KUALA LUMPUR: Johan Ghazali Zulfikar will need at least a year to ready himself before making the switch from Muay Thai to mixed martial arts (MMA) in the future.
Johan said he will have to strengthen his ground game substantially if he is to make a successful switch to MMA but made it clear that he has no plans on making the move anytime soon.
He currently competes in the ONE Championship Muay Thai series. ONE Championship also has their own MMA series.
"At the moment I just want to focus on Muay Thai but I could consider switching to MMA when I am about 22 or 23," said the 18-year-old recently.
"Khabib (Nurmagomedov) invited me to train at his place (Dagestan) and that is definitely an opportunity I will look to take in the future. But not now.
"If I really wanted to make the switch to MMA, I would spend at least a year to focus 100 per cent on things like wrestling, jujitsu, grappling, submissions and so on.
"I have to really be ready if I am going to make the switch. At the moment, I don't have time to do so because I am focused on Muay."
Johan, better known by his nickname Jojo, briefly trained with Khabib earlier this year when the MMA great visited Kuala Lumpur for a speaking engagement.
Johan indicated that he will not be satisfied until he has won a world title in Muay Thai.
"That is right (win world title before switch to MMA), because I believe that Muay could become bigger than MMA one day," added Johan.
He is currently undergoing a training camp in Bangkok in preparation for his fight against Colombian Johan Estupinan on Jan 24.
The flyweight bout will take place at the Impact Arena in Bangkok.