Tag: ONE Championship News

Jonathan Haggerty KOs Felipe Lobo in early Fight of the Year contender – ONE Fight Night 19 Highlights

Jonathan HaggertyJonathan Haggerty retained his ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world championship in an early Fight of the Year contender against…

Jonathan Haggerty

Jonathan Haggerty retained his ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world championship in an early Fight of the Year contender against Brazilian knockout artist Felipe Lobo at ONE Fight Night 19 on Prime Video.

Haggerty looked to take control of the ring and create distance with his signature push kick from the get-go, but it was just a matter of time before the ‘Demolition Man’ would find his way inside and explode. That’s exactly what Lobo did, delivering an onslaught of strikes to the head and body of the defending champ in the second half of the opening round.

A sneaky uppercut finally put Haggerty on the mat with less than a minute to go in the first, but ‘The General’ answered the count and pressed on.

In the second, Haggerty and Lobo threw caution to the wind, delivering one of the most incredible rounds in combat sports history. Both men blasted the other with fight-ending bombs, but neither man would go down. In the end, Haggerty managed to send Lobo crashing to the canvas with a counter left that hit his opponent on the button.

With the fight likely tied after two rounds, Haggerty decided he’d had enough and uncorked a nasty overhand right less than a minute into the third that put Felipe Lobo away for good.

Official Result: Jonathan Haggerty def. Felipe Lobo via KO (overhand right) at 0:45 of Round 3 to retain the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world championship.

Check Out Highlights from Jonathan Haggerty vs. Felipe Lobo at ONE Fight Night 19:

Sage Northcutt slams ONE Championship after promotion places blame on him for ONE 165 withdrawal

Sage Northcutt slams ONE ChampionshipSage Northcutt is looking to set the record straight regarding his short-notice withdrawal from a ONE Championship event last…

Sage Northcutt slams ONE Championship

Sage Northcutt is looking to set the record straight regarding his short-notice withdrawal from a ONE Championship event last month.

Northcutt was scheduled to fight Japanese MMA icon Shinya Aoki at ONE 165 in Tokyo on January 28. An hour before their bout was scheduled to begin, the promotion revealed that Northcutt had bowed out, noting an “unforeseen circumstance with his cornermen.” As a result, former ONE bantamweight world champion John Lineker was literally pulled from the stands and thrown into the ring to ensure Aoki still had the opportunity to compete in front of his home country.

Speaking on the situation during a post-fight press event, ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong appeared to place much of the blame on Northcutt, noting that current ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo offered to step in and corner Northcutt in the absence of his coaches — one being former UFC title challenger Urijah Faber. Northcutt reportedly refused the last-second change and opted out of the bout.

Taking exception to his employer putting the blame squarely on his shoulders, Sage Northcutt snapped back at ONE Championship in a lengthy post on social media to set the record straight.

“One Championship is implying that I pulled out of the Shinya fight for unforeseen circumstances,” Northcutt wrote on Instagram. “That is completely inaccurate.. I sent One Championship the necessary paperwork they required to get my coaches visas 48 days ahead of the event. I was told by them over the phone and by text my main jujitsu coach Fabio Prado did not need a visa since I paid for his airfare flights and trip so he was not classified as a working employee that needed a visa and that my other coach could get in as a tourist so he didn’t need one either,” Sage Northcutt wrote.

“My coaches were there for almost a week, and I was not informed that two of them could not coach until hours before my match. I received a text from an unknown number that texted me for the first time that day that was a ticket salesman asking me about getting my two coaches complimentary tickets to watch my fight in the audience.

“I personally believe that One Championship was not going to inform me that my coaches were not allowed to corner me until I arrived at the arena to fight if I did not hear from a ticket salesman hours earlier. We were also told hours before my match that if my coaches violated the visa requirements and were caught on camera, they could be arrested and there was a 99.8% conviction rate on all arrests,” Sage Northcutt continued.

“I made it clear to One Championship that I was not flying from America to Japan if I didn’t have my three coaches. I was told before I left to Japan by an executive that I would not have to fight without my coaches. They knew before I left that I would not be able to have two of my coaches. They never told me my coaches could be thrown in prison for any visa violation.

“There has been a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes with One Championship with what caused me to withdraw from my last fight as well as other things that I will talk about at a later time on Facebook, Instagram, and with media outlets.
• drug testing
• weight cutting/ policies
• active athletes/ roster
• One’s stability… etc.”

Sage Northcutt isn’t the only fighter frustrated with ONE Championship

Sage Northcutt has only fought twice since signing with ONE, but it sounds like the honeymoon is already over between the two.

Northcutt isn’t the only contracted fighter who appears to be at odds with the Singapore-based promotion. Reigning ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Chingiz Allazov recently expressed a desire to terminate his contract. “ONE is one of the best kickboxing promotions, it’s true… but we don’t like the contract about this promotion,” Allazov said in a statement. Unfortunately for Allazov, ONE has no intention of granting the Azerbaijani-Belarusian fighter his release according to Nick Atkin of the South China Morning Post. His deal is reportedly up in December 2026.

