ONE Championship News

BJPENN.COM Staff - December 27, 2018

It has been a memorable year for Thailand’s Stamp Fairtex. The 21-year-old claimed the ONE Kickboxing Atomweight World Championship in her promotional debut in October at ONE: KINGDOM  OF HEROES and her star looks set to shine even brighter in 2019. Stamp comprehensively outpointed defending champion Kai Ting Chuang throughout their five-round contest on her way to earning a unanimous decision victory. It was the co-main event of the evening and was watched by millions worldwide.

Tom Taylor - December 27, 2018

Back in November, ONE Championship announced that it will be promoting exciting Grand Prix tournaments in its flyweight and lightweight divisions, featuring new signees Demetrious Johnson and Eddie Alvarez respectively. On Thursday afternoon, the Singapore-based martial arts powerhouse announced plans for another epic Grand Prix in 2019.

Tom Taylor - December 26, 2018

Another Christmas has come and gone. Santa Clause made his yearly trip around the world, presents were opened, gut-busting mountains of food were eaten, and of course, many of the world’s top MMA fighters celebrated with their families. On Tuesday, MMA fighters from top promotions all over the world — from the UFC to Bellator to ONE Championship to Rizin — took to social media to wish their fans a Merry Christmas, and let everyone know how they were celebrating.

BJPENN.COM Staff - December 22, 2018

The biggest stars in ONE Championship aren’t hard to find. Angela Lee, Aung La N Sang, Martin Nguyen and even newcomers like Demetrious Johnson and Eddie Alvarez are household names who currently carry the torch for the promotion. As great as those martial artists are, they won’t reign forever. We took a look at performers who really stood out in 2018 and came up with five young and talented martial artists ready to break out in 2019.

Tom Taylor - December 18, 2018

Sage Northcutt has big plans for his ONE Championship career. Not only does the eight-fight UFC veteran plan on capturing a ONE Championship MMA title, but he’s also hoping to snag titles in Muay Thai and kickboxing competition as part of the ONE Super Series. “What I think is cool is, they have, not only do they have MMA, but they also have Muay Thai and they have kickboxing,” Northcutt said on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour (transcript via MMA Fighting). “So, I want to be the champion in MMA, I want to be the champion in Muay Thai and kickboxing. I want to do it all. And I think that ONE Championship is going to be really cool because I believe that I’m going to display my different skills in each of those and I believe be the champ in each of those. I think it’s the perfect league.”

BJPENN.COM Staff - December 18, 2018

With over 20 exciting events throughout 2018, ONE Championship had its share of memorable bouts. With matches across a variety of disciplines, we’ve taken a look at all of the cards and bouts of the year and selected the following five as the most significant. We start with ONE: Unstoppable Dreams from May. Angela Lee def. Mei Yamaguchi to Retain ONE Women’s Atomweight World Championship This bout was a rematch of a 2016 clash at ONE: Ascent to Power. Lee won that bout via unanimous decision, but the Japanese veteran came prepared to take things to the next level in the rematch.

Thomas Taylor - December 15, 2018

Aung La N Sang, who currently holds the ONE Championship middleweight and light heavyweight titles, is a massive star in his native Myanmar. So massive, in fact, that he’s been honored with a pretty awesome statue in Manau Park in his hometown of Myitkyina. Aung La N Sang discussed this incredible honor in a post on his official Instagram page. Apparently, he wasn’t sure about the idea at first, but as come to see it as a way to inspire a whole generation of young people in his country.

Tom Taylor - December 13, 2018

Eduard Folayang is once again the ONE lightweight champion. The Team Lakay representative recaptured the title with a thrilling decision defeat of Amir Khan, which went down in front of his legions of Filipino faithful in Manila in late November. With the belt once again slung over his shoulder, Folayang is looking ahead to his first challenge as champion. That being said, it’s a little difficult to say who will provide that first challenge.

