Author: James Goyder

For part one of our preview click here.

ONE on Amazon Prime Video 1 is set for Friday night (Aug. 26). The event will be headlined by the flyweight title rematch between Demetrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes.

The fights will be shown live by the streaming service in prime time (US time). Moraes sent shockwaves around the MMA world by knocking Johnson out at ONE on TNT last year.

For Part 1 of my preview click here.

Superlek Kiatmoo9 vs. Walter Goncalves (Flyweight Grand Prix semi final)

Superlek Kiatmoo9 has won 10 out of his last 11 fights and the only loss was a debatable decision in his kickboxing debut. He has had more success than Rodtang in the Thai stadiums and will probably feel he should be the favorite to win this tournament.

Waltert Goncalves has a tricky style for opponents to deal with, using fast footwork to move in and out and effortlessly switching between orthodox and southpaw. His movement gave Rodtang problems and he will be looking to use the same tactics here.

Rodtang Jitmuangnon vs. Savvas Michael (Flyweight Grand Prix semi final)

Rodtang Jitmuangnon likes to apply non stop pressure to opponents. He will walk forwards constantly, throwing punches and low kicks and not worrying too much if he takes a few head shots in the process.

Savvas Michael hasn’t had the best of fortune fighting in ONE Championship, picking up a nasty arm injury in his match against Thai legend Lerdsila Chumpaetour back in 2019 and getting dropped in a decision loss to Taiki Naito last year. He likes to go forward and look for the knockout and these two are likely to meet in the middle of the cage immediately.

Muay Thai: Nong-O Gaiyanghadao vs. Liam Harrison (For bantamweight title)

Nong-O Gaiyanghadao is as experienced as they come and has enjoyed a new lease on life since signing with ONE Championship. He is one of the most intelligent fighters in the business and doesn’t take much damage but has been absolutely devastating with the smaller gloves.

Adriano Moraes (c) vs. Demetrious Johnson (For flyweight title)

Adriano Moraes was known for his entertaining style at the start of his career and would transition effortlessly from flying knees to takedown attempts. He has become more conservative during his title reign but the Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt put in the performance of a lifetime last time out.

Demetrious Johnson is the complete package. He has no weaknesses, is widely regarded as being the best fighter of all time and should have a point to prove after losing to Moraes last time out.

The entire ONE on Amazon Prime Video 1 fight card will be available to view free in North America on Amazon Prime for subscribers and in other territories using the newly launched app which you can download here.

www.twitter.com/jamesgoyder

ONE on Amazon Prime Video 1 is set for Friday night (Aug. 26, 2022). The event will be headlined by the flyweight title rematch between Demetrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes.

The fights will be shown live by the streaming service in prime time (US time). Moraes sent shockwaves around the MMA world by knocking Johnson out at ONE on TNT last year.

Zebaztian Kadestam vs. Iuri Lapicus (Welterweight)

Kadestam (13-7) is the former welterweight champion and got back to winning ways at ONE: “Full Circle” in February. He finished Valmir da Silva in the opening round to snap a three fight losing streak in style.

Lapicus (14-1-0-1) has not tasted action since the controversial “no contest” against Eddie Alvarez at ONE on TNT last year. That bout was initially ruled as a disqualification for the former UFC lightweight champion but the result was subsequently overturned.

Itsuki Hirata vs. Lin Heqin (Atomweight)

Itsuki Hirata (5-1) has a background in judo and four of her five wins came by way of submission. She is coming off the first defeat of her entire career, she was outgrappled by Jihin Radzuan, and has been training in New York to prepare for this fight.

Lin Heqin (15-3-1) comes from a sanda background and was last seen winning a kickboxing fight. She was comprehensively outwrestled by Ritu Phogat last year and if Hirata can take her down the Chinese fighter will struggle.

Muay Thai: Panpayak Jitmuangnon vs. Sherzod Kabutov (Flyweight)

At one stage Panpayak Jitmuangnon was the best pound-for-pound Muay Thai fighter in the world. He is a technician, a clever fighter who is able to pick opponents apart without taking any damage in the process.

Sherzod Kabutov has been competing regularly in Thailand but has never been in with an opponent of Panpayak’s quality. He is unlikely to beat the experienced Thai in a technical battle and will probably go all out looking to test his opponent’s chin and pull off the upset.

Amir Aliakbari vs. Mauro Cerilli (Heavyweight)

Amir Aliakbari (10-3) came into ONE Championship with a lot of hype but has been knocked out in the opening round in both his fights. He comes from a wrestling background but every opponent from this point onwards will be looking to test the Iranian’s chin.

Mauro Cerrili (14-4) has finished numerous fights with punches, knees or kicks. His takedown defense isn’t the best but the Italian will feel he can win by knockout if he can keep this standing long enough.

