Tag: ONE Championship News

Nico Carrillo Smashes Nong-O with vicious elbow, scores second round KO – ONE Friday Fights 46 highlights

Nico Carrillo vs. Nong-OScottish standout Nico Carrillo scored the biggest win of his Muay Thai career at ONE Friday Fights 46. Emanating…

Nico Carrillo vs. Nong-O

Scottish standout Nico Carrillo scored the biggest win of his Muay Thai career at ONE Friday Fights 46.

Emanating from the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, fans witnessed the rise of a new contender in ONE’s bantamweight Muay Thai division as the ‘King of the North’ scored a brutal second-round knockout against former titleholder Nong-O Hama.

Things started as expected with Nong-O chopping away at the leg of Carrillo throughout the first three minutes. As the opening round came to a close, the Scot’s lead leg was clearly compromised, but that didn’t stop him from pressing on and putting pressure on the Thai in the second stanza.

Pressuring Nong-O against the ropes, Carrillo unleashed a flurry of strikes forcing Nong-O to circle out. As he did, Carrillo continued his pursuit, once again putting the former champ in the opposite corner and unleashing a vicious elbow that put Nong-O on the canvas. Unable to answer the standing eight-count, the referee called for the stoppage, handing Carrillo his third-straight win under the ONE Championship banner.

Official Result: Nico Carrillo def. Nong-O Hama via KO (elbow) at 1:28 of Round 2.

Speaking with Mitch Chilson following his impressive win, Nico Carrillo called out the reigning ONE bantamweight Muay Thai titleholder. “Tick tock, tick tock. Jonathan Haggerty, I’m coming for that belt,” he said.

Check Out Highlights From Nico Carrillo vs. Nong-O Hama at ONE Friday Fights 46:

Ex-UFC star Sage Northcutt books return at ONE Championship 165, takes on Shinya Aoki in retirement fight

Sage Northcutt makes return at ONE Championship 165 takes on Shinya Aoki retirement fightFormer UFC welterweight, Sage Northcutt will begin next year back inside the cage, taking on veteran Japanese grappler, Shina…

Sage Northcutt makes return at ONE Championship 165 takes on Shinya Aoki retirement fight

Former UFC welterweight, Sage Northcutt will begin next year back inside the cage, taking on veteran Japanese grappler, Shina Aoki at a ONE Championship 165 event on January 28. in Tokyo, as the latter prepares for his slated retirement fight. 

Northcutt, 27, most recently turned in a blistering first round heel hook submission win over Ahmed Mujtaba in ONE Championship’s debut on North American soil back in May in Colorado, earning a Performance of the Night bonus.

The victory came as Northcutt’s sophomore outing under the banner of the Chatri Sityodtong-led banner, having suffered a devastating 29-second KO loss to Brazilian kickboxing ace, Cosmo Alexandre back in 2019, suffering multiple facial fractures in the first round loss, sidelining him for over three years.

As for Aoki, the veteran Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu icon has been sidelined himself from mixed martial arts since November of last year, dropping his second consecutive loss in the form of a first round knockout loss to Saygid Izagakhmaev, which came off the back of a TKO loss to compatriot, Yoshihiro ‘Sexyama’. January’s outing with Northcutt is expected to come as Aoki’s final in mixed martial arts competition.

Sage Northcutt takes on Shinya Aoki at ONE Championship 165

ONE Championship confirmed the pairing of Sage Northcutt and Shinya Aoki overnight on their official social media, which followed the confirmation of a stunning bout between Rodtang Jitmuangnon, and Takeru Segawa.

“IT’S ON,” ONE Championship posted on their official X account. “Japanese legend Shinya Aoki faces off with American superstar Sage Northcutt on January 28. In Tokyo.

12-3 as a professional, over the course of his naive mixed martial arts career, former top-prospect, Northcutt has dropped losses to just the above-mentioned, Alexandre, and during his Octagon tenure, Mickey Gall, and Bryan Barberena.

Making his Octagon debut back in 2015, Northcutt turned in UFC victories over the likes of Cody Pfister, and Thibault Gouti, before scoring a second round KO win over Zak Ottow in his final appearance back in 2018, before making a move to ONE Championship.

47-11(1) as a professional, veteran grappling phenom, Aoki has competed for the likes of DEEP, Shooto, Pride, DREAM, Strikeforce, Bellator, Rizin, and ONE Championship during his storied career. And has recorded wins over the likes of George Sotiropoulos, Caol Uno, Eddie Alvarez, Mizuto Hirota, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Kazushi Sakaraba, and Eduard Folayang to name a few. 

