Tag: ONE Championship

Prized recruit Demetrious Johnson has forecast he will make his ONE Championship debut early next year.

Part of a historic trade that will see ONE Welterweight World Champion Ben Askren depart the organization, Johnson revealed he would step into the cage once he has recovered from injury.

Johnson, an 11-time flyweight world champion, will make his first formal appearance as a guest in Singapore for ONE: HEART OF THE LION on November 9. But the 32-year-old Kentucky native is yet to lock in his first appearance.

“I haven’t sat down and talked to my coach yet, and I’ve got a lot of travel coming up, I’m heading out to Singapore, but I’m thinking about January or February, depending on how my body holds up,” Johnson said of his potential maiden bout for ONE.

“I just got off medication and got healthy again, so once I get back in the gym and start training and see how the body holds up, then I’ll shoot for hopefully January or February, but it all depends on the body. It also depends on what’s going on in ONE Championship as well.”

In a conference call today, ONE Championship chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong said a host of top-class flyweights were in line to face American Johnson.

“There’s a few names off the bat for DJ,” Sityodtong said.

“There’s Kairat Akhmetov who is 25-2, we have Adriano Moraes who is 17-3, there’s Danny Kingdad and Gianni Subba.

“There’s a whole list of flyweights who would be a an excellent matchup for DJ.

“I’d have to sit down with DJ in terms of timing and I want him to come in 100 per cent healthy and nothing short of it.

“He’s the new kid on the block and he’s got to earn his way to the top. He’s not going to get an easy pass, we’re going to feed him right away to the sharks and see what he does.”

Johnson interjected, declaring he is prepared to bide his time before he faces the likes of ONE Flyweight World Champion Geje Eustaquio.

“I’m a very good swimmer and I’m coming over prepared,” Johnson added.

“I’m not going in there expecting an immediate title shot. Geje and Adriano Moraes have a rematch going on, which they totally deserve, and I have no problem working my way up to the No.1 contendership spot.”

Becoming a world champion back in 2012, Johnson went on to forge a reputation as one of the greatest martial artists in history.

Now he is set to break new ground with ONE.

“It feels good,” Johnson said, declaring the historic trade with Askren will be the first of many.

“I think it’s a great thing and if people want to be traded and compete in different organizations I think we should have that option.

“I’m grateful and blessed that this went through and I’m able to be a ONE athlete.”

Seeking a fresh start after seven years, Johnson admitted he was comfortable with his decision.

“I leave with no regrets, on good terms,” Johnson said.

“I believe I have accomplished everything I could there. I defended the belt 11 times, I won a fight every single way you could possibly think of. I’ve done everything I can over there, and me coming to ONE Championship, there’s a lot of new goals, a lot of fresh matchups. This is different, so I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

The post Demetrious Johnson Bares Timetable for ONE Debut, Possible Foes appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

American submission artist Garry “The Lion Killer” Tonon has declared he is eager to emulate the feats of former dual world champion Martin Nguyen.

Speaking ahead of his bout against South Korean Sung Jong Lee at ONE: HEART OF THE LION on November 9, Tonon revealed he has set his sights on winning multiple titles in multiple weight classes.

Australian Nguyen simultaneously held the lightweight and featherweight straps, narrowly losing to Brazilian Bibiano Fernandes earlier this year in a bid for a third world title. Tonon is prepared to move up and down the weight classes in order to claim an elusive ONE Championship belt.

“I don’t know if I’d be able to make the 145 cut like he did, and if I was to go for three divisions, and we’re talking way in the future here, I’d probably do it at 185, 170 and 155,” Tonon said.

“That’d be my guess, but 185 would be a big step. There’s some big dudes in that weight class and it would be tough for me to get my body weight up to 185.”

As for how quickly he believes he could challenge for a ONE World Title, Tonon said he would leave it in the capable hands of the matchmakers.

“Ultimately it’s going to be up to the organization,” Tonon said.

