A potential history-making ONE Championship match has been called off.
ONE atomweight champion Angela Lee has unfortunately suffered an injury and will be forced to withdraw from her scheduled bout at Friday’s (November 9, 2018) ONE: Heart Of The Lion. Lee was previously expected to fight strawweight champion Jingnan Xiong in the main event from the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.
However, ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced on Facebook today (Tues. November 6, 2018) that Lee was not medically cleared to compete, and was removed from the card:
“I am bummed to announce that our medical team has deemed ONE Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee unfit to compete in ONE: Heart Of The Lion this Friday, November 9. As such, I have made the decision to pull Angela off the card, despite her adamance to compete still in the world title fight against ONE Strawweight World Champion Jingnan Xiong.
“We all know that Angela is a warrior with an unbreakable spirit. However, she suffered a serious back injury in training last week and badly herniated a spinal disc; she was unable to walk just a few days ago.”
With the removal of Lee vs. Xiong from the card, a bantamweight title bout between Bibiano Fernandes and Kevin Belingon has been moved to the main event slot.
It was also announced that a fight between Christian Lee and Kazuki Tokudome will serve as the co-main event.
ONE Championship has been making some big moves as of late, and they don’t seem to plan on stopping anytime soon.
Last month, the Singapore-based promotion landed former UFC and Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez in free agency. If that wasn’t enough, they proceeded to make history alongside the UFC. ONE obtained Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson in a trade with the mixed martial arts (MMA) promotional juggernaut, sending away former welterweight champion Ben Askren.
Now, they plan on continuing snagging up some of the most recognizable names the sport has to offer. Those plans could include 22-year-old UFC welterweight and lightweight Sage Northcutt. “Super Sage” finished up his UFC contract this past summer in Idaho. He knocked out Zak Ottow in the second round of their Octagon meeting.
Throughout his tenure with the UFC, Northcutt suffered the first two losses of his MMA career. However, once his contract expired, he walked out on a three-fight win streak. While Northcutt could very well end back up in the UFC, he could also get signed by promotions such as Bellator or ONE.
ONE’s Growing Starpower
It looks like ONE may make their push later this week. ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced on his Facebook page that several fighters, including Northcutt, will be in attendance for this Friday’s (November 9, 2018) “ONE: Heart of the Lion” event:
“I am happy to announce that Demetrious Johnson, Eddie Alvarez, Angela Lee, Renzo Gracie, Martin Nguyen, Aung La Nsang, Rich Franklin, Sage Northcutt, and many other superstars will be in attendance to witness ONE: Heart Of The Lion on November 9 in Singapore! LET’S GOOOOO!!! #gratitude”
MMA NYTT reached out to Sityodtong to get a comment on Northcutt specifically attending the show. Here’s what he had to say:
“Sage Northcutt is a tremendously gifted superstar athlete who embodies the values and spirit of authentic martial arts.”
The ONE Welterweight World Title will have its new owner on Saturday, 17 November when Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam of Sweden goes up against American rising star Tyler McGuire in the main event of ONE: WARRIOR’S DREAM at the Stadium Istora in Jakarta, Indonesia. The winner will become ONE’s newest Welterweight World Champion after former […]
The ONE Welterweight World Title will have its new owner on Saturday, 17 November when Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam of Sweden goes up against American rising star Tyler McGuire in the main event of ONE: WARRIOR’S DREAM at the Stadium Istora in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The winner will become ONE’s newest Welterweight World Champion after former kingpin Ben “Funky” Askren retired last year, and was officially traded just recently to the UFC in exchange for longtime flyweight king Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson.
Both Kadestam and McGuire have been exceptional in their previous matches which catapulted them directly into a shot at the vacant gold-plated strap.
Kadestam silenced the Malaysian crowd at the Putra Indoor Stadium in Kuala Lumpur last July at ONE: PURSUIT OF POWER after he knocked out hometown favorite Agilan “Alligator” Thani of Malaysia in the third round.
The 28-year-old Swedish star was simply too much for his Malaysian foe, dominating him in the striking department that led him to his second straight knockout win under the ONE Championship banner and improving his win-loss slate to 10-4
This will also be Kadestam’s second shot at the ONE Welterweight World Title after a failed attempt against Askren last year.
On the other hand, McGuire was superb in his ONE Championship debut on the same card and quickly made an impact in the 83.9-kilogram weight class.
The former Extreme Challenge and Excite Fight welterweight champion outshined Luis “Sapo” Santos of Brazil with his exceptional grappling skills en route to a unanimous decision victory.
The win improved his immaculate win-loss record to 11-0. He now appears ready to add the ONE Championship belt in his trophy collection.
The title match between Kadestam and McGuire is a perfect showdown between striker and grappler. Eight out of ten wins for Kadestam have come by knockout, while seven of 11 wins by McGuire were from submissions.
Mixed martial art fans should be in for a treat this 17 November.
ONE Championship has been making some big moves lately. It looks like they could be gearing up for another. ONE was involved in the first-ever major trade in mixed martial arts (MMA) history with the UFC. The UFC sent over Demetrious “Mighty Mous…
ONE Championship has been making some big moves lately. It looks like they could be gearing up for another. ONE was involved in the first-ever major trade in mixed martial arts (MMA) history with the UFC. The UFC sent over Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, while ONE gave up Ben Askren. This was just after the […]
Former ONE World Title challenger Tiffany “No Chill” Teo wants to treat her hometown fans to an impressive victory in her much-awaited return to the ONE Championship cage. She squares off against Brazilian star Michelle Nicolini at ONE: HEART OF THE LION, which takes place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore on Friday, 9 […]
Former ONE World Title challenger Tiffany “No Chill” Teo wants to treat her hometown fans to an impressive victory in her much-awaited return to the ONE Championship cage.
