Bokang Masunyane Exclusive: ONE FC fighter talks African influence on MMA and more

ONE Championship will be returning on Friday, July 22nd with a big fight card for ONE 159 from the Singapore Indoor Stadium, including a Strawweight division bout between Bokang Masunyane and Hiroba Minowa.

This will be Bokang’s first fight back since his loss to top-ranked Strawweight fighter Jarred Brooks, with only a minimal couple of months layoff between fights.

We had the opportunity to speak to the South African fighter ahead of the contest on a number of subjects, including his influence as an African competitor, the importance of agility to lower-weight-class fighters and more.

Here is what Bokang Masunyane had to say ahead of his ONE Championship 159 fight against Hiroba Minowa on the main card.

Read More: ONE Championship 159: Fight Card, Date, UK Start Time, Live Stream and More

GMS: You’re coming back into action quite quickly after suffering your first loss in professional MMA against #2 ranked Jarred Brooks, do you feel a weight lifted off of you now that your first loss has occurred? Is there a level of fear that has subsided somewhat or is it business as usual for you?

Bokang: In some sense, yes [the fear has subsided]. Being the first South African fighter in ONE Championship is already a different pressure, representing my country. The goal is to become the first ONE African world champion! That’s still the goal, and I believe there’s less pressure because now I’ve got nothing to lose.

Sometimes it is good to fight with fear, but you become more limitless when you have no fear. I believe this loss was a very big change in my mental preparation. There’s so much more I can do now without the fear of losing.

GMS: You secured an incredible knockout over Rene Catalan back in 2020. What was impressive is