5 Reasons To Be Excited For ONE: PURSUIT OF GREATNESS

After a memorable night at ONE: KINGDOM OF HEROES in Bangkok, Thailand on October 6, it’s time to turn the proverbial page as we look ahead to the next ONE Championship event. We’re just about two weeks away from ONE: PURSUIT OF GREATNESS.

The promotion heads back to Myanmar for this, another major show on the ONE Championship calendar. In case you’re unaware of the top draws on the card, here are five reasons to be excited about ONE: PURSUIT OF GREATNESS.

Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke Tries To Get A Win Away From Thailand

Dejdamrong is on a brutal two-bout losing streak and he has dropped four of his last six matches. Three of the losses have come by stoppage. The Thai martial artist has had particularly bad fortunes when competing in his homeland. He didn’t compete at ONE: KINGDOM OF HEROES in Bangkok earlier in the month, so if he had been hampered by the pressures of performing in front of his countrymen, that won’t be an issue in this one.

Dejdamrong’s opponent will be Himanshu Kaushik of India. At 35 years old, Dejdamrong faces a tough situation. He may be in desperate need of a victory. It’ll be interesting to see if he can stop his personal losing streak and also get a victory away from Thailand.

Ibrahim El Bouni Looks To Further Establish Himself In ONE Super Series

The kickboxing action continues at OPOG with two bouts. El Bouni is one of the most respected light heavyweights in the sport. He’s currently ranked No. 10 on LiverKick.com and he’s coming off of an explosive head-kick KO win over Andre Meunier in his promotional debut at ONE: BATTLE FOR THE HEAVENS in China in July.

This time El Bouni faces another KO artist. Tarik Khababez is coming off of his own impressive third-round KO victory over Alain Ngalani that spoiled the latter’s Super Series debut.

This could be an epic clash between two heavy hitters.

Phoe Thaw’s Attempts To Dazzle Again

Myanmar belongs to one man, but 33-year-old Phoe Thaw is slowly carving himself a piece of the martial arts pie in his home country. He’s off to a 6-0 start as a professional martial artist and his last win over Sor Sey via first-round head kick has featherweights on notice.

Phoe needed just under two minutes to defeat Sey and he’ll be looking for another memorable finish in Myanmar. His opponent, Malaysia’s Keanu Subba is a 24-year-old ONE Championship veteran. Subba has already had all but two of his professional bouts within the promotion. He scored a first-round submission win over Chao Xie in July, and he too would like nothing more than to string together stoppage wins. This is a good test for both men who are at two different points in their martial arts careers.

Rafael Nunes’ Rebound Bout

After a four-year absence, Nunes returned to martial arts in January, but he’s had his ups and downs. While he defeated Eric Kelly via first-round submission at ONE: GLOBAL SUPERHEROES, Nunes had another bout canceled in May against Kotetsu Boku (his fourth since 2015). He was then beaten by Tetsuya Yamada after the doctor stopped the bout at ONE: SPIRIT OF A WARRIOR in June.

Nunes’ record is still a noteworthy 11-2, but inactivity and injuries threaten to rob him of his skills. He wants to rebound with a victory over undefeated Russian Movlid Khaibulaev, but that will be easier said than done.

This is a major test for Nunes and it could tell us how much the Brazilian still has left in the tank.

Aung La N Sang in Myanmar is Bucket List Material For Martial Arts Fans

Watching the ONE Championship middleweight champion is a draw in itself, but when you consider that titleholder is Aung La N Sang, and he’s performing in Myanmar, things go to another level.

Through his meteoric rise with the promotion, Aung La has become a legend in his country and a must-see performer when he’s competing. The atmosphere in Myanmar when he is in action has to be seen to be believed.

If you’re a martial arts fan, it’s an experience you’ll want to see. Aung La will defend his title against Lebanon’s Mohammad Karaki in the main event. Karaki represents a formidable challenge for Aung La as he comes into his promotional debut with a perfect 9-0 record. He’ll be doing his best to ruin Aung La’s latest homecoming.

on 10/12/2018