Marcus Almeida vs. Kirill Grishenko (Heavyweight)

Stylistically this could be the toughest fight in the career of Marcus Almeida (3-0). The Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt has been able to take down all his previous opponents easily but faces a seasoned wrestler here.

Kirill Grishenko (5-1) came up short in a heavyweight title fight but will be conscious that we have never really seen the multiple time BJJ champion in anything resembling a striking match. We haven’t seen him on his back either, so he will be looking to put “Buchecha” in uncomfortable positions to see how he copes.

The entire ONE on Amazon Video 1 fight card will be available to view free in North America on Amazon Prime for subscribers and in other territories using the newly launched app which you can download here.

www.twitter.com/jamesgoyder

ONE Championship is set for an IPO (Initial Public Offering) in the United States after raising an additional $150 million last December, according to Bloomberg. The article stated that the new investment had increased the company’s valuation to $1.35 billion.

Group ONE Holdings, the company that owns ONE Championship, will also be changing its legal domicile from Singapore to Cayman Islands. The new round of investments was led by Guggenheim Investments and Qatar Investment Authority.

The latter is Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund and currently owns Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). The country has invested huge amounts of money in order to host this year’s World Cup.

Since PSG was acquired hundreds of millions of dollars have been poured into the club allowing it to purchase players like Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. The team had not won Ligue 1 since 1993 until the Qataris came along in 2011.

PSG has now won Ligue 1 eight times in the last 10 years and reached the final of the Champion’s League thanks to the Qatari’s investment. The $263mn spent on signing Neymar in 2007 remains a record transfer fee.

It will be interesting to see whether ONE Championship looks to go on a similar spending spree. The promotion has already signed several UFC veterans including Eddie Alvarez, Demetrious Johnson, and Sage Northcutt.

It will also be interesting to see whether this leads to ONE Championship putting on more events in the Middle East. To date there has been just one event there which took place in Dubai back in 2014.

“We’re entering a new stage of global growth, which means structuring the company appropriately to take advantage of the various strategic opportunities ahead of us,” Hua Fung Teh, president of Group One, said in an interview.

For the past two years ONE Championship has been holding events exclusively in Singapore as a response to COVID-19 restrictions. But the promotion is set to return to Tokyo in November.

Events are being broadcast live in North America on the Amazon Prime platform every month. The third one of these cards is heading to Tokyo while the first two are set for Singapore and will feature the likes of Demetrious Johnson and Angela Lee.

ONE 159 is set for the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday night. The event will be headlined by a middleweight title fight between current champion Reinier de Ridder and former champion Vitaly Bigdash. With a couple of bouts being scrapped on fight week there are now 11 fights on the card:

For part one of our preview click here.

Muay Thai: Muangthai PKSaenchaigym vs. Vladimir Kuzmin (Bantamweight)

Muangthai PKSaenchaigym is very good with his elbows which makes him extremely dangerous in close range situations. He’s coming off a devastating first round TKO loss to Liam Harrison, who he knocked down twice, and will be determined to bounce back with a win here.

Bokang Masunyane vs. Hiroba Minowa (Strawweight)

Bokang Masunyane (8-1) is a wrestler who met his match in Jarred Brooks. The South African normally looks to take opponents down but did score a very impressive head kick KO last year.

Hiroba Minowa (13-3) is very light on his feet with lots of lateral movement but likes to take opponents down, just like his opponent he is coming off a loss to Brooks and this fight pits wrestler against wrestler again.

Muay Thai: Janet Todd (c) vs Lara Fernandez (For atomweight title)

Janet Todd has competed more in kickboxing than Muay Thai since signing with ONE Championship. She uses straight punches and low kicks and can throw in the odd head kick to devastating effect.

Lara Fernandez is a promotional newcomer. She likes to come in with hooks and leaves gaps with an opponent of Todd’s calibre will probably be able to exploit.

Reinier de Ridder (c) vs. Vitaly Bigdash (For middleweight title)

Reinier de Ridder (15-0) holds black belts in judo and BJJ and is the tallest fighter in the division. The Dutchman is an expert at getting his opponents down and wrapping them up in those long limbs to secure a submission.

Vitaly Bigdash (12-2) is entitled to feel he is more well rounded than de Ridder. He can grapple and wrestle but has some impressive KO wins on his record, whether he can live with the Dutch giang on the ground will be the real question here.

The entire ONE 159 fight card will be available to view free in some territories using the newly launched app which you can download here.

www.twitter.com/jamesgoyder

ONE 159 is set for the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday night. The event will be headlined by a middleweight title fight between current champion Reinier de Ridder and former champion Vitaly Bigdash.

With a couple of bouts being scrapped on fight week there are now 11 fights on the card:

Lea Bivins vs. Zeba Bano (Atomweight)

Lea Bivins is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) purple belt who has enjoyed success as an amateur and will be making her pro debut. She has spent time training with the Lee family in Hawaii.

