ONE Championship News

Tom Taylor - October 30, 2018

After a lengthy and history-making stint in the UFC, former UFC flyweight champion and pound-for-pound great Demetrious Johnson is headed to ONE Championship. Johnson is expected to debut with the Singapore-based martial arts powerhouse in early 2019. Despite his massive accomplishments in the UFC, however, he does not expect an immediate title shot against ONE flyweight champion Geje Eustaquio. Instead, he’s expecting to fight another top ONE flyweight such as Kairat Akhmetov or Danny Kingad.

Tom Taylor - October 29, 2018

As you’ve probably heard, it’s now official. Former UFC flyweight champion and bona fide MMA legend Demetrious Johnson is now a ONE Championship athlete. That’s thanks to a history-making trade between ONE and the UFC that saw the UFC cough up Johnson in exchange for ONE’s former welterweight champion Ben Askren. Speaking on a media conference call on Sunday, an elated Demetrious Johnson explained how this out-of-left-field trade came to fruition.

Tom Taylor - October 29, 2018

Former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson is now a ONE Championship athlete. That means that he can look forward to MMA bouts with top ONE Championship flyweights such as Geje Eustaquio, Adriano Moraes, Kairat Akhmetov and Danny Kingad, and perhaps even scraps with top ONE bantamweights down the road. Of course, that is not where Demetrious Johnson’s options as a ONE Championship athlete end.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 29, 2018

ONE Championship’s Singapore events always seem to produce something special. It could be because Singapore is where the promotion started on its journey to becoming one of the world’s largest martial arts organizations back in 2011, or perhaps it’s the always enthusiastic Singaporean crowd that spur the athletes on to reach new heights.

Tom Taylor - October 28, 2018

Former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson is now a ONE Championship fighter. That’s thanks to a historic and unprecedented trade between ONE and the UFC, which saw Johnson shipped to the Singapore-based promotion, and former ONE welterweight champ Ben Askren sent stateside to the UFC. Ever since news of this trade was announced, Ben Askren has engaged in verbal warfare with many of the UFC’s top welterweights. And while ONE Championship encourages its fighters to steer clear of this kind of trash talking, one ONE Championship star has done his part to lock down a fight with the former UFC champ Demetrious Johnson: former ONE flyweight champ Kairat Akhmetov.

Tom Taylor - October 26, 2018

On Friday night (Friday morning in North America) ONE Championship returned to beautiful Yangon, Myanmar’s Thuwunna Indoor Stadium with the action-packed ONE: Pursuit of Greatness card. Like most of ONE Championship’s recent stops in Myanmar, this one was topped by an Aung La N Sang appearance, as the ONE middleweight and light heavyweight title defended his middleweight belt against Lebanon’s Mohammad Karaki.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 26, 2018

Former two-weight ONE world champion Martin Nguyen has thrown down the challenge to Eddie Alvarez, declaring he will put his ONE Featherweight World Title on the line. As Alvarez made the game-changing move to ONE Championship — having been offered a lucrative deal by ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong — Australian Nguyen was quick to raise his hand.

Tom Taylor - October 25, 2018

At long last, ONE Championship heavyweight kingpin Brandon Vera is once again set to defend his title. The Filipino-American striking specialist will do so on November 23 in Manila, The Philippines, where he will battle Italy’s Mauro “The Hammer” Cerilli. This news was first reported by MMA-Today’s Al Zullino, and subsequently announced by the promotion. 

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 25, 2018

“The Underground King” Eddie Alvarez, the most recent signing by ONE Championship, comes to the promotion with an impressive resume. The 34-year-old has competed in various countries and for a number of organizations. In each of his stops, Alvarez has reached the pinnacle.

Thomas Taylor - October 24, 2018

Earlier this month, we learned that former UFC and Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez had signed with Singapore-based MMA promotion ONE Championship. Alvarez was instantly hailed as the biggest free agent signing in ONE Championship history — and from the sounds of it, he could soon be joined by another massive name: former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson. On Wednesday afternoon, ESPN reported that the UFC and ONE Championship were close to finalizing an unprecedented fighter trade. This trade would see the UFC send Johnson, widely regarded as the best fighter of all time, to ONE Championship, and ONE Championship offer up its former welterweight champion in return.