“The tough part is, I’m coming into this so new. I’m coming from a background of jiu jitsu and I’m coming in with zero amateur fights, zero pro fights.

“This will be my third actual fight in a cage, period. So it’s a little tricky and I don’t know if they’re going to be game to give me a title shot straight away.

“But the way I see it, if I keep winning, they’re going to have to give me that shot.”

The post Garry Tonon keen to follow path set by Martin Nguyen appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

As ONE Championship featherweight, Keanu Subba (6-3) begins to taper off preparations for his upcoming matchup against Myanmar striking dynamo Phoe” Bushido” Thaw (6-0), the Malaysian mixed martial artist is acutely aware of the unique challenge presented in his upcoming bout at ONE: PURSUIT OF GREATNESS in Yangon, Myanmar on Friday, 26 October.

A highly skilled stand-up specialist, Phoe Thaw has successfully blended his different martial art backgrounds of lethwei, aikido, and kyokushin karate, into a potent style all of his own making. Defeating the 33-year-old from Yangon remains a puzzle yet to solved.

Undeterred, Subba is not only aware of the challenge he faces but fully embraces the opportunity to test himself in an unfamiliar environment against an undefeated opponent.

“His style is a bit unorthodox as we don’t have many lethwei fighters in mixed martial arts, so that’s why most of his opponents have had problems figuring out his style,” Subba said recently in an interview in the build-up to next week’s clash.

“When I got offered this bout, I thought, ‘Whoa! That’s a cool challenge for me.’ It will be fun to go to this guy’s backyard, and I’m going to thrive on it.”

After 11 months away from the spotlight, Subba made a triumphant return to competition this past July with a first-round submission victory, in front of his home supporters over China’s Chao Xie at ONE: PURSUIT OF POWER.

Subba may have been out of the public eye for a moment, but that did not mean he was busy enjoying an extended period of rest and relaxation. Instead, the 24-year-old spent his time diligently training as he sought to improve upon all facets of his game.

“I learned a lot. Ever since then, I have been reading a lot of books, doing a lot of research, and fixing the things I needed to fix,” Subba said before his return bout with Xie.

For ONE fans, it was worth the wait to see a revamped Subba competing inside the cage once more. Subba’s history of consistently exciting performances now means his bouts are regarded by many as must-watch events whenever his name appears on an upcoming card.

Only recently, his barnstorming 2017 clash with Christian “The Warrior” Lee (9-3) was ranked fifth in ONE’s list of its top 100 bouts.

As good as his past performances were Subba’s immediate focus remains solely on the task at hand.

“Winning this will put me back in the mix with the top guys,” he said. “I need to validate myself as a contender so I can work my way up to the champion.”

However, as bright, as the competitive flame burns for Subba, it burns just as bright for Phoe Thaw.

The 33-year-old’s confidence will be sky-high coming off a superb first-round knockout victory over Cambodia’s Sor Sey back in February. If you factor in the support he will receive from the Myanmar faithful, who are earning the reputation as some of the most passionate fans in the world, then the scene is set for what promises to be an exciting, entertaining and perhaps even grueling encounter.

Subba needs only to watch Phoe Thaw’s bout with his fellow countrymen Saw Ba Oo last November at ONE: HERO’S DREAM to understand just how relentless and determined the Myanmar athlete is once the cage door closes.

Phoe Thaw and Saw Ba Oo fought themselves to a virtual standstill in a rollicking three-round encounter which pushed both athletes to their absolute limits and ended with Phoe Thaw being declared the winner via split decision. It remains the only professional bout of Phoe Thaw’s career to make it past the first round and stands as a powerful testament to the lengths he will go, to secure the victory.

At this level, all this is to be expected.

When the best compete with the best there are no easy bouts, no easy opponents or moments when an athlete can afford to drop their guard even for a minute, and as an athlete who seeks to test himself against the best in the world, one suspects that Subba would not want to have it any other way.

The post Keanu Subba Prepares For Trial By Fire In Myanmar appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.