Jeremy “The Jaguar” Miado promised a breakout run in his return to the Circle at ONE: NEXTGEN, and that he did.
Miado lit up old rival Miao Li Tao, scoring a dominant second-round TKO win over the Chinese athlete at the Singapore Indoor Stadium to send a message that there is indeed a new player in the strawweight division.
The 28-year-old has repeatedly asked for a top-ranked opponent or someone who could further boost his stock in the division. With his recent performance against Miao, he may certainly get it.
Here are some of the athletes “The Jaguar” could face next.
While Naito may have recently dropped out of the rankings, he remains one of the best in the division, and he could very well be the step up in competition that Miado has been looking for.
Naito is a former two-time ONE Strawweight World Champion and owns wins over some of the biggest names in the weight class, including reigning World Champ Joshua “The Passion” Pacio and former World Champ Alex “Little Rock” Silva.
If Miado can survive Naito’s grappling, it will only further prove that he belongs among the division’s elite.
2. Loser Of The Lito “Thunder Kid” Adiwang - Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks Match
With the winner of this match at ONE: NEXTGEN III assured to move upwards and closer to Pacio, Miado could battle the loser of this clash and make an interesting match out of it.
Adiwang is currently number five in the rankings and Brooks, though not ranked, was considered by many as the best strawweight outside of ONE before he signed with The Home of Martial Arts last year.
The Marrok Force representative would have a great match either way. Should he face Brooks, he’d be taking on a fighter who had tremendous success all over the world, while facing Adiwang would pit two of the most exciting fighters from the Philippines in one slobberknocker.
Some might feel that Saruta would be a big jump for Miado, but looking at it closely it makes sense for both fighters.
After losing to Pacio, Saruta needs a hard reset if he wants another shot at the World Title, and he could start his road to reclamation by facing a red-hot Miado, who’s on his way up the rankings.
For Miado, facing Saruta would be the biggest test of his ONE career so far, and beating him would certainly push him in the thick of things in the division. With the willingness of both men to duke it out in the feet, fans would also win in this clash.
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