{"id":455501,"date":"2026-02-03T10:26:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T10:26:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/455501\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T10:26:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T10:26:07","slug":"i-will-always-choose-to-smile-inside-danny-kingads-playful-approach-to-life-and-fighting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/455501\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I Will Always Choose To Smile\u2019 \u2013 Inside Danny Kingad\u2019s Playful Approach To Life And Fighting"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s never a dull moment when Danny \u201cThe King\u201d Kingad<\/a> is around. In fact, the Filipino star radiates infectious energy wherever he goes.<\/p>\n

Now, as the 30-year-old prepares to face \u201cWolf Warrior\u201d Hu Yong<\/a> in a flyweight MMA showdown at ONE Fight Night 40: Buntan vs. Hemetsberger II on Prime Video<\/a>, he\u2019ll bring that same trademark smile to Bangkok\u2019s Lumpinee Stadium on Friday, February 13, live in U.S. primetime.<\/p>\n

For Kingad, his lighthearted approach to life isn\u2019t an act. It\u2019s simply who he is.<\/p>\n

Growing up in extreme poverty in Baguio City, the young Igorot warrior found solace in mischief \u2013 not out of malice, but simply as a child seeking joy wherever he could find it.<\/p>\n

That playful spirit never left him, and today, the Lions Nation MMA standout remains hardwired to see the good in everything.<\/p>\n

Kingad shared:<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been like this. Even when I don\u2019t know the person, my go-to move to break the ice is to make fun of that person. When I was a kid, that\u2019s how I made friends. I teased my playmates, I teased everyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a Filipino, it\u2019s basically in our culture to always have a smile on our faces. Regardless of how I feel, I will always choose to smile.\u201d<\/p>\n

But beneath the laughter lies a deeper truth. The perpetual grin isn\u2019t just a personality quirk. It\u2019s a survival mechanism forged through heartache.<\/p>\n

Kingad lost his father at eight years old<\/a>, leaving his mom to raise five children alone. As a teenager, the pain pushed him toward alcohol and other vices. Then, in May 2024, his mother passed away.<\/p>\n

Through it all, martial arts became his salvation, and choosing positivity became his way of staying afloat.<\/p>\n

The flyweight star admitted:<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, there are just thoughts in my head that I cannot easily express. In a way, [smiling] has been a normal coping mechanism for me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m human, I feel emotions. But whether I feel sad or upset, I will still have a big smile on my face just so people don\u2019t see how I\u2019m feeling. Even when I\u2019m fighting, my opponent won\u2019t see me struggling. I\u2019d flash a smile in his face.\u201d<\/p>\n

That affable nature has made Kingad easy to connect with. It has helped him forge unbreakable bonds with his brothers at Lions Nation MMA.<\/p>\n

Training alongside reigning ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Joshua \u201cThe Passion\u201d Pacio<\/a> and former ONE Lightweight MMA World Champion Eduard \u201cLandslide\u201d Folayang<\/a>, the 30-year-old gladly plays the role of comic relief from time to time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe King\u201d said:<\/p>\n

\u201cI am the prankster of the group. It\u2019s actually quite normal for us at Lions Nation. We bond over a lot of things. Laughter and just messing around are part of our daily lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m usually the one starting the shenanigans. We like to joke around just to keep things light. Of course, we know when it\u2019s time to get to business and get serious.\u201d<\/p>\n

How Kingad\u2019s Happy-Go-Lucky Nature Fuels His Fighting<\/p>\n

That same energy follows Danny Kingad on combat sports\u2019 grandest stage.<\/p>\n

Mixed martial arts is one of the most demanding sports on the planet, but for \u201cThe King,\u201d staying loose is the key to surviving it.<\/p>\n

He offered:<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of pressure when it comes to fighting at a high level, so having a playful approach somehow helps lessen that pressure.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing stressed all the time doesn\u2019t help fighters. Even if you\u2019re in good physical condition, if your mental health is not good, you\u2019re not going to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fittingly, Kingad picked up this approach from one of the greatest athletes to ever compete.<\/p>\n

At ONE: CENTURY PART I<\/a> in October 2019, the Filipino faced former ONE Flyweight MMA World Champion and Hall of Famer Demetrious \u201cMighty Mouse\u201d Johnson<\/a> in the ONE Flyweight MMA World Grand Prix Championship Final.<\/p>\n

It was a competitive three-round thriller and one of the most exciting battles in the division\u2019s history. Though the unanimous decision loss stung, what stuck with him was how the American legend enjoyed every second of the fight.<\/p>\n

Kingad recalled:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see him always smiling, having fun, and enjoying himself out there. He\u2019s so relaxed when he\u2019s fighting, and it\u2019s something I wanted to apply to my game also. It\u2019s like he\u2019s just playing games out there, but he\u2019s beating people.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Though participating in any combat sport could be dangerous, Kingad is a professional and knows the risks better than just about anyone. But he refuses to let the weight of competition dim his spirit.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, the Filipino plans to savor every moment he steps into the squared circle \u2013 especially when he stands toe-to-toe with Hu Yong on February 13.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe King\u201d said:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a way, it\u2019s just a match. I mean, it\u2019s my livelihood, and I take it seriously, but it\u2019s not life and death. I still try to enjoy it as much as I can.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my mind, when I\u2019m fighting, it\u2019s like I\u2019m a kid again playing with my friends. And, of course, training is really hard. So, why not just smile through the pain?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s never a dull moment when Danny \u201cThe King\u201d Kingad is around. In fact, the Filipino star radiates…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":455502,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,785,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-455501","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-fighting","11":"tag-mma","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=455501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/455502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=455501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=455501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=455501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}