There is simply no stopping Mongolian brute Narantungalag Jadambaa.
At an age when athletes decide to call it a day, former ONE Featherweight World Champion Narantungalag “Tungaa” Jadambaa is still aiming to reach the peak form of his professional career.
If anyone thinks that his best days are in the rearview mirror, the 42-year-old Mongolian veteran begs to disagree.
“Age is just a number. Anything is possible if you work for it,” Jadambaa said.
Jadambaa, a grappler known for his immense one-punch knockout power, will return to action for the first time since losing to arch-nemesis Marat “Cobra” Gafurov in their November 2016 featherweight title rematch.
“After competing against Marat Gafurov, I thought that I needed to improve my wrestling and grappling skills, and my physical strength. Now, I think that I have improved myself even more than before,” he said.
For his long-awaited return, Jadambaa is scheduled to take on Filipino hard-hitter Edward “The Ferocious” Kelly at ONE: Pinnacle of Power, which takes place at the Studio City Event Center in Macau, China on June 23.
Jadambaa promises to display the new and improved skills that he has developed and do something special inside the five-rope ONE Championship ring.
“I have been ready to fight anytime,” he said. “I am in good shape, and I am happy to fight again. My heart is driven to fight. I have been preparing new techniques, and I will show something new in my next fight. You can believe it.”
Although getting back into world title contention is often at the back of every competitor’s mind, Jadambaa pointed out that he is taking one bout at a time for now.
According to Jadambaa, the only thing occupying his thoughts at the moment is his upcoming three-round clash with Kelly, who has ascended up the ranks of ONE Championship’s featherweight division.
“I am only thinking about the fight with Edward Kelly now,” he stated. “If I beat him, I think it would be right to continue to fight, and it will motivate me to train more as a result.”
Entering the marquee featherweight contest as the older man, Jadambaa believes that age will not be an issue.
“I always think that I am ten years younger than my actual age, so age will not play a factor at all,” he said.
According to Jadambaa, his age means he has less time to accomplish his goal than the younger lions in the organization, but he plans to make up for it by utilizing his vast wealth of knowledge.
Jadambaa revealed that he is concentrating heavily on his cardiovascular regimen to ensure that he can physically match anyone else in the division.
“The focus has to be on endurance and cardio. I do long distance running a few times a week. I mix that with 100-meter sprints,” he said.