Tom Taylor - October 24, 2018

On Wednesday afternoon, ESPN reported that the UFC and Singapore’s ONE Championship are closing in on a history-making fighter trade. This potential trade, which is still not official, would see ONE Championship send its former welterweight champion Ben Askren to the UFC, and the UFC send its former flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson to the Singapore-based promotion. If this trade comes to fruition, the ramifications would be massive and far-reaching. It could conceivably usher in an unprecedented era of fighter trades — not just the kind of -talent-sharing that Bellator has done with Rizin and BAMMA, but legitimate promotion-to-promotion trading. This trade could also signal the end of the long-struggling UFC men’s flyweight division, as it’s hard to believe the UFC would part ways with Johnson — still widely considered the division’s best fighter — if it had any intention of keeping the division around.

Tom Taylor - October 24, 2018

ONE Championship and the UFC are close to finalizing a history-making fighter trade, per ESPN. This potential trade would see the UFC send former flyweight champion and pound-for-pound great Demetrious Johnson to the Singapore-based promotion in exchange for former ONE and Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren. While this trade is reportedly on the table, it is not official yet.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 24, 2018

Following an impressive performance against Brazilian arch-nemesis, Adriano Moraes to unify the ONE flyweight world titles this past June, Geje ‘Gravity’ Eustaquio puts his rivalry with the former champion behind him as he looks for more intriguing matchups in his nascent reign as the division’s kingpin. The thought of returning to action and defending the gold-plated strap jolts the competitive spirit of the 29-year-old Baguio City native.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 23, 2018

Early last week, ONE Championship announced that it had locked a multiple-bout contract with free agent Eddie Alvarez. Known as “The Underground King”, Alvarez’s arrival at ONE instantly sent shockwaves into the martial arts industry, sparking conversations about not only who about possible matchups for Alvarez under the ONE banner, but also other potential free agent signings ONE could announce. ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong hinted that Alvarez isn’t the only big name to be joining the promotion, and that he has plans of announcing other big names in the near future. This had fans immediately speculating.

Tom Taylor - October 23, 2018

ONE middleweight and light heavyweight champion Aung La N Sang is a hero to the people of Myanmar. When he fights in the country — as he has in his last four bouts — it has the feeling of a national event. The Burmese champion draws nationwide media attention and unfailingly packs Yangon’s Thuwunna Indoor Stadium to the rafters. His next fight, which will pit him against the undefeated Mohammad Karaki in the main event of ONE: Pursuit of Greatness this Friday, will be no different.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 23, 2018

There are few martial artists in the world who have accomplished as much or more than Eddie Alvarez has in his 15-year, 36-bout career. That’s why ONE Championship’s recent signing of the Underground King was such a big deal. The 34-year-old has won multiple championships with a number of different organizations, but he hasn’t conquered a division in ONE. During a global press conference to promote the upcoming ONE: HEART OF THE LION event in Singapore in November, and to introduce Alvarez, the 34-year-old talked about his upcoming challenge, new opportunity, and organization.

Tom Taylor - October 22, 2018

Brandon Vera has been a ONE Championship fighter since 2014. In the years since he joined the ONE Championship roster, he’s fought in his ancestral homeland of The Philippines, become one of the promotion’s biggest stars, and even captured its heavyweight title. To say Brandon Vera has enjoyed his time with ONE would be understatement. Speaking on episode 102 of BJPENN.COM Radio, Vera heaped praised on the Asian MMA powerhouse.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 22, 2018

Angela Lee, Aung La N Sang, Bibiano Fernandes, Ben Askren, and Martin Nguyen are the names most synonymous with ONE Championship today. There is no end in sight for most of them, but top-tier talent continues to make its way into the organization. The current champions and most recognizable figures will likely have to make room for the next wave of superstars. Obviously, anything can happen in martial arts, but there are at least four competitors with a good chance to become the next main-event level members of ONE Championship’s roster.