She squares off against Brazilian star Michelle Nicolini at ONE: HEART OF THE LION, which takes place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore on Friday, 9 November.
Coming from a tough setback in her last contest, which was for the inaugural ONE Women’s Strawweight World Title in January, Teo is eager to get back to the winner’s column and there is no perfect place to do this but in front of her countrymen.
“I’m always excited to fight in Singapore in front of my fellow countrymen, friends, and family. I’m really excited to be back after a long break, especially in Singapore,” Teo told onefc.com
Currently owning a win-loss slate of 7-1 as a pro, Teo is aware that the task of going back to the winning lane won’t be easy and is also well-informed of the danger that Nicolini has to offer.
The 36-year-old grappling queen is an eight-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion and regarded by many as the greatest female grappler in the planet. Nicolini is also undefeated in her campaign under the ONE Championship banner submitting all of her three quality opponents in the first-round.
As good as a grappler as she is, Nicolini is also an underrated striker, having trained with some of the best strikers in the world on a consistent basis.
“She’s a black belt, she’s a world-class grappling champion, and she competed in major grappling tournaments and won a lot of them,” Teo acknowledges in an interview with ONEFC.com
“A lot of people and friends told me to be careful of her on the ground, but she should have pretty good striking because she trained with world-class champions and good coaches.”
But despite her opponent’s outstanding resume, the Singaporean star remains unfazed and confident that her improved skills will play a major role in their clash.
“It will be a really exciting fight, whether it stays on our feet or goes to the ground. I think grappling is her strength, but I will not underestimate her striking. It will be challenging to go up against one of the top fighters. But it will be nice to see how I fare against an athlete of her caliber,” she ended.
She bears the weight of the world on her shoulders. She’s the face of a global mecca – ONE Championship – and has millions of fans worldwide. Yet, Singapore sensation Angela Lee remains grounded. At 22 years of age, Lee is a humble champion. How, you might ask? Because long before she pulled on the […]
She bears the weight of the world on her shoulders. She’s the face of a global mecca – ONE Championship – and has millions of fans worldwide. Yet, Singapore sensation Angela Lee remains grounded.
At 22 years of age, Lee is a humble champion. How, you might ask? Because long before she pulled on the gloves as a martial artist, the undisputed ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion was a role model.
At home, as one of four siblings, was where she developed her craft. With a younger sister and two younger brothers, including ONE Championship featherweight contender Christian “The Warrior” Lee, Angela set the example. And she has done so since childhood. It is a big responsibility, but it is one that she has taken in her stride.
“I never really thought of it that way, but I guess it is something that really came naturally,” Angela said in an official interview with ONE Championship.
“Being the oldest of four [children], I’ve always been my parents’ helper, and I always helped to take care of the kids. My parents always told me to set the example, so it does correlate into my career.
“I know I can’t be going out and making a fool out of myself on my social media and partying. That’s not really part of my personality anyway, but I know there’s a lot of people out there [looking up to me].
“This responsibility is something I embrace, and I want to do the best out of it that I can. I’m always looking for ways to help people. If I can ever do work outside of the cage, I always try to do it because that’s what I feel I was put here to do, and I love it.”
A tight-knit family, Angela considers her brothers and sister to be her good friends, not just her siblings. The bond is particularly close between Angela and Christian.
Just two years apart, the pair were perfect training partners as they developed in the world of martial arts. They remain ultra close today, as evidenced by Angela’s decision to sit in Christian’s corner for his featherweight world title bout against Australian Martin Nguyen back in May in Singapore, just minutes before she defended her atomweight crown against Japan’s Mei Yamaguchi.
“Christian and I, we are so tight,” Angela said.
“We’re only two years apart, so we practically grew up side-by-side.
“It’s crazy. It’s so cool to be on the same path together and to go through the same things.
“The amount of time that we’ve spent with each other growing up is kind of abnormal compared to normal siblings, so we have a really special bond.
“Just being alongside Christian has taught me so much – to be a better martial artist, to be a better person. When I go out there and I train and I do my thing, I’m always trying to set a good example.”
One of the secrets to Angela and Christian’s success is they keep each other grounded.
“We talk about it a lot – not to lose ourselves in all of this fame and this limelight of being a professional fighter. It helps to have your family around you to stay grounded,” Angela explained.
“With Christian, that’s one thing I always talk about with him. One day, he’s going to be a great champion and he’s still going to be his kind, sweet self. That’s why it is so important to keep that relationship close and be able to speak into each other’s lives and receive [advice] from each other.”
In their family, martial arts education has been handed down from generation to generation, and the atomweight queen helps to teach her siblings alongside her parents. However, it is also a two-way street.
“We’re constantly learning from each other. It’s the coolest thing,” Angela said.
“Just this morning, we finished practice, and I said, ‘Hey Christian, look at this cool thing I found. You can do this position from here.’ He was like, ‘Angela, I found that out last month and I showed you, too.’
“We’re so in sync, and we’re so on the same page that we’re always discovering new techniques and wanting to share it with each other.”
Angela will again put it all on the line at ONE: HEART OF THE LION at Singapore Indoor Stadium on November 9. Only this time, the atomweight queen will battle Xiong Jing Nan for the ONE Strawweight World Championship.
