ONE Championship News

Tom Taylor - January 18, 2021

Shinya Aoki is no longer motivated by money or world titles. The Japanese MMA legend strives only to continue doing what he loves as long as possible. Aoki, one of the most lethal submissions in MMA history, is set to return to action at ONE: Unbreakable next Friday in Singapore, where he’ll welcome former LFA welterweight champion James Nakashima to the lightweight division.

Tom Taylor - January 12, 2021

ONE Championship has announced a host of high-profile matchups for its next three events on January 22, January 29, and February 5. The promotion’s first event of the year, titled ONE: Unbreakable, will go down on January 22. That event, it’s been announced, will be topped by a bantamweight kickboxing title fight between champion Alaverdi Ramazanov and challenger Capitan Petchyindee Academy, and co-headlined by a welterweight clash between former title challenger James Nakashima, and former lightweight champion Shinya Aoki. The card will also feature appearances from former ONE welterweight champ Zebaztian Kadestam, and atomweight contender Meng Bo—the only woman to defeat UFC strawweight champ Zhang Weili.

Drake Riggs - January 11, 2021

Senegalese wrestling sensation, Oumar “Reug Reug” Kane (1-0) is on his way to ONE Championship. It was initially reported in late December that Reug Reug had signed with the Singapore-based promotion. For his likely debut, he was expected to face off with BJJ wizard, Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida.

bjpenndotcom - January 6, 2021

Singapore-based martial arts organization, ONE Championship, recently posted a new short feature on their official Youtube channel, highlighting the challenges we’ve all faced over the last 12 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the end of the video, the promotion also took time out to thank its staff, fans, partners, athletes, and media for the integral part each played in its story in 2020.

Tom Taylor - January 4, 2021

ONE atomweight champ Angela Lee is “shocked and disgusted” after her family gym, United BJJ Hawaii, was vandalized last week. Lee opened up on this unfortunate incident, which delayed the opening of the gym, in a recent Instagram post. She also shared video of the incident, which is now being investigated by local police.

Tom Taylor - December 31, 2020

Former UFC and Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez is expected to return to the ONE Championship Circle against former title challenger Iuri Lapicus. News of this fight, which is expected to occur in or around April, was first reported by Nolan King of MMA Junkie, and later confirmed by Al Zullino for Italian outlet Fatti Marziali.

Chris Taylor - December 27, 2020

Former UFC champion and MMA legend Vitor Belfort sent a stern warning to YouTuber turned professional boxer Jake Paul. Paul (2-0) has been making headlines ever since scoring a brutal second round knockout over Nate Robinson at last months ‘Tyson vs. Jones Jr’ event.

Alfredo Zullino - December 22, 2020

Senegalese wrestler Oumar Kane, better known as Reug Reug, is set to clash with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu legend Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida at a ONE Championship event on February 24, Brazilian journalist Raphael Marinho reported on Twitter. Reug Reug will be competing in his sophomore MMA bout, and his first since December 2019. The Senegalese sensation made his debut with French MMA pioneer Ares Fighting Championship, in his home country. He imposed his will on his French opponent Sofiane Boukichou and got the technical knockout in the second round.

Drake Riggs - December 17, 2020

Since retiring from MMA in 2016, former UFC and Strikeforce champ Miesha Tate has become a mother of two and a Vice President for ONE Championship. After a brief period of living over in Singapore where ONE is based, Tate recently came back home to Washington state for the holidays. As she gets to spend some time with her family, Tate is then planning to relocate to Las Vegas where she spent the majority of her fight career.

Adam Martin - December 10, 2020

ONE Championship’s Demetrious Johnson, the greatest flyweight MMA fighter of all time, says he will never fight at 125lbs again. Johnson is the undisputed GOAT of 125lbs. He was the long-time flyweight champion in the UFC and he’s carried his talents over to ONE Championship, where he hopes to fight out the rest of his career. In ONE Championship there are more weight-cutting regulations, so the flyweight title in ONE is actually contested at 135lbs. That means that the fighters don’t have to cut as much weight. ONE implemented this rule change several years ago in an effort to curb massive and potentially fatal weight cuts.

Adam Martin - December 10, 2020

MMA legend Vitor Belfort says he wants to fight free agent Yoel Romero, promising that it would be a “great fight” for the fans. Belfort has yet to make his debut for ONE Championship and is eager to get back into the cage in 2021. Belfort called out Wanderlei Silva in the past, and he recently called for ONE to sign former UFC legends Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen to fight because at this point he just wants big fights against top-shelf opponents. One of those high-profile opponents just became available on the free-agent market when the UFC cut Romero. If ONE can get a deal done with Romero, then Belfort would take that fight.

Tom Taylor - December 10, 2020

This Friday, at ONE: Big Bang II, Tyler McGuire will make his long awaited return to the ONE Circle when he takes on Agilan Thani. The bout will be McGuire’s first since he came up short in a welterweight title fight with Zebaztian Kadestam in late 2018—his first taste of defeat as a pro mixed martial artist.

Tom Taylor - December 4, 2020

On Friday, Asian martial arts powerhouse ONE Championship returned to our screens with the stacked ONE: Big Bang card out of the Singapore Indoor Arena. This ONE Championship card was hit by a handful of last-minute shakeups, but ultimately came together very nicely. The event was topped by a featherweight kickboxing showdown between Marat Grigorian and Ivan Kondratev, which the former won via impressive second-round TKO.

Tom Taylor - December 4, 2020

Former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson is slated to return to the ONE Championship Circle opposite Adriano Moraes, the promotion’s reigning ONE flyweight champ. The bout, which is slated for February 24, was announced during Friday’s ONE: Big Bang broadcast.

Tom Taylor - December 3, 2020

ONE Championship atomweight star Bi Nguyen is hoping to close out a chaotic year with a huge win over Malaysia’s Jihin Radzuan at ONE: Big Bang, which goes down on the promotion’s home turf in Singapore this Friday. The coronavirus pandemic made 2020 a bumpy year for just about everyone, but it was particularly frustrating for Nguyen. The 31-year-old striking specialist’s bad luck began early in the year, when she was forced out of planned February fight with Japan’s Itsuki Hirata with an injury. March brought another tough break, as Nguyen’s planned Muay Thai bout against Rudzma Abubakar fell through amid the early chaos of the pandemic. The trouble then continued in the third quarter of the year, when ONE Championship’s attempt to reschedule the failed February fight with Hirata came up empty—ostensibly because the Japanese fighter didn’t sign her contract.

Tom Taylor - December 2, 2020

ONE Championship flyweight star Demetrious Johnson has responded to some recent praise from UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. Adesanya was recently asked who he considers the greatest fighter in MMA history, and promptly identified Johnson as his pick.

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.