Eddie Alvarez made his second appearance under the ONE Championship banner earlier tonight (Fri. August 2, 2019). “The Underground King” was able to get back into the ONE Lightweight Grand Prix Tournament after an injury dropout, and faced off against Eduard Folayang in the semifinals. Folayang hurt Alvarez early with a body shot, causing Alvarez to […]
Eddie Alvarez made his second appearance under the ONE Championship banner earlier tonight (Fri. August 2, 2019).
“The Underground King” was able to get back into the ONE Lightweight Grand Prix Tournament after an injury dropout, and faced off against Eduard Folayang in the semifinals. Folayang hurt Alvarez early with a body shot, causing Alvarez to fall to the canvas.
However, Alvarez was able to establish control and take Folayang’s back. He locked in the rear-naked choke to earn the first victory of his ONE career, and advance to the finals of the Lightweight Grand Prix.
Make sure to follow along with LowKickMMA’s live coverage of ONE: Dawn Of Heroes at this link here. What did you make of Alvarez’s second appearance under the ONE banner?
LowKickMMA will be providing you with ONE: Dawn Of Heroes results today (Friday, August 2, 2019) from the Mall Of Asia Arena, in Manila, Philippines. The 15-bout card will be headlined by two highly anticipated title fights. In the main event, defending ONE Featherweight World Champion Martin Nguyen will take on Japan’s Koyomi Matsushima. While […]
LowKickMMA will be providing you with ONE: Dawn Of Heroes results today (Friday, August 2, 2019) from the Mall Of Asia Arena, in Manila, Philippines.
The 15-bout card will be headlined by two highly anticipated title fights. In the main event, defending ONE Featherweight World Champion Martin Nguyen will take on Japan’s Koyomi Matsushima. While the co-main event will see Thai superstar Rodtang Jitmuangnon attempt to dethrone ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Jonathan Haggerty and capture the Englishman’s title.
Follow LowKickMMA for live results and up to the minute ONE: Dawn Of Heroes results below.
ONE: Dawn Of Heroes Results
Main Card ( Main Card (B/R Live (US), ONE App (International), 8:30 a.m. ET)
Martin Nguyen vs. Koyomi Matsushima (ONE Featherweight World Title)
Jonathan Haggerty vs. Rodtang Jitmuangnon (ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Title)
Eduard Folayang vs. Eddie Alvarez (ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix semifinal)
Demetrious Johnson vs. Tatsumitsu Wada (ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix semifinal)
Danny Kingad vs. Reece McLaren (ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix semifinal)
Rodlek PK.Saenchaimuaythaigym vs. Andrew Miller (ONE Super Series Muay Thai — bantamweight)
ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Jonathan “The General” Haggerty will not only be representing himself when he defends his crown on Friday, 2 August. The 22-year-old will also be representing the hopes and dreams of his legion of supporters who will be tuning in from the United Kingdom. Haggerty is set to face off […]
ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Jonathan “The General” Haggerty will not only be representing himself when he defends his crown on Friday, 2 August. The 22-year-old will also be representing the hopes and dreams of his legion of supporters who will be tuning in from the United Kingdom.
Haggerty is set to face off against the much-heralded Thai, Rodtang “The Iron Man” Jitmuangnon in the co-main event of ONE: DAWN OF HEROES. The bout will take place in what will be a sold-out Mall Of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.
The matchup between two of the most exciting strikers in ONE Championship is highly anticipated. Both athletes have yet to experience defeat inside the ONE Circle, and on a card stacked with exciting bouts, this one feels extra special due to the high stakes involved.
Haggerty, took up Muay Thai when he was a child and quickly showed a natural aptitude for the “Art Of The Eight Limbs.” The London-native is looking to demonstrate to his fellow countrymen that they do not need to head overseas in order to learn how to compete with the world’s best Muay Thai athletes.
“Some people feel the need to go to Thailand and train for an up and coming bout, but I think I train with the best here (in London),” Haggerty said.