Tom Taylor - December 12, 2018

Former UFC and Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez will be welcomed to ONE Championship in the most exciting way possible, as he’s set to compete in the promotion’s anticipated Lightweight Grand Prix in 2019. The details of this Lightweight Grand Prix are still somewhat scarce, yet Alvarez believes the first round of the tournament will occur in March 31, when ONE Championship makes its anticipated debut in Tokyo, Japan.

BJPENN.COM Staff - December 12, 2018

You could be forgiven for thinking that reigning ONE women’s atomweight champion Angela Lee may have some form of superpowers when you watch her in action in the cage. She is, after all, one of the most talented mixed martial artists in the world at just 22 years old. As it turns out, the martial arts prodigy has had a lifelong love of the Marvel universe, which she’s shared with her brother and fellow ONE athlete, Christian Lee. After growing up watching early morning cartoons, that love has now translated to the big screen. Lee has become an enthusiast for all of Marvel’s blockbuster films, especially Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange, and The Avengers. So you can imagine how excited the Evolve MMA product was when, on a recent trip to New York City, she had the chance to participate in a special collaboration to put her martial arts skills to the test against the superhuman realm.

BJPENN.COM Staff - December 11, 2018

World champion Joshua Pacio will be out for redemption when he puts his ONE Championship belt on the line next year. Pacio (16-2-0), the undisputed ONE Strawweight World Champion, bids to avenge his only defeat in almost 500 days when he takes on Japan’s Hayato Suzuki (20-1-2) in Indonesia. The pair will square off in the main event at ONE: Eternal Glory, set for Istora Senayan in Jakarta on 19 January.

Tom Taylor - December 11, 2018

ONE Championship has a new home on television in the United States. On Tuesday morning, ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong teased big news, and shortly thereafter, ESPN confirmed what many suspected: that the promotion has signed a long-discussed United States broadcast deal.

Tom Taylor - December 7, 2018

On Friday night (Friday morning in North America), ONE Championship returned to the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with ONE: Destiny of Champions. This exciting card, which was unfortunately marred by two last-minute bout cancellations, was headlined by a ONE Super Series Muay Thai showdown between Thai legend Yodsanklai IWE Fairtex and Australian star Luis Regis.

Drake Riggs - December 5, 2018

ONE Championship has recently made a big effort to further put themselves on the radars of MMA fans around the world. Thanks to acquisitions of Demetrious Johnson, Eddie Alvarez, Miesha Tate, Yoshihiro Akiyama, and Sage Northcutt, the Singapore based promotion is looking to have its biggest year yet in 2019.

BJPENN.COM Staff - December 5, 2018

ONE Championship welterweight Agilan Thani has the chance to end 2018 on a high note when he competes this Friday at ONE: DESTINY OF CHAMPIONS, inside the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Thani will take on Kyrgyzstan’s Kiamrian Abbasov in the evening’s co-main event, and while the Malaysian athlete is aware of the danger Abbasov poses, the 23-year-old is backing himself to get the win in front of his home crowd.

BJPENN.COM Staff - December 5, 2018

Luis Regis has put his life on hold to chase his dreams in ONE Championship. Set for his promotional debut against Thailand’s Yodsanklai IWE Fairtex at ONE: Destiny of Champions in Kuala Lumpur on Friday night, the Australian Muay Thai champion Regis said he has turned to his wife to take on the bulk of family duties at home while he prepares for the main event.

BJPENN.COM Staff - December 3, 2018

Luis Regis is confident he can pull off a major upset in his ONE Championship debut this Friday night in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Friday morning North America). Clashing with Thailand’s Yodsanklai IWE Fairtex the main event at ONE: Destiny of Champions inside the Axiata Arena, the Australian Muay Thai champion Regis believes he is capable of stopping the multiple world champion.

Thomas Taylor - December 2, 2018

Today, Stergos Mikkios proudly calls himself a member of the ONE Championship roster. Yet if things had unfolded just a little bit differently for the Greek Muay Thai specialist, he might not have made it to the bright lights of the Singapore-based promotion. In fact, he might not be alive at all.