The ONE Championship Super Series shopping spree continues at pace with Romanian kickboxer Bogdan Stoica becoming ONE’s latest recruit after announcing his signing today via Instagram. The Romanian’s record currently stands at 52-12, with 37 of his victories coming via knockout. Stoica is a former Enufusion light heavyweight champion and has shared the ring with […]
The ONE Championship Super Series shopping spree continues at pace with Romanian kickboxer Bogdan Stoica becoming ONE’s latest recruit after announcing his signing today via Instagram.
The Romanian’s record currently stands at 52-12, with 37 of his victories coming via knockout. Stoica is a former Enufusion light heavyweight champion and has shared the ring with the likes of Israel Adesanya, James Phillips, and Zinedine Hameur-Lain.
Due to injuries, the 30-year-old Bucharest-native has been absent from the ring for the past year, but a fully fit Stoica will be an exciting addition to the light heavyweight division, which is starting to fill out nicely.
Along with Stoica ONE also recently added rising Serbian star Mihajlo Kecojevic to the division, so there will be no shortage of matchups on offer for the “The Bucharest Bad Boy.”
Bogdan is the younger brother of Andrei Stoica, who is already signed to ONE and is next in line to take on the Ukraine’s Roman Kryklia for the ONE kickboxing light heavyweight title.
There is no set date for when either of the Sotoica brothers will next compete with the coronavirus pandemic forcing the cancellation of multiple ONE events.
The Singapore-based promotions last show took place in February. The company’s website shows that an event — ONE: Battle For The Ages — is scheduled to take place on Friday, June 5 in Jakarta, Indonesia. However, as of this moment, no bouts announcements have been made.
ONE Championship may be in an enforced sate of hiatus at the moment, but that has not stopped the Singapore-based promotion from adding several significant names to its ONE Super Series roster. ONE’s latest signing is striking sensation Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong. The 28-year-old Thai is a former Glory lightweight champion. He held the belt between 2016-2019, […]
ONE Championship may be in an enforced sate of hiatus at the moment, but that has not stopped the Singapore-based promotion from adding several significant names to its ONE Super Series roster.
ONE’s latest signing is striking sensation Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong. The 28-year-old Thai is a former Glory lightweight champion. He held the belt between 2016-2019, and made six successful defenses of his title.
Sitthichai may best be known for his exploits in kickboxing, but the Buriram-native cut his teeth as a Muay Thai fighter. “The Killer Kid” is a former Lumpinee Stadium champion as well as a two-time Toyota Marathon tournament champion. Sitthichai will likely compete in both disciplines under the ONE banner, and there will be no shortage of mouthwatering matchups for ONE’s latest arrival.
Giorgio Petrosyan and Yodsanklai IWE Fairtex are two such names that would generate a fair amount of hype amongst stand-up fans.
The ONE Super Series roster continues to go from strength to strength, with each new addition helping to propel the Super Series to greater heights.Alongside the arrival of Sitthichai, fans can also look forward to seeing the debuts of Sitthichai’s compatriot Superbon Banchamek as well as Brazilian heavyweight Guto Inocente.
ONE is undoubtedly feeling frustrated with its spell on the sidelines, but when it does return, fans will likely be treated to a series of stacked cards.
ONE Championship heads to Singapore this week for ONE: Call To Greatness. The event takes place on Friday, February 22, 2019, inside the Lion City’s Indoor Stadium. The main event features Thailand’s Stamp Fairtex and America’s Janet Todd competing for the inaugural ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Title. The ONE Lightweight Grand Prix also continues […]
ONE Championship heads to Singapore this week for ONE: Call To Greatness. The event takes place on Friday, February 22, 2019, inside the Lion City’s Indoor Stadium.
The main event features Thailand’s Stamp Fairtex and America’s Janet Todd competing for the inaugural ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Title.
The ONE Lightweight Grand Prix also continues in earnest this week with two quarterfinal bouts scheduled to occur.
A Muay Thai Champion Will Be Crowned
Stamp Fairtex is already the ONE Super Series Atomweight Kickboxing World Champion. On Friday she will aim to become the first female champ-champ in ONE’s history by claiming the atomweight Muay Thai title.
The 21-year-old began fighting competitively at the age of five and developed a reputation as one of the best up-and-coming female fighters in Thailand. Stamp’s success earned her a coveted sponsorship deal with the legendary Fairtex gym, becoming the gym’s first female fighter.