“I am in the best hands. I got the Knowles academy, Keddles gym, my dad, and Team Underground. It just shows you don’t have to go out there [ Thailand]. I can be the best by training in my home town with the best.”
As ONE’s popularity grows in the UK, so too has awareness about the promotion’s UK athletes. Despite his young age, Haggerty is helping lead this current charge of athletes from the UK into the world’s largest martial arts organization.
“The crowd over here, everyone loves Muay Thai. It’s building, getting [a] really high profile over here,” Haggerty explained.
“I think with ONE Championship everyone is getting behind the UK athletes and trying to push them towards the company. It’s massive over here, it’s only going to get bigger and bigger with the likes of myself trying to push it as far as I can,” he added.”
“I got to do them proud, that’s what makes me strive to be the best and compete with the best. So I can show everyone it’s possible and dreams do come true,” he continued.
To that end, Haggerty is training even harder in the leadup to his bout with Rodtang. He is aware that the Thai is laser-focused on capturing the title and that the 21-year-old like Haggerty will be attempting to do it not only for himself but for his country as well.
“I have got the best sparring partners. Training has been awesome as always. I have picked it up more this camp. It’s been a lot tougher mentally and physically, but I am ready now. It’s time to work,” Haggerty commented.
However, it should be noted that even with his hectic training schedule, the Englishman still makes time to support his gym’s next generation of up and coming athletes.
“Before this camp, I was helping out training doing one to ones, but when I am in camp, I take it seriously. I got to get my rest in I got to get my recovery but leading up to the bout I still train the juniors because I understand that they need me,” said Haggerty.
“I wouldn’t want anyone to let me down, so I don’t let them down. I am there for their bouts. It is a lot hard considering I have to train extremely hard every day and try and get my rest in at the same time, but you know life goes on and you just gotta do what you gotta do,” Haggerty added.
It is a commendable attitude and helps explain how Haggerty has been able to come so far in his career. No one becomes an athlete of ONE without talent, but to become a ONE World Champion requires talent and dedication. Thankfully and Haggerty has both.
ONE Championship heads to the Philippines this week with ONE: Dawn Of Heroes set to take place on Friday, August 2. The event will go down inside Manila’s Mall Of Asia Arena. From start to finish, the 15-bout card is loaded with big names, exciting fights, and pivotal match-ups. The main card starts at 8:30 […]
ONE Championship heads to the Philippines this week with ONE: Dawn Of Heroes set to take place on Friday, August 2. The event will go down inside Manila’s Mall Of Asia Arena. From start to finish, the 15-bout card is loaded with big names, exciting fights, and pivotal match-ups.
The main card starts at 8:30 am EST/5:30 am PST. The prelims will start at 5:00 am EST/2:00 am PST.
The main event features one of the promotion’s superstars, Vietnamese-Australian Martin Nguyen. The ONE Featherweight World Champion will make the third defense of his title when he takes on Japan’s Koyomi Matsushima.
However, for a lot of fans, it’s the co-main event that is generating the most excitement. ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Jonathan Haggerty will defend his belt for the first time against the seemingly unstoppable Thai, Rodtang Jitmuangnon. Since arriving at ONE, Rodtang has demolished his opponents, but in Haggerty, the 22-year-old will face a fighter unafraid to stand and trade with him. The bout has the hallmarks of a classic contest.
Eddie Alveraz and Demetrious Johnson will also be competing, while former UFC heavyweight Arjan Bhullar makes his promotional debut against Italy’s Mauro Cerilli.
A Pair Of Title Clashes
Since he started training at Florida’s Hard Knocks 365, ONE Featherweight World Champion Martin Nguyen has taken his game to another level. The 30-year-old’s dismantling of Mongolia’s Narantungalag Jadambaa at ONE: Roots Of Honor, was electrifying to witness.
Nguyen’s striking looked faster and sharper, no doubt the result of working under the tutelage of Henri Hooft. Still, this week’s fight promises to be a tougher outing for the Vietnamese-Australian.
