Author: James Goyder

ONE on TNT III will be broadcast TONIGHT (Weds., April 21, 2021) at 10 p.m. ET on TNT, live from Singapore. The fight card was finalized this week with Troy Worthen stepping up to face John Lineker in the headliner.

Loman’s original opponent Stephen Loman had to withdraw after contracting COVID-19 so Worthen, who had been booked to face Yuya Wakamatsu, was bumped up to the main event at very late notice.

The card also features a blue-chip kickboxing bout between John Wayne Parr and Nieky Holzken. The winner of the lightweight bout between Marat Gafurov and Ok Rae Yoon will be fighting Eddie Alvarez next week.

Ryuto Sawada vs. Miao Li Tao (Strawweight)

Ryuto Sawada (14-5-1) scored numerous takedowns the first time they fought and the Chinese fighter spent the majority of the fight on his back. That will be the gameplan again for the Japanese grappler, although this time he will be hoping to find the finish.

Miao Li Tao (5-3) has some fast kicks but having already spent 15 minutes in the cage with Sawada he knows that takedown defence will be key here. In the first fight he was able to survive several submission attempts and reverse position on occasions but he needs to keep the fight standing if he wants to win.

Marat Gafurov vs. Ok Rae Yoon (Lightweight)

Marat Gafurov (18-3) is coming off a big decision win over Lowen Tynanes. He is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) black belt who is very dangerous with chokes and also has some solid kicks which he fires to to the body and head.

Ok Rae Yoon (13-3) makes his ONE Championship debut. He is six feet tall and uses straight punches and low kicks, the Korean has a good straight right but it’s difficult to gauge just how good his grappling and takedown defense is.

Kickboxing: John Wayne Parr vs. Nieky Holzken (Lightweight)

Two kickboxing legends will finally collide with John Wayne Parr looking to prove he can still compete at the age of 44 with a replacement hip. The Australian is always aggressive and will look to throw hands right from the start.

While Parr is known for his wild style Nieky Holzken takes a slightly more surgical approach. He likes to throw combinations to the head and body and mixes up punches and kicks to good effect.

Reece McLaren vs. Yuka Wakamatsu (Flyweight)

Reece McLaren (14-7) is a BJJ black belt but he took a boxing match last year, so is obviously working on his weaknesses. The Australian finished his last fight with a right hand to the body and looked confident in his striking but will probably want to get this one to the ground.

Yuka Wakamatsu (13-4) has a devastating right hand and gave Demetrious Johnson a good run for his money. The Japanese fighter will want to keep this standing and to find a home for that straight right.

Troy Worthen vs. John Lineker (Bantamweight)

Troy Worthen (7-1) accepted this fight at very late notice having originally trained for wrestler Shuya Kamikubo. He comes from a wrestling background himself and is a southpaw who wins fights with takedowns

John Lineker (33-9) is arguably the hardest hitting fighter in the division and has huge experience. The Brazilian will want to keep this standing and let his hands go, the odds are stacked against his late notice opponent.

The entire ONE on TNT III 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.

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ONE on TNT II will be broadcast tonight (Weds., April 14, 2021) at 10 p.m. ET on TNT. The event is headlined by a lightweight title fight between Christian Lee and Timofey Nastyukhin, two fighters with big first-round finishes on their records.

The card consists primarily of MMA fights and keep an eye out for Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg and Wang Shuo, two hard hitting combatants who like to come forwards.

Here’s my ONE on TNT II preview:

Kim Kyu Sung vs. Wang Shuo (Flyweight)

Kim Kyu Sung (10-4) was selected to join Evolve MMA who obviously saw something in the 6’0” Korean. But he hasn’t been able to use his height to particularly good effect in his ONE Championship career, losing two of his three fights.

Wang Shuo (11-4) fought for the now defunct Rebel FC and looks to be a Muay Thai fighter with solid low kicks. He will be four inches shorter than his opponent and will look to get on the inside and and throw hard strikes.

Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg vs. Yoshiki Nakahara (Featherweight)

Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg (6-2) was involved in some thrilling fights on the ONE Warrior Series and extended his winning streak to four by knocking out Ma Jia Wen in his ONE Championship debut last year. The Mongolian is wild, aggressive and good to watch.

Yoshiki Nakahara (14-5) is coming off a big KO win of his own. The Japanese southpaw knocked out Ruslan Emilbek Uulu with a counter right hook. He’s patient but can be devastating as the undefeated fighter from Kyrgyzstan discovered to his cost.

Shuya Kamikubo vs. Mitchell Chamale (Bantamweight)

Shuya Kamikubo (11-1-1) comes from a wrestling background and almost always goes the distance. He will probably look to gradually wear down out an opponent who might not be ready to fight for the full 15 minutes.

Mitchell Chamale (7-2) was in Singapore to corner Troy Worthen but ended up agreeing to fight Worthen’s original opponent at the last minute. He hasn’t fought since 2015 and is better known as a promoter than a fighter these days.

Muay Thai: Janet Todd vs. Anne Line Hogstad (Atomweight)

Janet Todd holds the atomweight kickboxing title and would like to add the Muay Thai strap to her collection. She has a high guard, which doesn’t always work well with the smaller gloves, and likes to attack with straight punches and low kicks.

