A decade of experience separates the two men. The younger one believes a well-kept surprise can close that gap.

Luo Chao meets Marat Grigorian in a semifinal of the ONE SAMURAI Featherweight Kickboxing Tournament at ONE SAMURAI 4 on Saturday, October 17. The bout takes place at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. The tournament winners gets a guaranteed shot at ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion Superbon.

The 25-year-old Chinese contender holds a 44-11 record and a six-fight winning streak. He has a split decision over Denis Souza Jr. and a points win over Kosuke Takagi at ONE SAMURAI 2. Even after beating Takagi, he felt he had left much of his game plan unused in his first fight in Japan.

Grigorian, a three-time Glory Kickboxing World Champion, has challenged twice for ONE gold and owns a four-fight winning streak. Luo, who stands two inches taller, has built his camp around a strategy he is keeping firmly under wraps.

“We prepared something very different to fight him. We would do something tricky based on my original style. But I don’t want to go into any details. We will see on fight night,” Luo said.

“You definitely need to be mentally strong fighting Marat, and of course we are pushing my body to a limit this time because I’m fighting one of the strongest guys in the division.”

Luo Chao predicts victory over Marat Grigorian

The sanda-bred striker sees the semifinal as the first of two steps toward Superbon. He expects Masaaki Noiri to emerge from the other side of the bracket, where the Japanese star meets Mohammad Siasarani on the same card.

Clearing both hurdles could make Luo the next Chinese athlete to wear ONE gold. ONE Featherweight MMA World Champion Tang Kai was the first. He is not shy about how he hopes to begin that journey.

“Of course, I believe I will win against Marat, and then I believe I would face Masaaki Noiri in the final,” Luo said.

“I predict a victory, and I would try my best to win the fight with a knockout, or at least a knockdown.”

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