Koyomi Matsushima is a talented fighter and a worthy challenger for Nguyen’s featherweight belt. The 26-year-old is a talented and versatile striker as well as being a capable grappler. Nguyen will start as favorite, but the key here will be if Matsushima can establish his attacking rhythm. If he does the contest could really open up. If Nguyen, takes control early on and performs to the level he is capable of then it would be hard picturing him losing.
The co-main event promises to be a straight war with both men confident of finishing each other. Britain’s Jonathan Haggerty captured the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Championship by comprehensively defeating Muay Thai legend Sam-A Gaiyanghadao. The 22-year-old Haggerty is tall, powerful, aggressive and determined to put on a show in the Philippines capital.
Rodtang has walked recent opponents down with an almost blatant disregard for their offensive capabilities, but Haggerty believes the Thai’s style suits him perfectly. This clash could go the full five or be over in the first. Regardless of how it unfolds this bout will likely steal the show.
Alveraz And Johnson Are Back In Action
They may not be headlining, but there will still be plenty of interest in Eddie Alveraz and Demetrious Johnson’s respective bouts this Friday.
After getting stopped on debut, Alveraz will be looking at redemption when he takes on former ONE lightweight champion Eduard Folayang. The pair’s clash now forms the second of the ONE Lightweight Grand Prix semifinals. Friday’s winner will go on to face Dagestan’s Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev in the final. The original semi-finalists, USA’s Lowen Tynanes and Russia’s Timofey Nastyukhin, both fell injured, removing them from the competition.
Folayang is a tough bounce-back fight for Alveraz. The 35-year-old has some of the best striking in the division. While Folayang is not the KO artist that Nastyukhin is, what he is good at is slowly dissecting his opponents throughout a fight. Alveraz will want to look at mixing it up early on before Folayang establishes his attacking tempo.
Johnson’s bout should be a lot more straightforward. The 32-year-old should not have too many problems with Japan’s Tatsumitsu Wada. While Wada will throw everything he has into this bout, it would be a massive upset if Johnson were to lose.
The winner of this bout will move on to the Flyweight Grand Prix final and will meet the winner of the Danny Kingad and Reece Mclaren clash. The Kingad-Mclaren fight takes place just before Johnson-Wada.
Best Of The Rest
Fans should take care not to sleep on some of the bouts set to go down on this week’s preliminary card.
Former UFC heavyweight Arjan Bhuller will be looking to make a statement when he takes on former Cage Warriors Heavyweight Champion Mauro Cerilli. The ONE heavyweight division is thin on talent at the moment. If Bhuller can comfortably defeat Cerilli, the Indian fighter could find himself next in line for a title shot.
Another fighter looking for a title shot is America’s, James Nakashima. The undefeated welterweight will take on Japanese legend Yushin Okami. Nakashima is riding a two-fight winning streak in ONE. If he can stretch it to three, then a title fight or a title eliminator should be his reward.
The full card can be watched for free via the ONE Super app.
Main Card
Martin Nguyen vs. Koyomi Matsushima (ONE Featherweight World Title)
Jonathan Haggerty vs. Rodtang Jitmuangnon (ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Title)
Eduard Folayang vs. Eddie Alvarez (ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix semifinal)
Demetrious Johnson vs. Tatsumitsu Wada (ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix semifinal)
Danny Kingad vs. Reece McLaren (ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix semifinal)
Rodlek PK.Saenchaimuaythaigym vs. Andrew Miller (ONE Super Series Muay Thai — bantamweight)
Preliminary Card
Geje Eustaquio vs. Yuya Wakamatsu (ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix reserve)
Mauro Cerilli vs. Arjan Bhullar (mixed martial arts — heavyweight)
Honorio Banario vs. Dae Sung Park (mixed martial arts — lightweight)
Leandro Issa vs. Daichi Takenaka (mixed martial arts — bantamweight)
James Nakashima vs. Yushin Okami (mixed martial arts — welterweight)
Edward Kelly vs. Xie Bin (mixed martial arts — featherweight)
Pongsiri Mitsatit vs. Miao Li Tao (mixed martial arts — strawweight)
Samara Santos vs. Ayaka Miura (mixed martial arts — women’s strawweight)
Sunoto vs. Muhammad Aiman (mixed martial arts — bantamweight)
Eddie Alvarez is approaching the second fight of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career under the ONE Championship banner. “The Underground King” has competed for several promotions over the course of his career; including Ring Of Combat, BodogFight, ShoXC, DREAM, Bellator, and the UFC. Now, at 35-years-old, Alvarez comes off a first-round TKO loss to […]
Eddie Alvarez is approaching the second fight of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career under the ONE Championship banner.
