
I want to make it a hard fight and show everything that I have, but in one fight it is difficult to show the best of you. People need to see a lot of fights from me to know who I am, and that’s what I want to show to them.
For my debut, I just want to make it a good, hard fight. It needs to come from both sides, so Juan needs to bring a hard fight too. But after the fight, I want to raise my own hands, and not his. Maybe it will be a knockout, or points – it doesn’t matter – as long as the fight is good.