It will be interesting to see what else Sage Northcutt has to say about the inner workings of ONE Championship.

Sage Northcutt slams ONE Championship after promotion places blame on him for ONE 165 withdrawal

Sage Northcutt slams ONE ChampionshipSage Northcutt is looking to set the record straight regarding his short-notice withdrawal from a ONE Championship event last…

Sage Northcutt slams ONE Championship

Sage Northcutt is looking to set the record straight regarding his short-notice withdrawal from a ONE Championship event last month.

Northcutt was scheduled to fight Japanese MMA icon Shinya Aoki at ONE 165 in Tokyo on January 28. An hour before their bout was scheduled to begin, the promotion revealed that Northcutt had bowed out, noting an “unforeseen circumstance with his cornermen.” As a result, former ONE bantamweight world champion John Lineker was literally pulled from the stands and thrown into the ring to ensure Aoki still had the opportunity to compete in front of his home country.

Speaking on the situation during a post-fight press event, ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong appeared to place much of the blame on Northcutt, noting that current ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo offered to step in and corner Northcutt in the absence of his coaches — one being former UFC title challenger Urijah Faber. Northcutt reportedly refused the last-second change and opted out of the bout.

Taking exception to his employer putting the blame squarely on his shoulders, Sage Northcutt snapped back at ONE Championship in a lengthy post on social media to set the record straight.

“One Championship is implying that I pulled out of the Shinya fight for unforeseen circumstances,” Northcutt wrote on Instagram. “That is completely inaccurate.. I sent One Championship the necessary paperwork they required to get my coaches visas 48 days ahead of the event. I was told by them over the phone and by text my main jujitsu coach Fabio Prado did not need a visa since I paid for his airfare flights and trip so he was not classified as a working employee that needed a visa and that my other coach could get in as a tourist so he didn’t need one either,” Sage Northcutt wrote.

“My coaches were there for almost a week, and I was not informed that two of them could not coach until hours before my match. I received a text from an unknown number that texted me for the first time that day that was a ticket salesman asking me about getting my two coaches complimentary tickets to watch my fight in the audience.

“I personally believe that One Championship was not going to inform me that my coaches were not allowed to corner me until I arrived at the arena to fight if I did not hear from a ticket salesman hours earlier. We were also told hours before my match that if my coaches violated the visa requirements and were caught on camera, they could be arrested and there was a 99.8% conviction rate on all arrests,” Sage Northcutt continued.

“I made it clear to One Championship that I was not flying from America to Japan if I didn’t have my three coaches. I was told before I left to Japan by an executive that I would not have to fight without my coaches. They knew before I left that I would not be able to have two of my coaches. They never told me my coaches could be thrown in prison for any visa violation.

“There has been a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes with One Championship with what caused me to withdraw from my last fight as well as other things that I will talk about at a later time on Facebook, Instagram, and with media outlets.
• drug testing
• weight cutting/ policies
• active athletes/ roster
• One’s stability… etc.”

Sage Northcutt isn’t the only fighter frustrated with ONE Championship

Sage Northcutt has only fought twice since signing with ONE, but it sounds like the honeymoon is already over between the two.

Northcutt isn’t the only contracted fighter who appears to be at odds with the Singapore-based promotion. Reigning ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Chingiz Allazov recently expressed a desire to terminate his contract. “ONE is one of the best kickboxing promotions, it’s true… but we don’t like the contract about this promotion,” Allazov said in a statement. Unfortunately for Allazov, ONE has no intention of granting the Azerbaijani-Belarusian fighter his release according to Nick Atkin of the South China Morning Post. His deal is reportedly up in December 2026.

It will be interesting to see what else Sage Northcutt has to say about the inner workings of ONE Championship.

Shinya Aoki seemingly slams ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong at promotion’s latest event: ‘I really came to hate him’

Shinya Aoki and Chatri SityodtongThe relationship between Japanese MMA icon Shinya Aoki and ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong has seen better days. On…

Shinya Aoki and Chatri Sityodtong

The relationship between Japanese MMA icon Shinya Aoki and ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong has seen better days.

On Sunday, Aoki returned to the ring at ONE 165 in his home country expecting to square off with ‘Super’ Sage Northcutt. Instead, ‘Tobikan Judan’ ended up fighting former ONE bantamweight world champion John Lineker in a remarkably short-notice openweight MMA bout. Given their significant size difference and opposing skill sets, Aoki made quick work of Lineker, earning a first-round submission via neck crank.

Following the bout, Aoki spoke with ONE commentator Mitch Chilson in the ring where he was asked about why he accepted the fight with Lineker. “Since he asked me to, there was no other choice, but to do it,” Aoki said, the “he” referring to Sityodtong.