“The Underground King” has competed for several promotions over the course of his career; including Ring Of Combat, BodogFight, ShoXC, DREAM, Bellator, and the UFC. Now, at 35-years-old, Alvarez comes off a first-round TKO loss to Timofey Nastyukhin in his ONE debut this past March.
That bout was also part of the ONE lightweight (170 pounds) Grand Prix Tournament. However, due to an injury suffered by Nastyukhin, Alvarez is back in the tournament and will face ex-ONE lightweight champ Eduard Folayang in the semifinals. The action all goes down at ONE Championship: Dawn Of Heroes on August 2.
Should Alvarez go on to win the tournament, many would likely consider there to be an asterisk by his name given he lost his original quarterfinals matchup to Nastyukhin. Speaking to LowKickMMA, Alvarez finds the situation reminiscent to that of one he found himself in back in 2006 during his time with DREAM.
“Yeah, it’s ironic because back in 2006 I was undefeated through the whole tournament, the DREAM tournament,” Alvarez said. “I was disqualified, and the guy that I beat came back and won the whole tournament. So it’s almost like things have come full circle. The fight Gods are in my favor this time, and it’s time for me to win the tournament.”
In regards to his promotional debut loss to Nastyukhin, Alvarez things could go differently a second time around. Their initial meeting was Alvarez’s first with the new promotion, and there’s a learning curve with traveling, making weight, and getting comfortable with a new home like ONE.
The former UFC lightweight champion feels he’s finally comfortable enough to give his best performance inside the cage.
“I think it’s more about just getting comfortable with the situation, getting my feet wet in ONE,” Alvarez said. “There’s a learning curve of traveling, making the weight, getting comfortable in a promotion. I think I’ll have that after the fight, where, I do it every once in awhile, now I’m comfortable. I can be my true self and fight my best fight.”
One refreshing aspect for Alvarez about fighting for the Singapore-based promotion is the fans. Alvarez feels fans of the Asian culture are more knowledgeable about fighting in general, and he finds it stimulating to fight in front of a crowd who truly understands what’s going on.
“I like travel first of all,” Alvarez said. “Seeing new cultures, meeting new fans. I’ve always enjoyed fighting in Tokyo. I’ve always enjoyed the fans there. I just think the Asian culture is more knowledgeable about the fighting – MMA, mixed martial arts, kickboxing – in general. So it feels good to fight in front of a crowd who understands what’s going on.”
One major difference between the UFC and ONE is the style of promotion put on by the two MMA promotional juggernauts. While the UFC roster focuses a bit more on hyping up fights with trash-talking and animosity between opponents, the culture at ONE is a lot more respectful.
For Alvarez, he enjoys not having to act out of character in order to obtain opportunities such as a title shot or to push more ticket sales.
“I think – I don’t – the fact that I fight at ONE Championship, I don’t have to do a lot of extra things that are disingenuous, that aren’t of my nature,” Alvarez said. “I can be my honest, true self. And that’s good enough for my boss, that’s good enough for the fans. It’s tough, you know, that you sometimes have to act out of character in order to get title shots, in order to get things you aspire to have. It’s a breath of fresh air for sure.”
Alvarez has fought all over the world against some of the best fighters the sport has ever seen. Today, the argument can be made that the best 155-pounder out there is UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. “The Eagle” has been nothing short of dominant throughout his career, and it’s hard to pick anyone who could match him head-to-head.
When asked about Khabib, Alvarez picked one man out of the bunch who he believes can give the Russian a run for his money – that man being ex-interim lightweight champ Tony Ferguson.
“I would say the guy with the best chance has got to be Tony Ferguson,” Alvarez said. “I think stylistically he doesn’t mind being on the ground and grappling, where Khabib is dominant and strong.
“And I think Tony has this mystique about him where, inside his head he just has this no quit, willingness attitude – the old school wrestling attitude that allows him to almost go in there with that intangible that’s a really really powerful one.”
What are you expecting to see from Alvarez in his second bout under the ONE banner?
BY DAN PAULO ERRAZO The biggest stars of ONE: DAWN OF HEROES met centerstage to kick-off event week festivities ahead of the blockbuster card which takes place Friday, August 2 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines. The official press conference held at the City of Dreams Manila last Tuesday afternoon drew hundreds […]
The biggest stars of ONE: DAWN OF HEROES met centerstage to kick-off event week festivities ahead of the blockbuster card which takes place Friday, August 2 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.
The official press conference held at the City of Dreams Manila last Tuesday afternoon drew hundreds of fans and media who all came out to see athletes face off in intense staredowns.
With the biggest event in Philippine martial arts history, the massive press conference gave everyone in attendance a solid preview of what to expect when the lights dim and the action is about to explode.
To get the ball rolling, ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong delivered a passionate speech about the highly-anticipated event that no Filipino in the world should miss.
“This is without a doubt the greatest event in Philippine martial arts history. If you are a Filipino anywhere in the world, you do not want to miss Friday night,” he said.
“On a personal note, I am so excited for Eduard Folayang versus Eddie Alvarez, genuinely two of the greatest martial artists on the planet, two incredible legends with storied careers, and such incredible human beings.”
Alvarez, a four-time lightweight mixed martial arts world champion, believes that is coming into this bout in the “bad guy” role, taking on Folayang, who is a beloved local sports hero.
“I respect Eduard. I respect everything he’s done not just as a fighter, but also as a human being for his community,” said Alvarez, who is looking to bounce back after coming up short in his ONE debut back in March.
“This is what this sport is all about. It’s beyond what goes on in the Circle.
“In the movies, heroes always prevail. The nemesis loses, he goes home and everybody’s happy. Unfortunately, that’s not the story here. You picked the wrong guy at the wrong time. I love you Manila. I respect you, Eduard. Let’s have some fun,” Alvarez added.
Folayang pointed out that he had moved on from losing the title last March and seems eager to finally share the stage with “The Underground King”, which has been a dream of his for the longest time.
“He’s one of those athletes that I spent a lot of time watching before,” said Folayang, who is also looking to get back on track.
“He says this isn’t the right time, but I believe it’s God’s time. It’s a huge honor for me to be able to test my skills against him.
“My preparations have gone well. I lost my belt last March, that chapter of my career has closed. It’s time to write another chapter of my journey,” Folayang continued.
Fans of mix martial arts are also looking forward to the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix semi-final bout between the DEEP Flyweight Champion Tatsumitsu “The Sweeper” Wada from Japan and the 12-time flyweight world champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson.
“I’m very much looking forward to taking on Tatsumitsu Wada. It’s the second round of the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix,” said Johnson. “I’m sure I’m going to battle a little adversity against Tatsumitsu Wada. I’ve been down on the scorecards before, but I keep on pushing through. I look forward to entertaining you all on Friday night.”
Headlining of this stacked card will be between Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen who will be defending his ONE Featherweight World Champion against Japan’s Koyomi “Moushigo” Matsushima who climbed up to the top contender spot. The co-main event shows a promising non-stop action match between the reigning and defending ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Jonathan “The General” Haggerty as he faces the man he believes earned the right for a shot at his title, Thailand’s Rodtang “The Iron Man” Jitmuangnon.