Who wins at ONE Championship 165: Sage Northcutt or Shinya Aoki?

Kickboxing sensation Takeru to make ONE Championship debut against Muay Thai Icon Rodtang in January

Takeru RodtangThe highly anticipated ONE Championship debut of kickboxing sensation Takeru Segawa has been officially announced. Per a report from…

Takeru Rodtang

The highly anticipated ONE Championship debut of kickboxing sensation Takeru Segawa has been officially announced.

Per a report from Marc Raimondi of ESPN, the former three-division K-1 world champion will debut at ONE 165 in Tokyo against none other than Muay Thai superstar Rodtang Jitmuangnon.

The two combat sports icons will compete in a flyweight kickboxing super-fight according to ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong who made the announcement during a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.

Rodtang has competed inside the ONE Championship Circle 16 times since making his debut for the promotion in 2018. During that time, he has bested some of the biggest names in the art of eight limbs, including current ONE world champions Jonathan Haggerty and Joseph Lasiri.

Most recently, ‘The Iron Man’ lost a razor-close decision to ‘The Kicking Machine’ Superlek in September. It was his first Muay Thai loss since signing with ONE, though many fans believe Rodtang should be been dubbed the victor following the three-round instant classic.

Takeru Segawa Has been hailed as the greatest p4P kickboxer in the sport

Takeru, who has been regarded as the best pound-for-pound kickboxer on the planet, will enter ONE Championship as the hottest free agent signing in recent years. The ‘Natural Born Crusher’ boasts a stunning 42-3 professional record with 25 of his victories coming by way of knockout. Takeru also holds the distinction of being the first and only fighter in K-1 history to claim three titles in three different weight classes; super featherweight, featherweight, and super bantamweight.

In addition to Rodtang vs. Takeru, fans in Tokyo will see the return of Japanese MMA icon and former ONE lightweight world champion Shinya Aoki. ‘Tobikan Judan’ will step inside the Circle for a long-awaited showdown with Texas native and former UFC standout ‘Super’ Sage Northcutt.

ONE 165 will emanate from Ariake Arena in Tokyo on Saturday, January 27 in North America. Fans can catch all the action via ONE Championship’s YouTube channel and on the ONE Super App.

Demetrious Johnson ranks himself #2 in GOAT conversation, ex-UFC star claims ‘Nobody has been able to do what I’ve done’

Demetrious Johnson ranks himself as #2 in GOAT list claims nobody has done what I've done UFCRanked atop the list of many’s greatest fighters of all time, former undisputed UFC flyweight champion, Demetrious Johnson has…

Demetrious Johnson ranks himself as #2 in GOAT list claims nobody has done what I've done UFC

Ranked atop the list of many’s greatest fighters of all time, former undisputed UFC flyweight champion, Demetrious Johnson has left himself off the top spot in his own respective list – naming incumbent heavyweight best, Jon Jones as his greatest fighter to ever compete.

Johnson, a record-setting former UFC flyweight champion and the current ONE Championship flyweight gold holder, has been sidelined since he took home a trilogy rubber match win over Brazilian ace, Adriano Moraes with a unanimous decision win in their decider back in May. 

Weighing up his immediate fighting future in the aftermath of his judging win, Kentucky native, Johnson, who turned in a record-setting 11 consecutive successful defenses of his undisputed flyweight title during his historic, gold-laden tenure with the UFC, departed the orgazniation in a swap-deal with Ben Askren back in late 2018. 

Demetrious Johnson provides his GOAT list

Finding himself ranked atop lists of the greatest mixed martial arts fighters of all time ahead of the likes of Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, Fedor Emelianenko, and even the above-mentioned, Jones – Johnson claims he should only rank number two in any sort of list, including his own. 

“At number two, you have yours truly,” Demetrious Johnson said on his official YouTube channel. “Nobody has been able to do what I’ve been able to do in the flyweight division or in any division. 11 consecutive title defenses, created a brand-new move that none of you guys ever seen, the ‘Mighty Wizbar’ shout to Matt Hume helping me learn that move. I have wins by knockout, submission, gone to a decision, gone to a split draw, whatever you want to call it.”

“For my number one, I have Jon ‘Bones’ Jones,” Demetrious Johnson explained. “That is the only man I’ll put ahead of me because this man, I feel like any single time he has been inside the cage he could just destory his opponent however he wanted. He also has wins by knockout, putting people to sleep, decisions, everything on the list.”

