Andre “The Giant” Meunier Target’s Crowd-Pleasing Performance In Bangkok

Australian man-mountain Andre “The Giant” Meunier is back in ONE Super Series, and he is looking to make amends.

The 42-8 kickboxer looked superb in the opening exchanges against Moroccan-Dutch striker Ibrahim El Bouni, but was eventually stopped at ONE: BATTLE FOR THE HEAVENS.

Now Meunier is set for action in his second ONE Super Series appearance, as he gets ready to face off against Hong Kong fan favourite Alain Ngalani at ONE: KINGDOM OF HEROES in Bangkok on Saturday, 6 October.

“Obviously, I didn’t get the win, but I’m excited to get another chance,” the 42-year-old Melbourne, Australia native says.

“We’re all big boys, and you’re getting hit with 100-plus kilos, so one false move and you’re on the ground, or they are on the ground. One way or another, it makes for an exciting fight. That’s what the crowd likes to see, I think.

“You definitely have to put it (the loss) behind you to a certain extent. I know where I went wrong. 

“It was probably a little bit of nerves and trying to make a big impact, so I rushed it a little bit. This time, I’m going to let it just happen instead of trying to force it to happen.”

Ngalani is a noted knockout artist and a familiar face to regular viewers of ONE Championship events. 

Meunier is looking forward to the challenge of facing one of the most intimidating athletes on the ONE roster.

“It’s going to definitely be a good fight,” he says.

“He’s got a body and a half on him. He’s got awesome kicks from what I’ve seen, and we’re all big boys. It only takes one hit on the chin for the game to change.

“It’s going to be an action-packed and exciting fight.”

Meunier knows that the bout could end in the blink of an eye, for either man, and says he’ll need to use his aggression against a man who likes to walk down his opponents and strike from range.

But as well as the victory itself, “The Giant” hopes to be able to produce a crowd-pleasing performance in Bangkok and send the fans home happy.

“My [biggest weapons will be] my knees, my aggression, and my hand speed,” he says.

“I have a little bit of height on him, and I have a ‘do or die’ attitude, too.

“Winning is obviously the ultimate goal, but as I say before every fight, as long as the crowd gets an extremely awesome and exciting fight, I’m happy.

“They are the people that come and support us. Without them, we couldn’t do what we do.”