ONE Championship News

ONE's Chatri Sityodtong discusses possible Francis Ngannou signing: "He's just not a complete fighter"
Josh Evanoff - March 28, 2022
It seems that Chatri Sityodtong isn’t very interested in signing Francis Ngannou to ONE Championship. The UFC heavyweight champion is currently set to be a free agent at the beginning of 2023. His high-profile feud with Dana White and the UFC has made it a foregone conclusion that ‘The Predator’ will soon be gone from the promotion next year. The UFC president has gone as far as stating that they’re already looking at options for an interim title bout next.

Demetrious Johnson blasts Jake Paul for calling out MMA fighters: "F*cking do martial arts"
Josh Evanoff - March 25, 2022
Demetrious Johnson seemingly thinks that Jake Paul should fight in MMA. The YouTuber-turned-boxer has spent the majority of his boxing career calling out MMA fighters. On that front, he’s actually faced two of them in the ring, defeating both Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley. His most recent outing was a knockout victory over ‘The Chosen One’ in December.

Tensions flare between Garry Tonon and Ryan Hall following Thanh Le title fight
Andrew Whitelaw - March 12, 2022
It seems there is no love lost between BJJ icons Garry Tonon and Ryan Hall. Tonon suffered a first round knockout in his ONE featherweight title clash against the latter’s training partner at ONE: ‘Lights Out’ on Friday. https://twitter.com/ONEChampionship/status/1502308401019187200

ONE Championship Results: John Lineker KO’s Bibiano Fernandes, Thanh Le destroys Garry Tonon (Videos)
Susan Cox - March 11, 2022
In Singapore on Friday, March 11th, two ONE Championship bouts concluded with Thanh Le and John Lineker being victorious. With his featherweight title on the line Thanh Le proceeded to knock Garry Tonon out cold in under a minute. Le, will receive a $50K bonus for the finish, which you can see below:

ONE Championship asks 'Who wants to see Dana White vs. Chatri Sityodtong?'
Drake Riggs - January 4, 2022
2020 and 2021 proved that truly any type of combat sports match is possible. Early into 2022 and ONE Championship has already gauged interest in a president vs. president bout. ONE took to its official Twitter account on Tuesday sharing a video of promotional frontman Chatri Sityodtong hitting mitts to ask who wants to see him take on UFC boss, Dana White.

John Lineker 'not surprised' by Demetrious Johnson's loss, open to eventual fight
Drake Riggs - November 27, 2021
For the vast majority of the time that John Lineker spent in the UFC, he found himself chasing the all-time great, Demetrious Johnson. Now, he’s chasing Johnson’s teammate. Despite Lineker being the heavier of the two with a new target in sight, “Hands of Stone” remains open to the prospect of taking on “Mighty Mouse”. Training with current ONE Championship flyweight champion Adriano Moraes, Lineker wasn’t too shocked by seeing his fellow Brazilian manage to knock out Johnson.

Rich Franklin prefers more permissive ONE Championship ruleset
Andrew Whitelaw - October 25, 2021
When it comes to the various rulesets in MMA, Rich Franklin is a man whose opinion should carry plenty of weight. The former UFC middleweight champion and Hall-of-Famer has fought under the unified rules, competed in Japan, and since 2014 – he’s been the vice president at ONE Championship. Rulesets have been a hot topic in MMA recently, particularly after Petr Yan lost the UFC bantamweight title via DQ for kneeing Aljamain Sterling when he was grounded. In contrast, Adriano Moraes retained his ONE flyweight title in April by knocking out Demetrious Johnson with a knee when DJ was grounded.

Giorgio Petrosyan knocked out by Superbon head kick in ONE Championship (Video)
Adam D Martin - October 15, 2021
Legendary kickboxer Giorgio Petrosyan was brutally knocked out by a Superbon head kick in ONE Championship on Friday. Petrosyan fought Superbon for the inaugural ONE Championship featherweight kickboxing world title, and Superbon pulled off the victory with an incredible head kick. It was only the second KO loss of Petrosyan’s entire kickboxing career and it’s his first knockout defeat since 2013, which shows you how hard it is to finish him. Check out the video below.

Demetrious Johnson plans to 'go out there and compete and not be afraid' in special rules fight against Rodtang
Cole Shelton - October 12, 2021
Demetrious Johnson didn’t have any hesitation when he got the call to have a special rules fight against Rodtang. At ONE X in December, Johnson and Rodtang will fight in a special rules bout. The first and third rounds will be muay Thai will the second and fourth will be MMA. The rounds will also be three minutes and for Johnson, he’s super excited for the fight.