Last October, she cruised to a unanimous decision victory over Taiwan’s Kai Ting Chuang to claim her kickboxing crown and will be the favorite going into Friday’s clash.
Todd discovered Muay Thai in her final year of college, developing an instant passion for the sport. Since taking up the ‘Art of Eight Limbs,’ the 33-year-old Californian native has accumulated bronze medals at the World Games and IFMA World Championships, as well as gold at the IFMA Pan American Championships.
Training out of Boxing Works, California under the tutelage of the renowned Bryan Popejoy, Todd will need to establish herself early on and attempt to unsettle Stamp before the Thai establishes her rhythm. Todd will have the height advantage, and in a fight with an athlete as technically strong as Stamp, any advantage helps.
ONE’s Singapore cards seem to bring out the best in its fighters so expect to see an entertaining bout when these two clash.
Lightweight Grand Prix Tournament Continues
By the end of ONE: Call to Greatness, the makeup of one of the Lightweight Grand Prix Tournament’s semifinal bouts will be known. The two scheduled quarterfinal bouts come from the same side of the Grand Prix bracket.
The first match-up sees Malaysian-born Kiwi Ev Ting taking on Turkey’s Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev. Following the pair’s clash, hometown hero Amir Khan takes on Costa Rica’s Ariel Sexton in the evening’s co-main event.
Fans should pay close attention to Ting vs. Arslanaliev. Arslanaliev, is known for producing vicious first-round finishes. All but one of his seven professional fights have ended in the opening round.
The 24-year-old comes into this bout on the back of stunning knockout of Russian Timofey Nastyukhin. In Ting, Arslanaliev will be fighting one of the promotion’s veterans.
The 29-year-old was riding a three-fight winning streak last year before falling to Shinya Aoki in their lightweight title eliminator in October. Ting is a well-rounded fighter who will provide Arslanaliev a step up in competition.
The early exchanges will be revealing. If Ting can survive Arslanaliev’s opening surge, his experience could prove to be more than the Dagestani can handle.
In the night’s second quarterfinal, Khan will look to bounce back after his recent loss to reigning champion Eduard Folayang. Khan’s strength is his stand-up which is what would have made the loss to follow striker Folayang even more disheartening. In Sexton, he will be facing a BJJ black belt with nine submissions to his name.
The clash of styles could make for a tense opening round. Both men will look to engage their opponent in the area where they feel the strongest.
An MMA Legend Returns
For a newer generation of MMA fans, Japan’s Masakazu Imanari is likely to be more well known for the moves he created, like the “Imanari Roll” than his in-ring exploits. Friday night offers these, as well as older, fans a rare opportunity to see the man himself in action
The 43-year-old will met undefeated South Korean Kwon Won Il in a bantamweight clash.
It will be a fast turn around for Kwon, who only made his promotional debut a month ago at ONE: Eternal Glory, which he won with an eye-catching first-round finish of Anthony Engelen.
Imanari comes into this bout on the back of last October’s first-round submission win over Radeem Rahman. The Japanese fighter made his ONE debut in 2018 and fought three times for a record of 1-2.
Imanari may not be the force he once was, but the savvy veteran is still capable of embarrassing any opponent who takes him lightly.
Thailand’s Nong-O Gaiyanghadao added another world title to his already impressive resume today at ONE: Clash Of Legends in Bangkok, Thailand. The Thai claimed the inaugural ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title after defeating China’s Han Zi Hao via unanimous decision. The five-round affair was an exciting back-and-forth contest, but apart from a brief moment […]
Thailand’s Nong-O Gaiyanghadao added another world title to his already impressive resume today at ONE: Clash Of Legends in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Thai claimed the inaugural ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title after defeating China’s Han Zi Hao via unanimous decision. The five-round affair was an exciting back-and-forth contest, but apart from a brief moment in the second frame, Nong-O never looked in any real danger.
The 33-year-old started slowly, but soon warmed to the task, and with thirty seconds left in the first dropped Han with an elbow. The knockdown appeared to energize the Chinese fighter, who forced the action in the second. Han worked to utilize his speed, throwing punches in fast, efficient combinations. The 23-year-old found some success when shooting straight down the middle. A sharp elbow from Han staggered Nong-O, who almost hit the floor.
Despite Nong-O’s hand touching the ground, it was not a ruled a knockdown, though if it had, it would not have changed the outcome of the contest.
