Denis Frimpong has given a fascinating insight into how his striking style compares with Michael Chandler, ahead of his next fight at Oktagon 68.
Tomorrow night, the Irishman will return to action against Robin Frank, inside the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle in Stuttgart, Germany.
Throughout his career, Frimping has proven himself as a formidable trash talker, relentlessly winding up his rivals on the reality TV series Oktagon Challenge: England vs Ireland.
His gift of the gab even annoyed Paddy Pimblett, with the pair eventually agreeing to a straightener at Manchester Top Team.
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Denis Frimpong on the danger of striking with Michael Chandler
In an intriguing match-up, Denis Frimpong and Paddy Pimblett exchanged blows, with the prospect proving he had the talent on the feet to give the Liverpudlian a run for his money.
Realizing he was going head-to-head with a more than capable striker, the UFC star chose to take the fight to the floor, where his experience proved paramount.
The jiu-jitsu practitioner locked in a rear-naked choke and refused to let go, which caused a great deal of controversy.
However, rather than complaining about the situation, Frimping actually stood up for Pimblett, and is now moving onto the next stage of his career.
Ultimately, while the straightener didn’t go the way he’d have liked, the up-and-comer, proved he can battle it out with the best of them in the stand-up department. But it’s fair to say that Frimpong already knew that.
In an exclusive interview with , he opened up about what he’s taken from the whole experience, and made an interesting comparison between Michael Chandler and himself.
Frimpong explained: “I’ve always had confidence in my striking ability. Obviously, there are positives and negatives to take away from it. I felt like I could hang with the best in the world on the feet.
“I feel like I probably still have a lot of work to do on the ground, which is fair enough.
“It’s one of those where I can hang with anyone in the world on the feet.
“I feel like I’m a better striker than, say, Michael Chandler, but the guy hits like a truck, so if he did land once, he can still knock you out. Striking is chaos.
“Better strikers have lost to lesser strikers in the past on the feet, because one wrong move and you can be knocked out. So, it is what it is.
“I don’t need confidence from a gym fight with Paddy. I know the level I’m at because of the people I train with and the levels I have risen to in watching my other Oktagon fights. I see that version of myself and think, ‘That’s almost amateuristic’.
“I know how far I’ve come from the things I’ve seen, and that will all be shown in my next fight.”
Denis Frimpong plans to resemble Batman at Oktagon 68
Tomorrow evening, Frimpong will go head-to-head with the undefeated Robin Frank in an intriguing match-up.
However, while the German has impressed in his career thus far, his rival insists he’ll be nothing more than a mere Robin to his Batman.
Frimpong exclaimed: “I think I’m Batman in this one. I am terrified of bats. I may be missing the billionaire quality, but we’re getting there. We’re working towards that.
“I think I’m going to strike fear into him. I think that he’s going to come out under a lot of pressure in front of his home crowd.
“He’s never fought anyone like me, I can guarantee that. We’ve got open scoring, so there’s no chance of the judges robbing anyone in this particular one, so no dodgy decisions, Robin.
“I don’t plan to let it go to the judges anyway; I plan to finish him inside the three rounds. I always plan to finish them; sometimes they get away. But I think this time, there will be less taunting, a little bit less showmanship and a lot more, I’m coming out here to kill this guy.”
