Ghazali Rejects Ondash's Friendship Claims Before Fight

Johan Ghazali pushed back against claims that he and Ramadan Ondash share a friendship ahead of their flyweight Muay Thai co-main event at The Inner Circle 24 on Friday in Bangkok.

Ondash called Ghazali out in May after stopping Suriyanlek Por Yenying in his flyweight debut, framing the challenge as a respectful test between friends. Ghazali accepted the fight but rejected the characterization entirely. "After he called me out, I was like, 'Okay, I thought, you want to be all brave and call me out,' which is fine. But don't say we're friends or any of that," Ghazali told BJPenn.com. "Like, yeah, I know him. I would say we are friends at arm's length. That's what it is. We're not close friends. We used to fight in the same tournaments all the time. But we never really hung out."

Ghazali Questions Ondash's Mental Game

The 19-year-old Ghazali pointed to Ondash's lone ONE Championship loss in December against Aliff Sor Dechapan as evidence of mental fragility. According to BJ Penn, Ghazali said his opponent fights emotionally and loses confidence when things go wrong. "Ramadan fights very emotionally, and you can see in some fights that his confidence fades after he doesn't get what he wants," he said. "We all saw that against Aliff. Those clips tell a lot about his character and the person he is."

Ghazali described Ondash as a brawler similar to himself from two or three years ago, but claimed his own maturity and experience now separate them. He said he loves fighters who come forward aggressively and sees the matchup as tailor-made for his style.

The co-main event airs Friday from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok.

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• BJPenn — Johan Ghazali says he and Ramadan Ondash were never really friends ahead of The Inner Circle grudge match