After the second round, regular order resumed with Nong-O taking control. Han continued looking for openings but the Thai’s slick defense meant it was an almost impossible task to land a clean shot.
A New Bantamweight Challenger Emerges
The race to be the next in line for a shot at the bantamweight crown heated up tonight, with four of the division’s top fighters engaging in a pair of back-to-back contests.
Current titleholder Kevin Belingon and former champion Bibiano Fernandes square off on March 31, and following that clash, the doors are wide open for a new challenger to step up. South Korea’s Dae Hwan Kim took on Japan’s Shuya Kamikubo while New Zealand’s Mark Abelardo fought recent arrival, Daichi Takenaka
First up, Abelardo threw his name into title contention with a win over the formerly undefeated Takenaka. Demonstrating it’s not how you start a fight but how you end, Abelardo achieved a last-minute victory after delivering a series of punishing elbows to the face of Takenaka.
Up until it was stopped, the Japanese fighter had controlled the bout with his superior wrestling. Abelardo had no answer to Takenaka’s takedown attempts and despite not suffering any severe damage looked set to be handed a unanimous decision loss.
Then at the start of the third, a brace of elbows from Abelardo rocked Takenaka. The 29-year-old recovered and forced the takedown but Abelardo delivered further elbows from the ground. The strikes opened a nasty cut on the face of Takenaka, forcing a doctor’s stoppage with just seconds left in the fight.
Kamikubo Builds His Case For Title Shot
One man whose stock has risen dramatically is Japan’s Kamikubo. The third-degree judo black belt sapped the life out of Kim on his way to earning a unanimous decision victory. Kim had no answer for Kamikubo’s relentless ground game.
Kamikubo’s constant knees and headshots wore down the South Korean, who looked exhausted by the conclusion of the contest. He may not be the flashiest fighter in the division, but there will not be many bantamweights lining up for the opportunity to face Kamikubo.
After tonight’s showing a title shot or title eliminator seems the natural next step for the Japanese fighter.
Radzuan Loses Her Perfect Record
Earlier in the night, Jihin Radzuan suffered the first loss of her professional career losing via split decision to Team Lakay’s Gina Iniong.
The 20-year-old Malaysian was outstruck and out grappled for the bulk of the three-round atomweight clash. Right from the outset, Iniong, a six-time Philippine wushu national champion began peppering Radzuan with hard rights to the head.
Realizing she was outgunned on her feet, Radzuan went looking for the takedown, initing the first clinch of the night. However, Iniong provided yet another example of how the Team Lakay stable have improved in the grappling department.
The Filipina was relaxed and kept her composure when the fight first went to the ground, working her way to top control. Radzuan’s constant scrambling never allowed Iniong to fire off any serious shots but nor was she able to cause any damage or attempt any submissions herself. The opening round created the template the rest of the fight would follow. Iniong continued to dominate the bout, with Radzuan getting in pockets of resistance at certain points.
It was only in the last ninety seconds of the fight that Radzuan had any real success. Gaining full mount, she unleashed a barrage of strikes to Iniong’s head, before taking Iniong’s back. An attempted rear-naked-choke fell short due to the final horn sounding.
ONE: Clash Of Legends Full Results
Nong-O Gaiyanghadao def. Han Zi Hao via unanimous decision
Kongsak P.K. Saenchaimuaythaigym def. Alaverdi Ramazanov via split decision
Shuya Kamikubo def. Dae Hwan Kim via unanimous decision
Mark Fairtex Abelardo def. Daichi Takenaka via third-round doctor stoppage
Amarsanaa Tsogookhuu def. Shannon Wiratchai via unanimous decision
Jo Nattawut def. Samy Sana via unanimous decision
Gina Iniong def. Jihin Radzuan via split decision
Superlek Kiatmoo9 def. Lao Chetra via unanimous decision
Prelims:
Chamuaktong Fightermuaythai def. Charlie Peters via via majority decision
Yoshiki Nakahara def. Emilio Urrutia third-round TKO
Nou Srey Pov Rika Ishige via unanimous decision
Liu Peng Shuai def. Elipitua Siregar via third-round submission
ONE Championship may be in an enforced sate of hiatus at the moment, but that has not stopped the Singapore-based promotion from adding several significant names to its ONE Super Series roster. ONE’s latest signing is striking sensation Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong. The 28-year-old Thai is a former Glory lightweight champion. He held the belt between 2016-2019, […]