Demetrious Johnson responds to Aljamain Sterling’s “karma” remarks
Harry Kettle - October 12, 2021
Demetrious Johnson stands by his thoughts on the “downed opponent” rule despite Aljamain Sterling’s karma remarks. We’ve over six months removed from Aljamain Sterling’s DQ win over Petr Yan that had many questioning Sterling as he went on to claim the UFC bantamweight title. Demetrious Johnson, in the immediate aftermath, said that the knee Yan struck Sterling with should’ve been deemed legal, suggesting Sterling knew where to put his hands as he could feel the momentum of the fight shifting.

OK's title win vs Christian Lee upheld by ONE Championship competition committee
Andrew Whitelaw - September 30, 2021
Ok Rae Yoon can rest easy – he’ll remain the newly-crowned ONE Championship lightweight title holder after his win over Christian Lee was upheld. The Korean scored a unanimous decision win against Christian Lee at ONE Championship: ‘Revolution’ last weekend, but the result was called into question. Immediately after the fight, Lee said the decision was ‘bulls**’ and asked for it to be reviewed.

Demetrious Johnson protégé James Yang details brutal Shaolin training ahead of ONE Championship debut
Andrew Whitelaw - September 20, 2021
At 32 years-old, James Yang has experienced a storied lead-up to his professional debut. The talented featherweight has amassed an impressive 7-0 amateur MMA record and will have Demetrious Johnson in his corner when he makes his bow against Roel Rosauro at ONE: Revolution. He may be a little late to the party, but Yang is fully intent on making a splash in ONE’s featherweight division. Speaking exclusively to BJPenn.com, he said,

Bi Nguyen undeterred by Jenelyn Olsim loss: "The confidence hasn't changed"
Tom Taylor - September 15, 2021
At ONE: Battleground 3 in August, Bi Nguyen lost a competitive decision to rising Filipina talent Jenelyn Olsim. It was Nguyen’s fourth decision loss since joining the ONE Championship roster in early 2019, and like the three that preceded it, it wasn’t exactly cut-and-dry. “Story of my life,” Nguyen told BJPENN.com looking back on her loss to Olsim. “I’m always going to be honest with you, and there’s a lot of factors that go into this fight. If this fight was graded round-by-round, I would win, no doubt. If it was judged in America, I would win, no doubt. But it’s not, and that’s the reality of it—and that’s part of the reason I won the Ritu [Phogat] fight, because it was graded overall.

ONE Championship decides NOT to overturn Seo Hee Ham vs Denice Zamboanga result
Drake Riggs - September 8, 2021
Seo Hee Ham remains a winner inside the ONE Championship circle despite a post-fight review. ONE: Empower took place last Friday and featured the highly anticipated eight-woman world atomweight Grand Prix. Among the contestants was promotional newcomer, UFC veteran and former RIZIN super atomweight champion, Seo Hee Ham (24-8).

Angela Lee fires back at reporter for suggesting to vacate title during pregnancy 'vacation'
Drake Riggs - September 7, 2021
Angela Lee had a minor back and forth with a reporter during ONE Championship’s Lee family virtual media day. The 10-2 ONE atomweight champion recently became a mother which has kept her sidelined for all of 2021. On Tuesday, a Philippino media member asked Lee during the media day about how “real champions” typically defend their titles once or twice a year, wondering why Lee only was allowed to take a “two-year vacation” because she’s the “ONE poster girl.”

ONE Championship to review Seo Hee Ham's Grand Prix win over Denice Zamboanga
Andrew Whitelaw - September 5, 2021
The ONE Atomweight Women’s World Grand Prix quarter-finals went down on Friday in Singapore with UFC veteran Seo Hee Ham (24-8) getting the split decision win over Denice Zamboanga (8-1). The result provoked a wave of angry comments online as fans voiced their disbelief at the decision. ONE Championship CEO, Chatri Sityodtong has said that the judges verdict is now under ‘formal review’ by the ONE competition committee.

Bi Nguyen feels better than ever ahead of Jenelyn Olsim fight: "I have the skill to be the champion"
Tom Taylor - August 18, 2021
ONE Championship atomweight star Bi Nguyen feels like she’s entering the prime of her fighting life. Nguyen fights Filipina prospect Jenelyn Olsim at ONE: Battleground III this Friday in Singapore. The Vietnamese-American striking specialist will enter the fight with arguably the biggest win of her career in the rear-view mirror: a hard-fought decision triumph over Indian wrestling sensation Ritu Phogat.

Stipe Miocic conveys interest in joining ONE Championship
Adam D Martin - July 26, 2021
Former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic conveyed his interest in joining ONE Championship in a cryptic post on social media. ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong took to social media to ask the fans who they would like for Asia’s leading MMA promotion to sign next. In the comments, Miocic chimed in with a series of emojis, seemingly conveying his interest in joining the promotion. The former UFC heavyweight champion then responded to a fan, where he questioned why he isn’t being given an immediate trilogy fight rematch against Francis Ngannou next.