ONE: “Global Superheroes” is set for the MOA Arena this Friday night (Jan. 26, 2018) and will be headlined by an interim flyweight title bout between Geje Eustaquio and Kairat Akhmetov.
The winner will get a rematch with current champion Adriano Moraes while there’s also an opportunity for Joshua Pacio to potentially move to the top of the strawweight queue by beating replacement Lan Ming Qian.
Here’s my preview of the first five fights:
Rajinder Singh Meena vs Ze Hao Zhang
Rajinder Singh Meena (8-7) will be looking to snap a six fight winning streak against Ze Hao Zang (2-0). The Indian has a very limited ground game and his striking skills have not stood up in the cage despite a background in kickboxing and wushu.
Unfortunately there’s no footage online of Zhang, who has won both his previous ONE Championship fights by stoppage. The Chinese fighter should be looking to win this fast if he has a future in the promotion’s lightweight division.
April Osenio vs Jomary Torres
This all Filipina atomweight fight puts undefeated Jomary Torres (3-0) against Team Lakay’s April Osenio (2-3). The former might have a superior record but the latter has faced a much better standard of opposition.
Osenio comes from a Wushu background and surprised a few people when she pulled off a submission win against Ann Osman. She should be the superior striker here but Torres survived multiple submission attempts from BJJ blue belt Rika Ishige and is extremely resilient.
Edward Kelly vs Meas Meu
Featherweight Edward Kelly (8-4) saw his dreams of a title shot snatched away by Emilio Uruttia but he’s won three out of his last four. The FIlipino has a wushu striking style with a wide array of kicks and is very dangerous with rear naked chokes, just like his brother.
Meas Meu (6-0) beat TUF veteran Allen Chong in his most recent fight and has emerged as Cambodia’s best prospect. He faces a huge step up against Kelly who is a veteran of nine ONE Championship bouts and should be winning this.
Bruno Pucci vs Emilio Uruttia
Before Bruno Pucci (5-2) became Angela Lee’s boyfriend he was just a featherweight contender with a BJJ black belt. Two brutal knockouts in the space of three fights derailed the hype train somewhat and he faces another tough test here.
Emilio Uruttia (10-4) is extremely well traveled and has traveled to places like Guam and China to take on local favourites. He has a solid ground game ans has been training in Thailand since 2013, so will probably want to test Pucci’s chin.
Yago Bryan vs Hayato Suzuki
Yago Bryan (3-3) caused Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke all sorts of problems with his hand speed, at least fro a round. So it’s been a surprise to see the Brazilian struggle so badly in his ONE Championship career.
He was knocked out badly in his most recent bout and this doesn’t exactly look like the sort of matchup he needs to get back on track. Hayato Suzuki (17-1-2) is a seasoned JMMA veteran who is tough, tenacious and extremely well rounded.
The full ONE: “Global Superheroes” card can be purchased for $9.99 USD from here and the first four fights are being shown live on the ONE Championship facebook page.