ONE: “Reloaded” is set for the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday. There are currently 16 fights on the card.
Here’s my preview of the fights on the second half of the card (click here for part one):
Yosuke Saruta vs. Gustavo Balart (Strawweight)
Yosuke Saruta (21-10-3) is a former strawweight champion. He wants to fight on the ground and it will be interesting to see whether he wants to, or needs to, adjust that style against an opponent with impressive wrestling credentials.
Gustavo Balart (9-4) might just be the shortest fighters in the entire sport. He will be giving away just four inches here but the Cuban is used to taking on bigger opponents and mixes punches and takedowns to very good effect.
Namiki Kawahara vs. Danial Williams (Strawweight)
Namiki Kawahara (7-4-2-1) was knocked out by Lito Adiwang last time out. He has a very wide stance, hangs his hands low and likes to jump in and out to land strikes which leaves him exposed to counters.
Danial Williams (4-1) is coming off an impressive win over Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke. He also went the distance with Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a Muay Thai fight and is clearly very confident on his feet, we haven’t seen much of his submission game so far.
Muay Thai: Liam Harrison vs. Muangthai PKSaenchaigym (Bantamweight)
Liam Harrison is an aggressive fighter with very strong low kicks who has been in with some of the top Thais. He is highly experienced and fighting in the smaller gloves suits him.
Muangthai PKSaenchaigym was a top fighter in Thailand before the pandemic. But he didn’t fight at all last year and wasn’t impressive on his ONE Championship debut, his elbows are among the best in the entire business though.
Jarred Brooks vs. Bokang Masunyane (Strawweight)
Jarred Brooks (18-2-0-1) is a UFC and Bellator veteran who has been competing at the very top level of the sport for over five years. He was a state wrestling champion in high school, which gives you an idea of his skillset and started competing in MMA since 2010.
Bokang Masunyane (8-0) is also a wrestler who won a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games. He won his last fight with a head kick but Brooks is clearly the best opponent the South African has ever faced.
Muay Thai: Jackie Buntan vs. Smilla Sundell (For inaugural strawweight title)
Jackie Buntan looked outstanding against Wondergirl Fairtex on her ONE Championship debut. But she barely got out of first gear in her last two fights and will need to be much more active against an opponent who is guaranteed to apply pressure.
Smilla Sundell is based at Fairtex and has a front foot, walk forwards style which is popular in Thailand. She will look to overwhelm Buntan but could leave herself open to counters from the hard hitting Fil-Am fighter.
Kickboxing: Regian Eersel (c) vs. Arian Sadikovic (For lightweight title)
Regian Eersel has been imperious since signing for ONE Championship. He has the classic Dutch kickboxing style and likes to attack with punches and low kicks.
In his last fight Arian Sadikovic devastated Mustapha Haida with knees, kicks and punches to the midsection. He looked more impressive against the Moroccan than Eersel did, although both men went the distance, which could bode well for this contest.
The entire ONE: “Reloaded” fight card will be available to view free in some territories using the newly launched app which you can download here.