Daniel Dawson: Mustapha Haida is a very good fighter

Daniel Dawson

On September 8, 2018, Daniel “The Rock” Dawson, 40, of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, Australia and Mustapha “The Flying Dragon” Haida, 29, of Morocco will compete at “ONE: Beyond the Horizon” at the Baoshan Arena in Shanghai, China in a ONE Super Series 73.0-kilogram kickboxing bout. Recently, the Australian kickboxer talked about his Moroccan opponent.

“He’s a very good fighter, an ISKA World Champion,” Dawson said of Haida. “I think he will make a great fight for me, for my debut fight.”

Haida is a veteran of 48 professional kickboxing contests in promotions such as Glory, SuperKombat, Kunlun Fight and Bellator Kickboxing. But in terms of experience, Dawson is confident that this will be his main advantage over the playing field.

Dawson may not be the youngest but he remains optimistic that he is still in perfect shape to hang with the stiff competition in ONE Super Series. He said, “Yes, I am 40 years old and not as young as some of the other competitors I’ll be facing.”

“I see it as an advantage for myself right now,” Dawson continued. “If I was not in the shape that I’m in, it would definitely be a disadvantage.”

At this age and stage in Dawson’s illustrious professional career, there really is not anything left for him to prove. A 26-year career with an impressive record and an even more impressive number of championships is already the end goal for some.

“I’ve looked after my body my whole career, I have not been hurt much my whole career,” Dawson said. “I’ve been a very technical skill fighter and I believe that along with the great help they have with looking after my body, with recovery, with treatment over the years, I believe I’ve got an opportunity to be one of the best mature fighters in the world, and I’m looking forward to proving that there’s only one way to show it, and that’s prove it, so I’m looking forward to proving that on my ONE debut.”

The Australian kickboxer bared that he is looking to keep competing for at least three or four more years and for him, it is just part of the ongoing journey. He said, “At this point in my career, I have thought about winning different world titles.”

“It’s been a long career,” Dawson said. “26 years, so to speak, of actually fighting, at this point in my career, what gets me motivated in the gym, because it’s hard work, what gets me out of bed in the morning and gets me to the gym, it’s my family.”

Here is Dawson demonstrating some Muay Thai techniques:

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