However, it appeared as though Aoki had said something else that the translator either missed altogether or chose to omit. According to X user @puraiya, the former ONE lightweight titleholder shared his disdain for the promotion’s founder in his comments to the live crowd.

“When my relationship to Chatri, a man I thought of as a friend, became one of “boss and employee”, I really came to f*cking hate him… but when that guy asks something of me, I guess I have no choice.”

We can’t confirm the 100% accuracy of the translation provided, but during Aoki’s post-fight interview, there was a very noticeable moment of awkward silence from the crowd, indicating that he had said something more than what the translator revealed.

Fans tuning in and sharing their thoughts on social media were seemingly clued into what Aoki was saying.

One wrote, “I love how much the translator was stuttering trying to figure out what to say,” while another added, “I realized the awkward silence of the crowd for a sec.”

Chatri Sityodtong Has a History of Disrespecting Japanese Fighters Despite Desperately Trying to Break into the Market

It’s unclear what the issue, if any, is between Aoki and Sityodtong, but could it have something to do with the CEO’s continued disrespect towards Japanese fighters as a whole.

“The biggest challenge for Japan is… If you look at the last several years, it doesn’t matter which discipline, Japanese fighters come into ONE and they get crushed,” Sityodtong said in a post-fight press conference. In order for ONE Championship to blow up in Japan, we need the best of the best in Japan — K-1, Rise, RIZIN — they’re the best in Japan, but when they come to ONE Championship, they lose. If you look at the Japanese record, there’s a lot of losses in ONE.”

Sityodtong also kickstarted a war of words with K-1 producer Carlos Kikuta after the ONE CEO shot down the possibility of co-promoting an event with K-1, saying, “It’s a tiny organization and the level is very low.”

Superlek defeats K-1 legend Takeru in five-round war, retains flyweight kickboxing title – ONE 165 Highlights

Superlek vs. TakeruONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 returned to the ring on Sunday for a showdown with former three-division…

Superlek vs. Takeru

ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 returned to the ring on Sunday for a showdown with former three-division K-1 titleholder Takeru Segawa. Emanating from Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan, Takeru made his long-awaited ONE Championship debut in the ONE 165 main event against one of the promotion’s most dangerous strikers.

Superlek controlled much of the opening round, mixing up his kicking attacks by brutalizing Takeru’s legs while occasionally attacking the body. Takeru struggled to get his offense going as ‘The Kicking Machine’ continued to bring the heat in the closing seconds of the first.

The trend continued into the second round as the Thai tenderized the lead leg of Takeru. However, things began to take a turn in the third round as Takeru was able to close the distance and unleashed a flurry of body blows, forcing Superlek to cover up and weather the storm. He did exactly that, making it out of the third round, but likely giving it up on the scorecards.

‘The Kicking Machine’ once again picked up the pace and the pressure in the fourth round, but Takeru simply refused to go away leading to a fifth and final round where it was anyone’s fight to win. The former K-1 king was desperately seeking a highlight-reel-worthy finish as the seconds ticked down, but Superlek was able to keep Takeru at bay with teep kicks until the final bell sounded.

Official Result: Superlek def. Takeru via unanimous decision to retain the ONE flyweight kickboxing world championship.

Check Out Highlights From Superlek vs. Takeru at ONE 165:

Jonathan Haggerty’s brother, Freddie Haggerty, scores brutal 2nd round KO in ONE Championship debut – ONE Friday Fights 49 Highlights

Jonathan Haggerty and Freddie HaggertyFreddie Haggerty made a big first impression in his ONE Championship debut. Haggerty, who is the younger brother of…

Jonathan Haggerty and Freddie Haggerty

Freddie Haggerty made a big first impression in his ONE Championship debut.

Haggerty, who is the younger brother of reigning two-sport ONE world champion Jonathan Haggerty, made his promotional debut as part of the ONE Friday Fights 49 card inside Bangkok’s legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. Squaring off with 50-win Muay Khao veteran Dankalong Sor Dechapan, Haggerty appeared to struggle with the range, eating a series of stiff jabs in the early going. But it didn’t take long for the 19-year-old to close the distance and light up his opponent with some vicious inside elbows.

Near the end of the opening round, Haggerty landed a right elbow against the ropes followed by a flurry of strikes that sent Dankalong crashing to the canvas. The Thai answered the count and got back to his feet just as the bell sounded, signifying the end of the first.

Haggerty picked up right where he left off in the second, quickly catching a kick from Dankalong and countering with a right followed by a left that landed flush. With his opponent staggered, Haggerty unleashed another right-left combo that put Dankalong down for the count.

Official Result: Freddie Haggerty def. Dankalong Sor Dechapan via KO (strikes) at 0:14 of Round 2.

Haggerty earned a ?350,000 bonus ($10,000) from ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong for his impressive promotional debut. He moved to 20-4-1 overall with the victory.

Check Out Highlights From Freddie Haggerty’s ONE Championship Debut: