Tag: ONE Championship

Thanh Le Calls Out Martin Nguyen For Vietnam Clash

Thanh Le’s quest for his featherweight title bout with Martin Nguyen to occur in Vietnam received a boost yesterday after ONE posted a call-out video from Le on its Twitter account. “Martin Nguyen, let’s do it. Mixed Martial Arts just got legalized in Vietnam.Me and you in Vietnam, changing of the guard. I’ve got a […]

Thanh Le’s quest for his featherweight title bout with Martin Nguyen to occur in Vietnam received a boost yesterday after ONE posted a call-out video from Le on its Twitter account.

“Martin Nguyen, let’s do it. Mixed Martial Arts just got legalized in Vietnam.Me and you in Vietnam, changing of the guard. I’ve got a death touch in my left and right hand. I only got to touch him once If he can go five-rounds without getting touched once he deserves to keep the belt, but I’m going to take it from him,” Le said in his message to the ONE featherweight champion.

Le and Nguyen share Vietnamese heritage — Le is Vietnamese-American, while Nguyen is Vietnamese- Australian — and both men have spoken about their desire for their as yet unscheduled bout to take place in the Southeast Asian nation.

ONE made its Vietnamese debut last September with ONE: Immortal Triumph going down inside Phu Tho Indoor Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City. The 12-bout card contained only stand-up fans due to the illegality of MMA in Vietnam at the time.

However, the doors are now open for a potential Nguyen- Le clash in Vietnam following the sport’s legalization in February. To make the pot sweeter sporting events in Vietnam can be held with fans in attendance.
The country has been successful in its attempts to control Covid-19, and this past weekend saw the resumption of the Vietnamese national football league.

The fact that ONE posted the call-out may indicate that the matchmakers are hoping to stage the bout in Vietnam. ONE is still waiting to get the all-clear to begin staging events and will likely start with behind-closed-door shows in Singapore.

The major obstacle to ONE staging in an event in Vietnam will be the country’s border restrictions, and it will be a case of wait and see as to whether ONE would be able to get its fighters into the country at a later date.

It may be a tricky position to pull off, but if ONE could manage to hold an event with Le and Nguyen headlining in Vietnam, it would certainly create headlines and generate plenty of interest.

Would you be keen for this bout to take place in Vietnam?

Exclusive: Thanh Le Wants Title Shot In Vietnam, Open To Lightweight Move

The announcement back in February that Vietnam had legalized MMA may not have scored significant media headlines, but for two of ONE Championship’s leading featherweights, it was huge news. ONE Featherweight Champion Martin Nguyen and his divisional rival Thanh Le — next in line for a shot at Nguyen’s title— are known for their striking prowess. They also […]

The announcement back in February that Vietnam had legalized MMA may not have scored significant media headlines, but for two of ONE Championship’s leading featherweights, it was huge news.

ONE Featherweight Champion Martin Nguyen and his divisional rival Thanh Le — next in line for a shot at Nguyen’s title— are known for their striking prowess. They also share Vietnamese heritage; Nguyen is Vietnamese-Australian while Le is Vietnamese-American.

For Le, the chance to compete in Vietnam for the title would be a career highlight.

 “[There are] not many times in your life that are you able to say that this is a dream come true, people may say it a lot but not many times in your lifespan will you be able to truly believe that,” Le said speaking with LowKick MMA 

“I think fighting for the belt for ONE Championship [is] one of those moments in my life, and doing that in Vietnam would magnify that by a thousand times.

  “It would definitely be a dream come true and [to] be able to fight in front of my Vietnamese fans and for Martin to fight in front his Vietnamese fans I mean that is an amazing setup you could not ask for a better movie ending. “

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, ONE has been on hold since the end of February, and it has only been this week that Singapore — where the promotion is based — has begun easing restrictions. 

When ONE does get the green light to return, it will likely want its most prominent stars back in action ASAP. The Nguyen-Le title fight is a sure-fire crowd-pleaser, and one of the biggest fights the promotion could make.

If it took place in Singapore, it would attract plenty of attention. However, if it took place in Vietnam — a country with an impressive record of battling the coronavirus — then ONE has the chance to create a special sporting moment, one that could capture the imagination of an entire nation.

If Le gets the choice, he knows which option he would prefer.

“If it were up to me, I would wait a little bit, and we would fight in Vietnam, but nothing is more important than getting the opportunity to fight for the belt,’ he exclaimed.

“So if that would sacrifice something like that, obviously I would fight in the bathroom, but you know, but if all things lined up, that would be great. I would wait a little extra time to fight in Vietnam.

Le has experienced a dream run since making his promotional debut last May. Three victories from three fights have him one win away from the featherweight belt. He is currently waiting on the exact date and location of his title shot, but moving forward, the 34-year-old also has ambitions beyond conquering his current weight class.

“I fight, win the title, defend the title all that good stuff and maybe take a trip to lightweight and see how that goes,” Le says.

“Obviously, I’ll never look past Martin and the featherweight division because they have a ton of guys I need to clear out before we can do any of that, but that’s definitely in the future.”

For now, Le is forced to play the waiting game, but as soon as ONE is given the all-clear to hold events, the company’s matchmakers should expect to hear the Louisiana native calling about the exact when and the where of his title fight.

And if it does takes place in Vietnam, it would make the bout that much the sweeter.

Exclusive: ONE’s Thanh Le Excited About Martin Nguyen Featherweight Title Bout

Since arriving at ONE Championship, Louisiana’s Thanh Le has lived up to his reputation as an electric striker. Le’s three appearances inside the ONE Circle have resulted in highlight-reel victories for the former LFA Lightweight Champion and have earned him a shot at Martin Nguyen’s featherweight title. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has forced ONE to […]

Since arriving at ONE Championship, Louisiana’s Thanh Le has lived up to his reputation as an electric striker. Le’s three appearances inside the ONE Circle have resulted in highlight-reel victories for the former LFA Lightweight Champion and have earned him a shot at Martin Nguyen’s featherweight title.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has forced ONE to shut up shop temporarily, but the promotion is aiming to be up and running shortly. The company has a backlog of fights waiting to take place, but arguably the most anticipated is the Nguyen-Le clash.

Nguyen’s relocation to Sandford MMA, where he trains under the highly-regarded Henri Hooft, has seen the 31-year-old reach new heights as a martial artist, and it’s the Nguyen-Hofft dynamic that has Le’s competitive juices flowing.

“Basically, I’ve got [two] matchups me vs. Martin and me vs. Coach Hooft. So we will see how that plays out,” Le said when speaking to LowKickMMA.

“It’s really easy to get excited for a team like that. In football, you have the Brady-Belichick thing that gets guys amped up. You know that those two guys are going to get everybodys best when they look at the schedule, and they see their matchup with those guys. That’s the week they are preparing for, that’s the leadup that’s the apex.

“It’s really cool to go against a team like that. They obviously work well together, both guys do their thing extremely well, so it’s cool to see how that has matured and evolved as fighter-coach get closer and closer. It’s going to be interesting.”

Le’s promotional debut saw him paired with Russian submission artist Yusup Saadulaev. In the opening stanza, Saadulaev — who is currently ranked No.3 in the ONE bantamweight division — took Le to the ground but found himself frustrated by the Vietnamese-American before being stopped in the second.

It was an impressive performance from Le. One which demonstrated that behind all his stand-up pyrotechnics is a well-rounded fighter capable of mixing it up wherever the fight lands. Nguyen will be aware of Le’s strengths and will no doubt be working on a gameplan to unsettle the latest challenger to his throne.

“I see it [the fight] going a couple of ways,” Le said when talking about his matchup with Nguyen.

“I know Martin is confident in his ground-game and his wrestling and obviously his striking and his knockout power. I think they hang their hat on having that right hand connect. What I think is going to throw a little bit of a loop for them is that I am not very easy to hit.

“We do a lot of movement a lot of playing at different ranges. I think they are going to come and try and see if that right hand can land, but when that doesn’t connect right away, and I start playing with different ranges, I am interested to see where they decide to go and that’s something my coaches and I are keeping close to the chest.

“If he wants to try and bring some pressure and tire us out and attack us in the later rounds, awesome. If he wants to bring it to the ground and see what we have there, we 100 percent welcome that. It’s a pretty cool dynamic.”

Le has the name of his next opponent, now all he is waiting on is the date and location of the fight. The fact that Singapore has started lifting its restrictions means that hopefully he will not be waiting too much longer.

Kiamrian Abbasov: ONE’s Welterweight King Targets James Nakashima And Aung La N Sang

ONE Welterweight Champion Kiamrian Abbasov has told the company’s matchmakers that when fighting resumes, he only wants to “face the best ” the promotion has to offer. The 26-year-old Kyrgyzstani captured the title last October after getting the nod from the judges following a grueling five-round affair with the division’s former king Zebaztian Kadestam. After […]

ONE Welterweight Champion Kiamrian Abbasov has told the company’s matchmakers that when fighting resumes, he only wants to “face the best ” the promotion has to offer.

The 26-year-old Kyrgyzstani captured the title last October after getting the nod from the judges following a grueling five-round affair with the division’s former king Zebaztian Kadestam.

After an extended layoff due to the coronavirus, Abbasov is now eager to return combat and begin building his championship legacy. 

” I’m ready to get back to full training after this amazing rest. When I hit the gym this time, I’m going to work without ever stopping,” Abbasov said in a media release.

Abbasov has already set his sights on welterweight rival James Nakashima, and ONE Middleweight Champion Aung La N Sang as the two men he wants to face next.

I’m willing to defend the World Title against anybody, but I think James Nakashima deserves a shot because he’s undefeated and is highly-regarded. He’s a great athlete and I have no doubt we will have a great fight,” Abbasov commented.

 “I’ve also talked to my team and we believe we can go up in weight and challenge for the ONE Middleweight World Title. That’s a fight I’m very much looking forward to if we can make it happen.”

A fight against Aung La is unlikely to take place anytime soon. The Sanford MMA fighter is scheduled to face Russia’s Vitaly Bigdash next, has also said that if Abbasov wants a shot at the middleweight strap, he first needs to rack up some wins in the division.

On the other hand, a matchup with Nakashima looks a distinct possibility. The former LFA Welterweight Champion is 12-0 in his professional career and 3-0 with ONE. A grappler by trade Nakashima’s striking has improved leaps and bounds since he began spending time in Italy training under elite kickboxer Giorgio Petrosyan.

The American also holds a recent TKO victory over Luis Santos, the last person to have defeated Abbasov. A title fight between Abbasov and Nakashima would make for compelling viewing. So far, no one has been able to figure out how to overcome Nakashima’s relentless pressure, but Abbasov appears to have the tools to do so.

For Abbasov, it’s a wait-and-see game as to when ONE returns, but as soon as the promotion gets the green light to stage events, Abbasov promises he will be primed and prepared to fight,

” I’m just ready to go, and I can face anybody; it’s all the same. I’m looking forward to setting that date and defeating my next opponent.” 

Who do you think Abbasov should face first?

Angela Lee’s Ready To Test Denice Zamboanga In Deep Waters

ONE Championship’s Angela Lee appears unfazed about the prospect of defending her atomweight title against the Philippines ‘ Denice Zamboanga. Zamboanga booked herself a title shot against Lee —who remains undefeated at atomweight—after comprehensively defeating one of the atomweight division’s top fighters in Mei Yamaguchi. It was a breakout performance from the Filipina, but Lee […]

ONE Championship’s Angela Lee appears unfazed about the prospect of defending her atomweight title against the Philippines ‘ Denice Zamboanga.

Zamboanga booked herself a title shot against Lee —who remains undefeated at atomweight—after comprehensively defeating one of the atomweight division’s top fighters in Mei Yamaguchi.

It was a breakout performance from the Filipina, but Lee is still uncertain if the 23-year-old is ready to take the next step.

“I think that fight showed she’s a well-rounded mixed martial artist. She’s up and coming, young and like every atomweight contender out there, she wants the belt. That’s the end goal,” Lee said in an interview with the South China Morning Post.

“We were able to see parts of her game with Mei and the fight before that. I think she’s good everywhere, but I don’t think she has what it takes to take it that next level deep – that’s where I would be testing her. But yeah, I’m excited for it whenever it does happen.”

Lee’s last outing was over six months ago at ONE: Century in Tokyo, Japan, where she successfully defended her atomweight against China’s Xiong Jingnan—who dropped down from strawweight for the fight.

The Hawaiian based fighter is keen to return to action as soon as possible and is keeping active, so she is ready to go as soon as she gets the call from ONE.

“I’ve been staying busy and staying ready so that when the call comes, I’d be ready to take it on short notice, and I think all of us fighters are itching to get back in the cage.”

At the moment, there is no set return date for ONE. However, Singapore — which is where the promotion is based — is due to begin slowly reopening from June 2 with the government laying out a three-phase plan to get the city-state up and running.

How do you see this bout going down?

Exclusive: Denice Zamboanga ONE’s Newest Atomweight Star

In just two fights, Denice Zamboanga has gone from unknown newbie to ONE atomweight title challenger. The 23-year-old Filipina, who only made her promotional debut in December, has wasted no time in establishing herself as the latest threat to Angela Lee’s title reign. Zamboanga’s first appearance under the ONE banner saw her take on Mayalsian […]

In just two fights, Denice Zamboanga has gone from unknown newbie to ONE atomweight title challenger. The 23-year-old Filipina, who only made her promotional debut in December, has wasted no time in establishing herself as the latest threat to Angela Lee’s title reign.

Zamboanga’s first appearance under the ONE banner saw her take on Mayalsian star Jihin Radzuan on Radzuan’s home soil. In front of a vocal and partisan crowd, the ONE debutante nullified her opponent’s vaunted ground game and walked away with a unanimous decision win.

It was an impressive performance from Zamboanga, and one she backed up two months later in Singapore, where she comprehensively defeated veteran Japanse fighter Mei Yamaguchi.

Yamaguchi came into the fight riding a four-bout winning streak but found herself outgunned by the newest kid in the division. Back-to-back victories over two of the division’s toughest fighters have given Zamboanga momentum as she gears up for her bout with Lee.

“I didn’t expect that in my first bout with ONE Championship, I would be competing with a top contender, and then my second bout was with Mei Yamaguchi. As a newbie with ONE, I was surprised and amazed that I could face the top contenders so soon,” Zamboanga said, speaking through a translator to LowKick MMA.

“After the Yamaguchi bout, I gained a lot of self-esteem and confidence because Yamaguchi had faced [Angela] Lee twice. “

Fighting out of the world-renowned Fairtex Gym in Thailand, Zamboanga is currently unable to fully train due to the ongoing lockdown in the South East Asian nation.

Thankfully, she is still able to get some work in, with the help of her elder brother Drex— who is also one of her trainers.

“Unfortunately, the gyms are closed because of the lockdown, but I am trying to stay active every day. I am with my brother now, and he helps me to keep active. Everyday we train.

“For now, I am focusing on my striking because I cannot use the mats, so we train outside and do pad work.”

Some of the best strikers on the planet sharpen their tools at Fairtex. For Zamboanga, sparring with the likes of ONE Muay Thai Atomweight Champion Stamp Fairtex has played a massive role in her development as a fighter.

“When it comes to everyday training, I really enjoy the training, I have a lot of funny moments, especially with Stamp. We try to make training light by joking with each other, but when it comes to fight camp, everyone is serious and is very focused on training.

“It is an advantage for me being with Stamp, not just as a training partner but also as a friend. I have learned a lot from Stamp, especially in striking. It is a blessing to train at Fairtex and another blessing to train with Stamp Fairtex.

At the moment, Zamboanga is unsure when her title bout with Lee will take place, but when they do meet, she promises that Lee will face a different Zamboanga from the one who fought Yamaguchi.

“If you are going to watch all of my fights, I have shown different skills. It will be a different Denice Zumabnaogo that faces Angela Lee.”

Three years ago, Zamboanga turned down an offer from ONE, because she felt she needed time to develop as a fighter.

Now, with a title shot looming on the horizon, no one could deny that she used her time well.