Anne Line Hogstad has a more traditional Thai style and will use teeps and counter kicks to disrupt her opponent’s rhythm. She tends to let her opponent control the pace and look for openings to counter.

Christian Lee (c) vs. Timofey Nastyukhin (For lightweight title)

Christian Lee (14-3) is extremely aggressive and has has some devastating ground and pound. He swings the overhand right hard and it is an effective weapon but can also leave him wide open for counters.

Timofey Nastyukhin (14-4) made his name with the knockout of Eduard Folayang and did the same thing to Eddie Alvarez. The Russian has a howitzer-like right hand of his own and the ingredients are in place for a frantic war.

The entire ONE on TNT II 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.

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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.

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ONE: “Fists of Fury” Part II will be broadcast this Friday. After last week’s Muay Thai card this event will consist exclusively of MMA bouts with a big heavyweight star making his promotional debut in the main event.

All eyes will be on Amir Aliakbari when he fights for ONE Championship for the very first time. There will also be a heavyweight fight in the co-main event with the promotion increasingly focused on the biggest fighters.

Here is my preview:

Mark Abelardo vs. Emilio Urrutia (Bantamweight)

Both are based in Thailand and have a propensity for throwing caution to the wins and swinging leather. Mark Abelardo (19-8) is very experienced and likes to plant his feet and throw hard punches and low kicks.

Emilio Urrutia (11-7) is a BJJ brown belt but seems content to keep fights standing and often gets sucked into brawls, which don’t always end well for him. He was able to comprehensively outstrike Bruno Pucci but has lost his last three, albeit at the hands of high calibre opponents.

Roshan Mainam vs. Aziz Calim (Flyweight)

Roshan Mainam (5-2) is a wrestler who is based at Evolve MMA in Singapore. He is coming off back to back submission wins and won’t hesitate to take this fight to the ground.

Aziz Calim (4-3) has a solid, if not spectacular, record against Indonesians but was submitted in less than 90 seconds by Mainam’s teammate Ryuto Sawada. The Indian will be confident of repeating that trick here.

Yoshiki Nakahara vs. Ruslan Emilbek (Featherweight)

Yoshiki Nakahara (13-5) is a southpaw with good footwork who throws constant feints, making him difficult to time. He doesn’t seem to have that ‘one punch KO’ power but can finish opponents with the sheer volume of strikes he throws.

Ruslan Emilbek (12-0) brings a perfect professional record into his ONE Championship debut. He has spent most of his career competing in China and has wins over some solid opponents on his record.

Ryogo Takahashi vs. Tang Kai (Featherweight)

Ryogo Takahashi (14-4) has won nine out of his last ten fights and is known for his low kicks, even if he hasn’t had a chance to use them much in his ONE Championship career. He fights with his hands hung low and showed some devastating punching power to stop Yoon Chang Min last time out.

Tang Kai (11-2) has some fast, accurate striking and can switch hit seamlessly. He doesn’t have tremendous power but his speed and movement allows him to stay in the pocket and do damage without getting hit.

Anatoly Malykhin vs. Alexandre Machado (Heavyweight)

Anatoly Malykhin (8-0) will be making his ONE Championship debut. He has a background in freestyle wrestling and has won some submission grappling competitions in Europe.

Alexandre Machado (9-3) is a BJJ black belt and TUF Brazil veteran. But he hasn’t fought since 2018 and will need to shake off any ring rust fast.

Amir Aliakbari vs. Kang Ji Won (Heavyweight)

Amir Aliakbari (10-1) is former wrestling world champion who has been groomed for MMA greatness for several years. He has fought for Rizin and is a huge heavyweight whose only loss came at the hands of Mirko Crocop very early in his career.

Kang Ji Won (4-0) scored a win over Aliakbari’s teammate Mehdi Barghi recently and has been handed a very fast turnaround here. But the Korean is up against a much bigger, better opponent and will clearly be an underdog here.

The entire ONE: “Fists of Fury” 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 streamed on B/R Live.

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ONE: “Unbreakable” Part III will be broadcast on Friday. The event at the Singapore Indoor Stadium is headlined by an atomweight fight between Stamp Fairtex and Alyona Rassohnya.

The card consists exclusively of MMA fights and features two heavyweight newcomers as well as No. 2-ranked bantamweight Shoko Sato.

Tial Thang vs. Paul Lumihi (Bantamweight)

Tial Thang (2-0) trains with Aung La Nsang and is hoping to become a breakout star in his ancestral home of Myanmar. Both his fights have gone the distance and he faces a step up here, going up against an opponent with a winning record for the first time in his career.

Paul Lumihi (7-4) was the One Pride MMA featherweight champion. But no fighter from that promotion has ever enjoyed success on the international stage and he’s lost three out of three since signing for ONE Championship.

Raju Rahul vs. Ahmed Mujtaba (Featherweight)

This fight has been in the works for several years. Ahmed Mutjaba (8-2) has solid striking but is more dangerous with submissions, he’s 2-2 for ONE Championship.