Zeba Bano (6-1) appears to have competed in small fights arranged inside her gym against opponents of limited ability. She was found out on her ONE Championship debut and looks to be completely outmatched here.

Jin Tae Ho vs. Valmir da Silva (Welterweight)

Jin Tae Ho (11-5) comes into this fight on a six fight winning streak and the Korean has never been stopped. He is tall for a welterweight and has lots of lateral movement.

Valmir da Silva (8-2) lasted less than 90 seconds in his ONE Championship debut. But almost all his wins seem to have come by way of KO or TKO which suggests striking is his specialty.

Ariel Sexton vs. Marat Gafurov (Lightweight)

Ariel Sexton (13-4) is an experienced BJJ black belt who signed for ONE Championship in 2014. It has been over three years since his last fight and the 40 year old has had some injury issues so it will be interesting to see what level he performs to,

Marat Gafurov (18-4) is also a BJJ black belt and the former ONE Championship featherweight champion. He is very good with chokes and dangerous with head kicks.

Muay Thai: Sinsamut Klinmee vs. Liam Nolan (Lightweight)

Sinsamut Klinmee scored a stunning KO of Nieky Holzken to immediately establish himself as the No. 1 contender in the division. While not as famous as his brother, Sudsakorn Klinmee, he is very experienced.

Liam Nolan stepped in as a late replacement. But the Englishman showed he has what it takes to compete with the top Thais when he narrowly lost to Bangpleenoi Petchyindee by split decision in 2019.

Danial Williams vs. Zhaxi Zelang (Strawweight)

Danial Williams (5-1) held his own against Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a Muay Thai fight. He is an experienced kickboxer and most of his wins come inside the distance.

Zhaxi Zelang (16-6-1) has a big advantage in terms of MMA experience. This looks like the toughest matchup of the Chinese fighter’s career and it will be interesting to see whether he can make the step up.

The entire ONE 159 fight card will be available to view free in some territories using the newly launched app which you can download here.

www.twitter.com/jamesgoyder

ONE 158 is set for the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday. With the fight between Jarred Brooks and Joshua Pacio falling through, the card will now be headlined by a Muay Thai bout.

In total there are 13 fights on a card which will consist primarily of MMA fights.

Kickboxing: Rade Opacic vs. Guto Inocente (Heavyweight)

Rade Opacic has clearly established himself as the best heavyweight kickboxer on the roster. The heavy handed Serbian comes forwards and throws heavy punches and kicks, he has stopped his last three opponents in the second round.

Guto Inocente is a former Glory heavyweight title challenger who is coming off an impressive ONE Championship debut. He is light on his feet, has a low guard and can attack with fast kicks and punches.

Kairat Akhmetov vs. Tatsumitsu Wada (Flyweight)

Kairat Akhmetov (28-2) comes from a wrestling background and is always looking to take opponents down. He is a southpaw who can leap in with kicks, punches or takedowns which makes it difficult for opponents to anticipate.

Tatsumitsu Wada (24-11-2) is tall for a flyweight but likes to crouch down low and bait opponents in so he can counter with a right kick or a right hand. He is very patient which might explain why so many of his fights have ended in split decisions.

Marcus Almeida vs. Simon Carson (Heavyweight)

Marcus Almeida (2-0) is a decorated BJJ black belt who has won both his MMA fights by first round submission. He is on his third opponent for this bout after seeing two previous fights fall through.

Simon Carson (2-1) hasn’t fought since 2019 and has never beaten an opponent with a winning record. This looks to be a tough fight for the Australian.

Reece McLaren vs. Xie Wei (Flyweight)

Reece McLaren (14-8) is a BJJ black belt and former bantamweight title challenger. He is most comfortable on the ground but can trade punches in the pocket and likes to confuse opponents by switching stance.

Xie Wie (14-3) has a background in Muay Thai and kickboxing. He has some spinning strikes in his arsenal and has never been stopped.

Kwon Won Il vs. Fabricio Andrade (Bantamweight)

Kwon Won Il (11-3) is one of the tallest fighters in the division and has some devastating striking. His body shots are particularly dangerous and he will be looking to finish this fight.

Fabricio Andrade (7-2) also has a background in striking. He holds his hands low and has a slightly square stance but can use it to land kicks, punches and knees from unorthodox angles.

Muay Thai: Tawanchai PKSaenchaigym vs. Niclas Larsen (Featherweight)

Tawanchai PKSaenchiaygym is one of the best in the business. He has finished two of his three ONE Championship opponents inside the distance and is a tricky, technical southpaw.

Niclas Larsen is a Glory veteran who will be making his ONE Championship debut. He holds a win over Yodkhunpon Sitmonchai and has been in with Buakaw Banchamek although he was totally overwhelmed by the Thai legend.

The entire ONE 158 fight card will be available to view free in some territories using the newly launched app which you can download here.

www.twitter.com/jamesgoyder