ONE on TNT (Part I) will be broadcast live in the U.S. during primetime tonight (April 7) from Singapore. The promotion has rolled out two of its biggest stars, Demetrious Johnson and Eddie Alvarez, for this groundbreaking event.
Johnson has a chance to get his hands on the flyweight title when he faces reigning champion Adriano Moraes in the main event. Alvarez will be looking for his second win for the promotion as he bids to become the first fighter to win titles with the UFC, ONE Championship and Bellator.
A last minute reshuffle sees Rade Opacic and Mehdi Berghi removed from the card. As a result Patrick Schmid will make his MMA debut against Oumar Kane.
Oumar Kane vs. Patrick Schmid (Heavyweight)
Oumar “Reug Reug” Kane (2-0) comes from a wrestling background and is known for some spectacular slams. Standing 6’4” he will have a significant height advantage here.
Patrick Schmid is making his MMA debut at around 48 hours notice having trained for a kickboxing bout. It looks like mission impossible for the kickboxer who will have had no time to work on his takedown defense before facing a wrestler.
Tyler McGuire vs. Raimond Magomedaliev (Welterweight)
The takedowns of Tyler McGuire (12-1) have been key to all his ONE Championship victories. He will look to put Raimond Magomedaliev on his back and keep him there for 15 minutes.
Raimond Magomedaliev (7-1) hails from Dagestan but is better known for his spinning strikes than his takedowns. There appear to be elements of karate in his style, he keeps his hands low and likes to stay in the pocket and throw lots of feints.
Muay Thai: Rodtang Jitmuangnon vs. Jacob Smith (Flyweight)
Rodtang Jitmuangnon won’t be taking a backwards step in this contest. He has won 10 out of 10 for ONE Championship and, coming into this as a strong favorite, will want to put on a real show for the American fans.
Danial Williams accepted this fight at relatively late notice. The New Zealander will be a big underdog but he did fight some elite Japanese fighters on K-1 cards during his kickboxing career.
Eddie Alvarez vs. Iuri Lapicus (Lightweight)
Eddie Alvarez (30-7) is perhaps the most successful wrestle-boxer in MMA history. He loves a brawl and will plant his feet and throw but can also take opponents down when he gets in deep water.
The former Bellator and UFC lightweight champion is never in a dull fight.
Iuri Lapicus (12-1) trains with the Petrosyan brothers in Italy. Despite that fact, the vast majority of his wins have come by way of submission — but he clipped Christian Lee last time out and had the champion rocked.
Adriano Moraes (c) vs. Demetrious Johnson (for flyweight title)
Adriano Moraes (18-3) is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt and a tall, rangy fighter but he has a real problem finishing fights. During the early days of his career the Brazilian would attack with flying knees and mix striking and takedowns to devastating effect but he seems to have slowed down in recent years.
Demetrious Johnson (30-3-1) is arguably the greatest fighter to ever step inside the cage. He can do everything but it is the ability “Mighty Mouse” has to seamlessly transition between striking, wrestling and grappling in a dynamic manner that really marks him out from the rest of the crowd.
The entire ONE: “Unbreakable” fight card will be available to view live and free in some territories using the newly launched app which you can download here. In the U.S. it will be live on TNT.