ONE Championship returns to China this week with ONE: Age Of Dragons set to place on Friday, 16 November, inside Beijing’s Cadillac Arena. The 11-bout card is made up of six MMA bouts and five ONE Super Series contests.
The card will be headlined by a pair of kickboxing title bouts, throw in the return of Muay Thai legend Yodsanklai IWE Fairtex, and you have a card that should get the tick of approval from fans of world class striking.
The prelims for ONE: Age Of Dragons will begin at 4:00 am (EST) on on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and the ONE Super App. Starting at 5:30 am (EST) the main card will be streamed on B/R Live.
Here is a selection of some of the key bouts worth checking out.
Ennahachi Defends His Flyweight Kickboxing Crown
The main event will see Dutch-Moroccan Ilias Ennahachi making the first defense of his ONE Flyweight Kickboxing Championship. Ennahachi captured the strap from Thailand’s Petchdam Petchyindee Academy back in August at ONE: Dreams Of Gold. Ennahachi knocked out the Thai in the third round with a beautifully timed left hook.
Ennahachi is known for his defensive acumen and his ability to fire off his shots as soon as the moment presents itself. The 23 year-old will square off against China’s Wang Wenfeng, who comes into this bout on the back of a seven-fight winning streak.
The 26 year-old has been racked up multiple titles over the past few years after competing in a range of promotions, including the well known Chinese based Kunlun Fight.This will be Wenfeng’s ONE debut, and he will no doubt be looking to send the home crowd happy this Friday.
To make matters even more interesting this will be the third meeting between these two fighters. Ennahachi claimed the honors in their first encounter back in 2014, while Wang won the rematch in 2017. A lot can happen over two years and it will be interesting to see who has developed more a fighter since their last meeting.
The Inaugural Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Champion Will Be Crowned
The co-main event will feature two fighters vying to be crowned the inaugural ONE Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Champion. Morocco’s Tarik Khbabez and Ukraine’s Roman Kryklia will be the two men throwing down for the strap.
Kryklia is regarded as one of the world’s top heavyweight kickboxers, and in February, the 28 year-old claimed the Kunlun Heavyweight Tournament title. Kryklia has 44 wins to his name, with over half of those coming by KO. The Ukrainian has unfinished business with Khbabez after losing to the Moroccan back in 2015.
Khbabez made his ONE debut in 2018 with a TKO victory over fan-favorite Alain Ngalani. Since then, the 27 year-old has been on a tear recording three straight wins in the ONE light heavyweight kickboxing division. The clash between Khbabez and Kryklia looks set to be an explosive one with both men capable of putting the other to sleep in the blink of an eye.
Bouts To Watch Out For
Scattered throughout the rest of the card are several matchups that fans will want to pay attention to. Muay Thai legend Yodsanklai IWE Fairtex will face off against Ukraine’s Sasha Moisa in a catchweight bout. Yodsanklai’s last outing saw him bundled out in the first round of the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing Grand Prix, and the Thai will no doubt relish the opportunity to return to his preferred sport.
Another bout that fans of the atomweight divison will want to follow closely is the debut of Indian Commonwealth Games Wrestling Gold Medalist Ritu Phogat. She is set to take South Korea’s Nam Hee Kim. Phogat trains out of Evolve MMA in Singapore and is being touted as a future title contender. This week’s bout should show fans how far along she is in her development as a mixed martial artist.
Main Card:
- Ilias Ennahachi (C) vs Wang Wenfeng (ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Championship)
- Tarik Khbabez vs Roman Kryklia (ONE Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Championship)
- Yodsanklai IWE Fairtex vs. Jamal Ysupov (muay thai – catchweight)
- Meng Bo vs Laura Balin (mma-atomweight
- Ritu Phogat vs Nam Hee Kim(mma-atomweight)
- Miao Li Tao vs Jeremy Miado (mma-strawweight)
- Jorina Baars vs Christina Breuer (kickboxing-featherweight)
Prelims:
- Jorina Baars vs Christina Breuer (kickboxing-featherweight)
- Tang Kai vs Edward Kelly (mma-featherweight)
- Yusup Saadulaev vs Daichi Takenaka (mma-bantamweight)
- Enriko Kehl vs Armen Petrosyan (kickboxing-catchweight)
- Hexigetu vs Ramon Gonzales (mma-strawweight)
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