18-year-old fighter Diyan Dimitrov from the kickboxing club “Desant” in Dobrich is stepping into the ring at SENSHI 26 Gladiators almost at the last moment. He will fight on May 17 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, taking the place of Ivaylo Panev. Currently, the young talent is cutting weight and training intensely in the final phase of his preparation.

Dimitrov is the 2022 WAKO World Champion, the 2023 WAKO European Champion, and a four-time WAKO World Cup Champion.

“I’m ready, I’m in shape, and I believe I can win. I want to win and I’ll fight for a knockout,” said Diyan in an interview on the morning show “Bulgaria Sutrin”.

He and his team have thoroughly studied his opponent and have a clear strategy for the fight. Diyan will face the experienced Greek fighter Giannis Eminov, who has many matches under his belt. But this doesn’t intimidate Dimitrov—he and his coach have prepared well for the challenge.

“I’ve been training hard for a long time. For this opponent, we’ve been preparing for about 10 days. Before that, I was training intensively. I’ll challenge him with my technique, my speed, and the intensity of the match,” the fighter told Bulgaria ON AIR viewers.

Diyan Dimitrov is counting on strong support from the audience in Plovdiv. He noted that the pressure is there before the match, but it disappears once he steps into the ring. “I stay fully focused during training. Sometimes it’s necessary to distract yourself from those thoughts, otherwise, the pressure builds up. I believe in myself, I trust my coach, and I listen to him,” Diyan emphasized.

You can watch the full interview with the kickboxer on the Bulgaria ON AIR website.