ONE: “Age of Dragons” is set for Beijing this Saturday and matchmakers have obviously decided that stand-up fights will appeal to the Chinese audience. The card is headlined by two kickboxing title bouts.
In the main event, Ilias Ennahachi defends his flyweight kickboxing title for the first time against Wang Wenfeng, who will be looking to become the first Chinese man to ever win a title with the promotion.
The co-headliner pits Tarik Khbabez against Roman Kryklia in another kickboxing title bout. The inaugural light heavyweight belt will be on the line and matchmakers will be hoping these two heavy hitters can produce fireworks.
Here’s my preview of the last five fights:
Miao Li Tao vs. Jeremy Miado (Strawweight)
Miao Li Tao (5-1) has won three ONE Championship bouts in a row. He is a wrestler but has some serious punching power as Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke discovered to his cost.
Jeremy Miado (8-4) also holds a one punch KO win over Dejdamrong although he was stopped in the rematch. The Filipino has lost four of his six ONE Championship fights.
Kickboxing: Yodsaenklai Fairtex vs. Jamal Yusupov (Catchweight)
Yodsaenklai Fairtex remains one of the biggest names on the ONE Super Series roster despite his disappointing defeat at the hands of Samy Sana. The big hitting southpaw is based in China and will be looking to bounce back with a big performance here.
Jamal Yusupov appears to have accepted this fight at very late notice. There’s not much information available about the Russian, so it would be a major surprise if he cause Yodsaenklai significant problems.
Meng Bo vs. Laura Balin (Atomweight)
Meng Bo (13-5) has been scheduled to make her ONE Championship debut against Mei Yamaguchi on two separate occasions this year. Both bouts fell through but the Chinese atomweight’s main claim to fame is a 2013 win over UFC champ Weili Zhang.
Laura Balin (11-5) will be looking to secure her first ONE Championship win at the fourth attempt. She did go the distance with reigning strawweight champion Xiong Jingnan in a five round title fight in 2018.
Tarik Khbabez vs. Roman Kryklia (For Inaugural Light Heavyweight Title)
Tarik Khbabez has blown his way through the competition in ONE Championship’s light heavyweight division. The hard hitting Dutchman has scored four wins out of four and was rewarded with a title shot.
Roman Kryklia has already dropped a decision to Khbabez one. But the tall Russian is riding an eight fight winning streak and will look to use his height and reach to good effect here.
Kickboxing: Ilias Ennahachi (c) vs. Wang Wenfeng (For Flyweight Title)
Ilias Ennahachi and Wang Wenfeng have fought twice, sharing a decision win apiece. However the Chinese fighter’s win was clearly the more dubious of the two.
Ennahachi hits hard and knows how to use his hands in a kickboxing bout, as Petchdam Petchyindeeacademy discovered to his cost. The Dutch fighter will be looking to score another impressive win here.
The entire ONE: “Age of Dragons” fight card will be available to view live and free in some territories using the newly launched app which you can download here.