Yoshihiro Akiyama to make ONE Championship debut at ONE: Legendary Quest

Yoshihiro Akiyama, one of several high profile free agents recently singed by ONE Championship, will make his debut with the Singapore-based promotion at ONE: Legendary Quest in Shanghai, China on June 15. The former UFC star will make his debut against former ONE welterweight title challenger Agilan Thani.

Akiyama’s presence on the card was first reported by BJPenn.com’s Tom Taylor in April and subsequently confirmed by the promotion.

Hearing that Yoshihiro Akiyama could make his ONE Championship debut at ONE: #LegendaryQuest on June 15 in Shanghai — and at welterweight, not middleweight as he originally planned.

— Tom Taylor (@TomTayMMA) April 25, 2019

In addition to the debut of Yoshihiro Akiyama, this card will feature a number of other ONE Championship notables.

The card is expected to be topped by a ONE atomweight Muay Thai title fight between champ Stamp Fairtex, who also holds the promotion’s atomweight kickboxing strap, and debuting challenger Alma Juniku.

The undefeated Reinier de Ridder will also appear on the card. He was rumored to be the next opponent for ONE Middleweight champion Aung La N Sang, but will instead meet the fearsome Gilberto Galvao in a fight that could produce the next middleweight title challenger.

Fan favorite lightweight finisher Anthony Engelen will also return to action on this card. He’ll look to rebound from two straight losses against China’s Chen Lei. Engelen will have the benefit of sharing a training space at Bali MMA with Muhammad Aiman, the only fighter to beat Lei thus far.

The card will also feature the latest effort from Burmese striking specialist Phoe Thaw, who is currently sharpening his tools far from home in Boston, Massachusetts. He’ll be taking on Indonesia’s Victorio Senduk.

Here’s the current lineup for ONE: Legendary Quest, featuring Stamp Fairtex, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Anthony Engelen, Reinier de Ridder, Phoe Thaw and others.

• Stamp Fairtex vs. Alma Juniku (Atomweight Muay Thai title fight)
• Reinier de Ridder vs. Gilberto Galvao (MMA)
• Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Agilan Thani (MMA)
• Koyomi Matsushima vs. Won Il Kwon (MMA)
• Sherif Mohamed vs. Fan Rong (MMA)
• Anthony Engelen vs. Chen Lei (MMA)
• Victorio Senduk vs. Phoe Thaw (MMA)
• Tarik Khbabez vs. Anderson “Bradock” Silva (kickboxing)
• Chang Min Yoon vs. Trestle Tan (MMA)
• Itsuki Hirata vs. Angelie Sabanal (MMA)
• Han Zi Hao vs. Andrew Miller (Muay Thai)
• Rodlek PK.Saenchaimuaythaigym vs. Liam Harrison (Muay Thai)

How do you think Yoshihiro Akiyama will perform in ONE Championship?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 5/20/2019.