Rahul Raja (7-5) is 2-5 in his ONE Championship fights, the two wins came when he finished low level opponents with a rear naked choke, he is definitely more comfortable on the ground.

Ryuto Sawada vs. Robin Catalan (Strawweight)

Ryuto Sawada (13-5-1) has won four out of his last five fights. The Japanese fighter is based permanently at Evolve MMA so won’t have to undergo quarantine procedures ahead of this contest.

Robin Catalan (9-6) did not get to fight at all last year but is coming off the biggest win of his career. He finished Gustavo Balart with a highlight reel head kick at ONE: “Masters of Fate” in 2019.

Kang Ji Won vs. Mehdi Barghi (Heavyweight)

Kang Ji Won (3-0) is undefeated and two of his three wins have come at the expense of more experienced opponents. The Korean will be returning to competitive MMA after a lengthy absence having missed all of 2020.

Mehdi Barghi (4-2) has fought a couple of times in China. He is a training partner of Amir Aliakbari but looks much smaller than the Rizin veteran does in photos.

Shoko Sato vs. Fabricio Andrade (Bantamweight)

Shoko Sato (31-13-2) is ranked at No. 2 and was supposed to challenge for the bantamweight title before the pandemic. He comes from a karate background and has a square stance but is very comfortable on the ground.

Fabricio Andrade (4-2) burst onto the scene with a submission win over Mark Abelardo at ONE: “No Surrender” last year. He trains out of Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket but has more of a karate style of fighting, standing in front of opponents with his hands held low.

Stamp Fairtex vs. Alyona Rassohnya (Atomweight)

Stamp Fairtex (5-0) has lost both her Muay Thai title and her kickboxing belt in the last 18 months. She blames the loss of form on her relationship with Rodtang Jitmuangnon, which has ended, but brings some elite striking to the MMA world and has devastating kicks and knees.

Alyona Rassohnya (12-4) has only fought twice in the last six years but is renowned for her armbars, a threat Stamp will be well aware of. The Ukrainian has a notable loss to Seo Hee Ham on her record and is much more experienced than her opponent in MMA terms.

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 streamed on B/R Live.

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ONE: “Unbreakable” Part II will be broadcast on Friday. The event at the Singapore Indoor Stadium is headlined by a heavyweight fight between Mauro Cerilli and Abdulbasir Vagabov.

It also features an all-African heavyweight fight pitting promotional veteran Alain Ngalani against promotional newcomer Oumar Kane.

Oumar Kane vs. Alain Ngalani (Heavyweight)

In the heavyweight division Alain Ngalani (4-5-0-1) returns. He has some judo skills and his grappling and wrestling is not too bad but he is known for his explosive striking skills and is particularly dangerous with spinning kicks.

Oumar Kane (1-0) comes from a wrestling background and is probably the biggest heavyweight on the ONE Championship roster. He will look to put Ngalani on his back and keep him there,

Sovannahry Em vs. Choi Jeong Yun (Flyweight)

Savannah Em (3-1) has Cambodian roots and is coming off the first loss of her career. Her four professional fights have lasted less than six minutes cumulatively so it’s difficult to assess how exciting a prospect she is.

Choi Jeong Yun (2-1) is probably the tallest fighter in the division but doesn’t have the striking to capitalize. She does have a submission win on her record.

Kickboxing: Mihajlo Kecojevic vs. Beybulat Isaev (Light heavyweight)

Mihajlo Kecojevic likes to fight off the jab and follow up with a straight right but he doesn’t have much head movement which can leave him exposed. He does pack some serious power and can drop opponents with a single punch.

Beybulat Isaev didn’t last a minute against Anderson Silva in his ONE Championship debut. He is very light on his feet and can get in and out quickly but loses a little bit of power as a result.

Chen Rui vs. Kwon Won Il (Bantamweight)

Rui Chen (9-1) has won five fights out of six for ONE Championship. His only loss came against a wrestler and it is an obvious hole in the Chinese fighter’s game.

Kwon Won Il (9-3) has alternated wins and losses throughout his ONE Championship career. He is one of the taller fighters in the division and interestingly all four of his losses have come against Japanese opponents.

Daichi Takenaka vs. Ivanildo Delfino (Flyweight)

Daichi Takenaka (12-2-1) is a submission specialist but has suffered a slight dip in form. The former Shooto featherweight champion has lost two out of his last three fights but is dropping down to flyweight.

Ivanildo Delfino (8-1) is coming off the first loss of his career. The Brazilian offered very little against Tatsumitsu Wada on his promotional debut and it is difficult to see exactly where the former Jungle Fight 125-pound champion’s strengths lie.

Mauro Cerilli vs. Abdulbasir Vagabov (Heavyweight)

Cerilli (13-4) is a former Cage Warriors heavyweight champion and has also challenged for the ONE Championship heavyweight title. His biggest strength is probably his boxing but he is well rounded without really excelling at any individual aspect of MMA.

Vagabob (10-2) will be making his promotional debut. The Russian is riding an eight-fight winning streak and is a wrestler who has trained with UFC heavyweights in Sweden and is tipped to be a future ONE Championship heavyweight champion.

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 streamed on B/R Live.

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