ONE: “Hero’s Ascent” is set for the MOA Arena in Manila this Friday night. In the main event reigning flyweight champion Geje Eustaquio faces former champion Adriano Moraes for the third time.
There’s also the first quarter final of the ONE Championship lightweight Grand Prix as Lowen Tynanes takes on Honorio Banario. Meanwhile two of the promotion’s top flyweights face off as Danny Kingad meets Tatsumitsu Wada.
Here’s my preview of the first five fights.
125 lbs.: Egi Rozten vs. Himanshu Kaushik (Strawweight)
It looks like ONE Championship has identified Egi Rozten (2-0) as a potential star in Indonesia. He won his first two fights by stoppage and did so in entertaining fashion, this should be another winnable matchup.
Himanshu Kaushik (4-3) hasn’t tasted victory since 2015 and is winless in two ONE Championship appearances. He showed a lot of heart against Dejdamrong or Amnuaysirichoke but looks completely out of his depth at this level.
145 lbs.: Mohammad Bin Mahmoud vs. Hiroaki Suzuki (Muay Thai)
Mohammad Bin Mahmoud looked good on his ONE Super Series debut. An elbow from inside the clinch effectively ended Stergos Mikkios’s night even if there was time for the Malaysian to do further damage.
He faces a big step up against Hiroaki Suzuki who is also coming off a successful ONE Super Series debut, although the Japanese southpaw went the full three rounds against Deividas Danyla.
155 lbs.: Sung Jong Lee vs. Tang Kai
Sung Jong Lee (4-3) is a submission specialist so, from his perspective, a matchup with Garry Tonon wasn’t ideal. He specializes in leg locks, but isn’t exactly a well rounded mixed martial artist.
Tang Kai (8-2) signed for ONE Championship on the back of three straight wins for Rebel FC. The most recent was the most impressive, he submitted a Russian with a solid record and showcased some head kicks in the process.
135 lbs.: Elias Mahmoudi vs. Yukinori Ogasawara (Muay Thai)
Elias Mahmoudi has been fighting at a good level in Thailand and only celebrated his 21st birthday last week. He is good with his elbows and strong in the clinch, fighters from the Venum camp have impressed during the ONE Super Series.
Yukinoro Ogasawara won his ONE Super Series debut with a spinning back elbow KO but suffered a nasty looking KO loss in his second outing. He has he traditional Muay Thai style but holds his hands a little low, which probably won’t have escaped Mahmoudi’s notice.
145 lbs.: Brown Pinas vs. Bangpleenoi Petchyindeeacademy (Muay Thai)
Bangpleenoi Petchyindeeacademy was a star at the lower weights and holds a win over Sam-A Gaiyanghadaogym. His stock has fallen slightly in recent years but he’s a highly experienced southpaw with a solid left kick.
Brown Pinas knocked Yohann Drai out cold with a spinning back elbow in the ONE Super Series. But he came up short against the highly experienced Chamuaktong Fightergym last time around and has been handed another tough matchup here.
The entire ONE: “Hero’s Ascent” card will be available to view live and free in some territories using the newly launched app which you can download here. In the US it will be streamed on B/R Live.