Bokang Masunyane believes a victory over Ryohei Kurosawa at ONE Fight Night 39 will position him for a ONE Strawweight World Title opportunity while demonstrating the striking improvements he's made during an 18-month developmental period.
The South African faces Kurosawa at ONE Fight Night 39: Rambolek vs. Dayakaev on Friday, January 23, live from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The event streams in U.S. primetime on Amazon Prime Video.
Masunyane views the matchup against Kurosawa's six-fight winning streak as the perfect stage to announce his championship credentials. The Japanese fighter arrives with momentum from his ONE Championship debut in September, when he dominated Jayson Miralpez at ONE Friday Fights 124.
"I'm very excited because I'm fighting a very high-level fighter," Masunyane said. "His last fight was very impressive, but I feel good about this because this fight is for me to make a statement in my division that opens up an opportunity to fight for the title, and that's what I want to do."
Kurosawa brings a 20-4 professional record built on wushu-influenced striking and a judo background that translates to effective wrestling. The Chiba native previously held titles with Pancrase and Shooto before joining ONE Championship.
Masunyane studied Kurosawa's performance against Miralpez and identified stylistic advantages in the matchup. He noted that Kurosawa fights primarily off the back foot with calm, measured striking, creating opportunities for Masunyane's preferred aggressive approach.
"I can tell he's a very calm striker," Masunyane said. "He's very fit, and from what I saw, he fights on his back foot, which is good for me because I like fighting on my front foot. He has very good wrestling, and I think that comes from his judo background, if I'm not mistaken. With my wrestling style, I believe I'll be able to take advantage of that."
The 31-year-old's wrestling foundation runs deep after beginning the discipline at age 8. Wrestling has defined much of his ONE Championship career, providing explosive entries and pace that overwhelm opponents. But Masunyane's recent training camps have focused on expanding his finishing arsenal through striking development.
"I've got a very strong wrestling background," Masunyane said. "It's been ingrained within me. I use my wrestling in an explosive way to win fights. Lately, I've been working a lot on my striking for the last year and a half, and I feel like the striking has improved so much more. I feel like this is the style that's going to get me to the top."
That striking evolution produced dramatic results when Masunyane stopped former title challenger Rene Catalan with a high kick just 37 seconds into their bout. The finish demonstrated how his expanding skillset creates multiple paths to victory.
Against Kurosawa, Masunyane expects the strategic elements of the fight to require both wrestling and striking dimensions rather than relying solely on grappling control. He anticipates an entertaining back-and-forth that showcases his recent improvements.
"I believe with my striking that I've learned lately, it actually opens up a bigger game for me," Masunyane said. "I want fans to expect an electric fight, an explosive fight, and a very entertaining fight at the end of the day. In my ideal scenario, it's me finding a knockout between the first two rounds, most likely the second. I think that's the fight that puts a statement on the rest of the division."
Masunyane specifically predicts his right hand will produce the finish, citing focused work on transferring his wrestling power into his punching technique. His training has emphasized precision striking that complements rather than replaces his grappling foundation.
"I feel like it'll probably be my right hand this time because I've been working a lot on hand striking, being precise and using my power," Masunyane said. "Usually, I use my power for wrestling, and this time I'm trying to use that power more in my striking. So probably a right hand."
