ONE Fight Night 4: Eddie Abasolo plans to deliver statement in ONE Championship debut

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Singapore, November 10: Eddie Abasolo makes his ONE Championship debut on November 19, and he plans to make a statement in the process when he takes on British star Liam Nolan in ONE Fight Night 4: Abbasov vs. Lee at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

"Silk E Smooth" will fight in a lightweight Muay Thai bout on the lead card of ONE Fight Night 4. The 36-year-old Abasolo grew up watching his father, a kajukenbo karate black belt, competing throughout the Bay Area in the U.S.

"My dad was pretty well known as a fighter in Vallejo. He had a lot of respect. So I remember when I was a kid, he told me, he said, 'Son, the day you can beat me is the day'," Abasolo said.

"So my goal wasn't to learn how to fight to beat him. But that was just always something that inspired me. Just seeing that your dad is the man, and I just wanted to be just like him. Not just as a fighter, but as a father as well."

The oldest of five siblings, Abasolo dabbled in karate at an early age but spent most of his childhood playing other sports like baseball and basketball. Shortly after high school though, he started training in Muay Thai.

While Abasolo was a beginner, "Silk E Smooth" has said striking was in his blood.

"I remember I was the guy that walked into the gym and hit the bag as hard as I can with zero technique. I looked around and [checked] if anyone [saw] how hard I was hitting the bag," he recalled.

Despite his pedigree in martial arts, Abasolo was on the wrong end of some tough sparring sessions with more experienced fighters in his early days. Those hardships, however, only fueled his desire to make it in the sport.

"Then the people who are actual fighters there, when I would spar with them every day, [they would give me] a bloody nose. And then my interest just grew more and more, I wanted to learn more and more, and I wanted to be better than those fighters, eventually. So I took training seriously," he said.

Along the way, Abasolo was invited to train at Combat Sports Academy alongside American Muay Thai legend Kevin Ross.

The move was a key juncture in Abasolo's career and helped shape the style that he has now - by his own assessment, a unique and crowd-pleasing style.

"Whenever I fight, I always tell myself, 'Fight beautiful Muay Thai, and win the heart of the crowd.' That's the main thing. I want to be an entertaining fighter," he said.

"I don't know too many Americans that have the style that I do, not to say that I'm better or worse than any other Americans. But there's no other American that fights like me, I can honestly say that."

In his debut opponent Nolan, Abasolo knows that he has a tough first assignment ahead of him. The surging Brit is a five-fight veteran in the Circle and won two of his last three outings.

"His strengths are, he has very good basics. He's very good, very strong Muay Thai. As far as his weaknesses, I don't know. It's hard to point out someone's weakness until you stand in front of them," he said.

"Because no matter how many times I watch an opponent, every time I watch them, I'm watching a different version of them based on who's standing in front of them."

As for his own plans for 19 November, Abasolo's mindset is simple. "I'm just going there, do my thing, and win the heart of the crowd."

Source: Media Release