'Lethal' Liam Nolan ahead of ONE Championship on Sky Sports: "Training over Christmas wasn't a difficult shift for me. It's been a shorter training camp than what's preferred, but I'm just thinking about fight day now all the time. I'm excited, and I'm ready."
Friday 12 January 2024 09:36, UK
"Cancel Christmas, whatever you have to do" - MMA's Liam Nolan explains why he had no issue training non-stop during the holidays...
A combination of bout cancellations, injuries, and illness kept "Lethal" Liam Nolan out of the ONE Championship spotlight in 2023, but he's ready to return in style this weekend.
The world's largest martial arts organisation's 2024 campaign kicks off with ONE Fight Night 18: Gasanov vs Oh this Saturday January 13, which goes live at 1am on Sky Sports Mix, and the Muay Thai star is ready to make a statement when he meets Russian hard-hitter Ali Aliev.
"I've just concentrated on the job at hand, and that's to train as hard as I possibly can to prepare for battle," he said. "The job is, and always has been, to go in there and win."
That also means making sacrifices most other people wouldn't dare to make.
Nolan's most-anticipated fight of 2023 was a scheduled rematch with former two-time ONE Lightweight Muay Thai World Title challenger Sinsamut "Aquaman" Klinmee last November.
Unfortunately, the British banger suffered an allergic reaction that forced him to withdraw from the contest just days before it was slated to go down.
The sudden cancellation only made Nolan hungrier to compete, however, and when a slot was made available on the ONE Fight Night 18 lineup towards the end of last year, he quickly scrapped his Christmas plans.
He cut out family time in the pub and refused to overindulge in seasonal food, choosing instead to spend his days in the gym.
"After the fight fell through with Sinsamut, I just needed to get in the ring as soon as possible. Cancel Christmas, whatever you have to do, I just have to be back in there and rebuild my momentum," the Londoner explained.
"Training over Christmas wasn't a difficult shift for me. It's been a shorter training camp than what's preferred, but I'm just thinking about fight day now all the time. I'm excited, and I'm ready."
Nolan has three wins in ONE Championship, and he's made it a New Year's resolution to climb the promotion's talent-rich lightweight Muay Thai division in 2024, starting with victory over Aliev this weekend.
That plan means taking on all comers, and the 26-year-old Englishman is ready to do so en route to becoming the best lightweight striker on the planet.
"I want to start this year very strong, so I would be willing to fight whoever ONE puts in front of me. I'm looking to be the No 1 in the world, and in order to do that, you have to be willing to fight everyone. And that's what it comes down to for me," Nolan said.
"Anyone, any place, any time. I was competing on this card no matter what."
