ONE Championship News

Tom Taylor - December 1, 2020

American grappling star turned mixed martial artist Garry Tonon will return to action this Friday night in what he considers his toughest bout so far. The multiple-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion will look to climb the featherweight ranks with a victory over his next foe, in hopes of landing a shot at the belt in the very near future.

bjpenndotcom - December 1, 2020

There’s no question that 2020 has been rough for mixed martial arts. COVID-19 hit professional sports particularly hard, and the road to recovery only began in recent months. But despite the difficult challenges, MMA is looking forward to a fantastic 2021. That’s because the sport is absolutely stacked with talented fighters who are ready to cement themselves as the best in the business. Here are 10 reigning MMA world champions from organizations around the world who are primed for an epic 2021.

Adam Martin - November 27, 2020

MMA legend Vitor Belfort has called out rival Anderson Silva and fellow veteran Chael Sonnen, saying to “bring the legends back.” Belfort fought Silva at UFC 126 in February 2011 and suffered a historic KO loss after Silva landed an incredible front kick to finish him. Belfort and Silva have always been tied to a rematch but to this point, nothing has ever been booked. As for Sonnen, Belfort was supposed to fight him at UFC 175 in July 2014, but Sonnen failed his drug test and the bout was canceled. All three fighters are no longer in the UFC, with Belfort part of ONE Championship, Sonnen with Bellator, and Silva a free agent.

Tom Taylor - November 27, 2020

ONE Championship has announced the launch of third-party martial arts content on the ONE Super App, which will also stream live events from top regional martial arts promotions around the world. The first of these co-branded events will take place on November 28, when Russian martial arts promotion, Russian Cagefighting Championship (RCC), and Fair Fight Promotion (FFP) host a Road to ONE tournament, with athletes competing for a contract in ONE Championship. Fair Fight XIII, Featuring Road to ONE will be streamed live on the ONE Super App.

Tom Taylor - November 24, 2020

ONE Championship will not be pursuing the services of new free agent, former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Silva, widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time, was released from his UFC contract after a loss to Uriah Hall on Halloween night. While he intends to continue fighting rather than hang up the gloves, his list of options in terms of his new home is growing shorter.

Tom Taylor - November 16, 2020

Former UFC flyweight champ and current ONE Championship star Demetrious Johnson has shared his thoughts on the GOAT debate in MMA. Johnson, who is widely regarded as one of the best fighters in MMA history himself, explained that he places a lot of value on longevity when making his picks for the sport’s greatest fighters.

Tom Taylor - November 13, 2020

On Friday, ONE Championship returned to our screens with the action-packed ONE: Inside the Matrix III card from the Singapore Indoor Arena. The card was headlined by a bantamweight contender fight, as the division’s former champion Kevin Belingon took on UFC veteran John Lineker. The bout marked Belingon’s opportunity to bounce back from a loss to Bibiano Fernandes, while Lineker looked to improve to 2-0 in ONE Championship after defeating Muin Gafurov in his debut with the promotion last year.

Harry Kettle - November 13, 2020

ONE Championship star Demetrious Johnson has admitted that he may never fight again as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Johnson made the transition over to ONE from the Ultimate Fighting Championship in late 2018 with Ben Askren heading in the opposite direction, and ever since then, he’s been able to go 3-0 in the promotion – with all three of those wins coming in the 2019 Flyweight Grand Prix.

Tom Taylor - November 10, 2020

Former ONE bantamweight champion Kevin Belingon doesn’t expect his showdown with UFC veteran John Lineker to go the distance. The two hard-hitting bantamweights are set to collide in the main event of ONE: Inside the Matrix III, a previously-recorded event from Singapore scheduled for air on Friday, November 13th (SGT).

Tom Taylor - November 6, 2020

On Friday, ONE Championship returned to screens worldwide with ONE: Inside the Matrix 2 from the Singapore Indoor Arena. The ONE Championship: Inside the Matrix 2 card was topped by a welterweight title fight between Kyrgyz champion Kiamrian Abbasov, making his first title defense, and unbeaten American challenger James Nakashima.

Tom Taylor - November 4, 2020

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has shared his picked for the greatest fighter in mixed martial arts history. Adesanya was asked to chime in on the GOAT debate during a recent appearance on Submission Radio. The champ quickly pointed to former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, who now competes under the ONE Championship banner.

Tom Taylor - November 3, 2020

Reigning ONE Welterweight World Champion Kiamrian “Brazen” Abbasov of Novorossiysk, Russia is extremely kind and humble outside of competition, but once the cage door shuts, he turns into a force of destruction.  Abbasov returns to action this Friday night at ONE: Inside the Matrix II, a previously-recorded event in Singapore, scheduled for air on 6 November. “Brazen” will defend his title against highly-touted undefeated American James Nakashima in what should be a high-level affair.

Tom Taylor - October 26, 2020

ONE Championship is headed back to Singapore with its biggest event of the year. ONE: Inside the Matrix happens on Friday, October 30, broadcasting live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium. It will feature four championship fights, for a total of six compelling martial arts bouts. In the main event, reigning ONE Middleweight and Light Heavyweight World Champion “The Burmese Python” Aung La N Sang of Myanmar will defend his middleweight world title against undefeated top contender Reinier “The Dutch Knight” de Ridder of The Netherlands.

Tom Taylor - October 23, 2020

Thanh Le isn’t taking ONE featherweight champion Martin Nguyen lightly, but knows what he needs to do to usurp the division’s throne. Le will challenge Nguyen, one of ONE Championship’s most dominant titleholders, in one of four title fights on the ONE: Inside the Matrix bill on October 30. As the fight draws ever closer, the Vietnamese-American is confident that he has the skills to swipe the belt from Nguyen’s waist.

Tom Taylor - October 22, 2020

Christian Lee, who holds the lightweight belt in ONE Championship, has shed some light on how he’d attempt to defeat Khabib Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov, the UFC lightweight champion, has never been beaten in 28 professional fights. Lee is very impressed by the UFC champ, but believes he’s beatable—and would love to have the opportunity to prove it one day.

Tom Taylor - October 19, 2020

Aung La N Sang, who currently holds the ONE middleweight and light heavyweight titles, never doubted he’d fight in 2020. Even amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Burmese champion had faith that ONE Championship would find a way to get him back into the cage. That faith proved well-placed, as he’s closing in on an October 30 middleweight title defense against unbeaten Dutchman Reinier de Ridder.

bjpenndotcom - October 15, 2020

The life story of ONE Championship’s charismatic Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong is one that has been covered extensively by media all around the world. It’s one of the most inspiring tales of triumph over adversity and hardship, and perseverance despite overwhelming odds.

Tom Taylor - October 9, 2020

On Friday, ONE Championship returned to our screens with the stacked ONE: Reign Dynasties card out of the Singapore Indoor Arena. In the main event of this ONE Championship card, Muay Thai legend and two-sport ONE World Champion Sam-A Gaiyanghadao attempted to defend his ONE Strawweight Muay Thai World Title against Australia’s Josh Tonna.