ONE: “Warriors of Light” is set for the Impact Arena in Bangkok this Friday night (May 10, 2019). The event will feature two title bouts involving Thai fighters with a kickboxing belt and a Muay Thai strap on the line.
MMA interest is provided by the presence of former Legend FC lightweight champion Adrian Pang, former Shooto bantamweight champion Shoko Sato and both men have tough fights booked.
But as you’d expect for a card in Thailand there is more emphasis on Muay Thai and kickboxing than MMA with the likes of Nong-O, Petchdam, Rodtang and Superlek all in action.
Here’s my preview of the first six bouts:
125 lbs.: Hexigetu vs. Ovais Shah (Strawweight)
China Top Team representative Hexigetu (5-4) is a southpaw with a wide stance. The 34 year old has pro boxing experience but was choked out by Ma Hao Bin in his last ONE Championship fight.
Ovais Shah (3-2) hails from Pakistan and has won three fights out of five in his homeland. He faces a big step up against an experienced opponent on his ONE Championship debut.
115 lbs.: Janet Todd vs. Chin Long Wang (Kickboxing)
Janet Todd came up short against Stamp Fairtex on her ONE Super Series debut. She has placed on the podium at some amateur tournaments but was well beaten by an opponent who has over 100 pro fights.
Chin Long Wang hails from Taiwan and is a former WAKO champion. There doesn’t seem to be much footage of her fights.
170 lbs.: Kota Shimoishi vs. Pieter Bruist
Kota Shimoishi (21-7) goes in search of his first ONE Championship win and will be looking to snap a three-fight losing skid. He’s an out and out wrestler who will want to get this to to the ground.
Pieter Buist (14-4) has done very well fighting in his native Holland but was submitted inside a round on his Kunlun debut. The majority of his wins have come by way of submission and he is one of the tallest fighters ONE’s lightweight division.
135 lbs.: Singtongnoi Por Telakun vs. Michael Savvas (Muay Thai)
Singtongnoi Por Telakun was suffering from cancer but made a full recovery. The southpaw totally outclassed Joseph Lasiri on his ONE Super Series debut but was perhaps a bit fortunate to get the nod over Masahide Kudo last time out.
Michael Savvas trains at the Petyindee Gym and has been winning fights on the stadium scene in Bangkok. He’s in his prime, unlike Singtongnoi, and will fancy his chances of claiming a serious scalp here.
135 lbs.: Superlek Kiatmoo9 vs. Rui Botelho (Muay Thai)
Superlek Kiatmoo9 is one of the best fighters in Thailand today. He easily beat Jonathan Haggerty and could potentially secure a title shot here, if his ONE Super Series debut was anything to go by he might throw nothing but body kicks.
Rui Botelho was KO’d with a spinning back elbow in his ONE Super Series debut but caused one of the best Muay Thai fighters on the planet, Panpayak Jitmuangnon, some problems in his second fight and scored a decision win over Yuta Watanabe last time out.
170 lbs.: Kazuki Tokudome vs. Adrian Pang
Adrian Pang (23-12-2) must have felt his luck was out after a run of four losses that included a couple of dubious split decisions. He bounced back to stop Shimoishi with a cut last time out and the Australian’s flat footed, brawling style is always fun to watch.
Pang can be guaranteed to walk opponents down and try to instigate exchanges and Tokudome (18-10-1) will almost certainly look to counter strike. Don’t be surprised if the Japanese southpaw spends the entire fight circling away.
The entire ONE: “Warriors of Light” 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.