Where would you rank Demetrious Johnson on your own list of MMA GOATs?

Jonathan Haggerty Captures Second ONE World Title with vicious KO of Fabricio Andrade – ONE Fight Night 16 Highlights

Jonathan HaggertyIn the ONE Fight Night 16 main event, Jonathan Haggerty returned to the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok…

Jonathan Haggerty

In the ONE Fight Night 16 main event, Jonathan Haggerty returned to the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok seven months removed from his stunning first-round knockout of Nong-O Hama to claim the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world championship.

On Friday night, ‘The General’ sought to add another ONE world title to his collection, competing for the vacant ONE bantamweight kickboxing crown. Meeting him in the middle of the ring was the current ONE bantamweight MMA titleholder, Fabricio Andrade, who had sights on becoming the first fighter in ONE history to carry titles in kickboxing and mixed martial arts simultaneously.

Jonathan Haggerty went to work right out of the gate, showing off his impressive speed and combinations. Nevertheless, Andrade was determined to move forward and put pressure on his opponent, but ‘The General’ continued to light him up with a plethora of strikes that ‘Wonder Boy’ had no answer for.

Near the halfway point of the second round, Haggerty uncorked a head kick that connected clean and had Andrade on wobbly legs. Smelling blood in the water, ‘The General’ moved in and unleashed a series of strikes that had ‘Wonder Boy’ running for his life. In the end, the onslaught was too much for Andrade to endure and he eventually hit the canvas.

Andrade attempted to answer the referee’s eight-count, but was unable to recover in time, forcing the stoppage with little over a minute left in the round.

Official Result: Jonathan Haggerty def. Fabricio Andrade via KO (head kick and follow-up strikes) at 1:57 of Round 2 to capture the ONE bantamweight kickboxing world championship.

Check Out Highlights From Jonathan Haggerty vs. Fabricio Andrade at ONE Fight Night 16 Below:

Michael Bisping snaps back at ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong: ‘He’s attacked the UFC’

Michael BispingMichael Bisping wants to see ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong put his best lightweight fighters against the UFC’s reigning division champion, Islam Makhachev. Bisping’s comments come on the heels of Sityodtong dubbing UFC strikers as “sloppy” and “mediocre-ish” while putting over his own product in a recent interview with the South China Morning Post. “What you […]

Michael Bisping

Michael Bisping wants to see ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong put his best lightweight fighters against the UFC’s reigning division champion, Islam Makhachev.

Bisping’s comments come on the heels of Sityodtong dubbing UFC strikers as “sloppy” and “mediocre-ish” while putting over his own product in a recent interview with the South China Morning Post.

“What you see in, let’s say the UFC, is very sloppy, mediocre-ish striking because they’re not strikers,” Sityodtong said. “A typical UFC fighter is a D-1 college wrestler, 7-0 in the minor leagues and then they do a little bit of striking then they enter the UFC. At ONE, all these are world champions before they arrive and they’re already multiple [time] world champions at their peak of their career when they arrive.”

Responding on his Believe You Me podcast, Michael Bisping understood that Sityodtong was simply trying to promote his company and his roster of world-class fighters, including Muay Thai sensation Rodtang Jitmuangnon.

“Yeah, I mean, first of all, he’s being a promoter,” Bisping said. “Fair play to him. He’s saying we got the better fighters, we got the better strikers, and so on and so forth. In doing so, he’s attacked the UFC and the quality of the fighters. Granted, Rodtang and some of the fighters he has mentioned, they’re phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal.”

Bisping Challenges ONE Championship CEO to Bring His Best Lightweights

With that said, ‘The Count’ was more than ready to lay down a challenge, suggesting ONE Championship bring its best lightweight fighters and see how they do against the UFC’s reigning 155-pound monster, Islam Makhachev.

“Bring your best strikers over to the UFC and put them, they’ll be lightweights, put them up against Islam Makhachev and see what happens,” Bisping added. “Guaranteed they’ll be choked out pretty quickly” (h/t Sportskeeda).

ONE Championship’s current lightweight king is Christian Lee, the brother of recently retired atomweight queen Angela Lee.

Christian Lee has established himself as one of the promotion’s prolific finishers, amassing an impressive 17-4 record with a 94% finish rate, including 12 KOs and one submission. In his last outing, Lee scored a fourth-round knockout against Kiamrian Abbasov to claim the welterweight title and become a two-division champion under the ONE banner.

Who do you think would win in a fight between Christian Lee and Islam Makhachev?