Vaughn Donayre hungry to get first win in ONE Championship
DETERMINED. Will Vaughn Donayre end his losing skid with a win against Amir Khan? Photo by Nissi Icasiano/Rappler
SINGAPORE – Vaughn Donayre was once touted as a promising Filipino fighter from the province of Cebu, but his billing lost its luster when he joined ONE Championship two years ago.
The 5-foot-9 Cebuano suffered a first-round submission setback at the hands of Emirati combatant Mohammed Walidin in his August 2014 promotional debut.
Donayre encountered the same fate in his second ONE Championship outing as he tasted a first-round stoppage loss to Malaysian sensation Peter Davis in October 2014.
A victory inside the ONE Championship cage remained elusive for Donayre as he dropped a unanimous decision to former featherweight kingpin Honorio Banario last April.
Determined to break his 3-fight losing skid in Asia's largest mixed martial arts organization, Donayre took a short-notice bout against Singaporean sensation Amir Khan on the undercard of ONE Championship's "Defending Honor" event on Friday, November 11.
According to Donayre, he finds himself in a must-win situation against Khan, who holds a win-loss slate of 5-1 in ONE Championship.
"I am very eager. I'm 0-3. I need a win. I can't lose this time," Donayre told Rappler.
Donayre, a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, was originally preparing for an international grappling tournament in the United Arab Emirates when the 3-round tussle with Khan was offered to him by ONE Championship.
Even if he would have only two weeks to train for it, Donayre did not hesitate to accept the offer as he is eager to put himself on the winning track.
"I was actually training for a Jiu-Jitsu championship in the UAE, which is going to happen next week. I was training in Jiu-Jitsu and wrestling. When I received the call, I just said yes right away," he said.
With Khan seeking a statement-making victory over him, Donayre promised that it will not be a walk in the park for his 22-year-old Singaporean opponent. (READ: Amir Khan seeks KO win over Filipino fighter Vaughn Donayre)
Donayre stressed that while Khan showed signs of improvement after 6 matches in ONE Championship, he still sees flaws in his foe's skillset.
"He is growing and getting better. I will give him that. He has a good team behind him. But I see in his fights that there is still [something] lacking in his game," Donayre explained.
Donayre plans to tear a page off Shannon Wiratchai's game plan when he faced Khan as the Filipino fighter believes that pressing the action will be the key in beating the Singaporean.
Using the same approach, Wiratchai managed to notch a split decision triumph over Khan in May 2015.
"When Wiratchai pressed the action and he was cornered, he didn't know where to go. I will do that to him," said Donayre. "When I start to press the action in the fight, he will know that he is in a real fight."
Donayre looks to dictate the tempo of the marquee confrontation by luring Khan into his comfort zone.
"I'm bigger. I'm stronger, I believe. I can use that as an advantage in the grappling aspect," he said.
Donayre asserted that having his hand raised versus Khan will set the right tone towards reaching his goals in ONE Championship.
"I see that as a new start," he said. "It's something that I can build up in ONE Championship. So far, I haven't done anything in ONE Championship. I got to do something." – Rappler.com
