ONE Championship News

Tom Taylor - March 27, 2020

Got a hankering for some combat sports action? Looking to kill twenty-something minutes of your self-imposed quarantine? Either way, we’ve got you covered with this action-packed highlight of the best finishes in ONE Championship history.

Tom Taylor - March 24, 2020

ONE bantamweight champion Bibiano Fernandes hasn’t fought since he settled his long-standing rivalry with Kevin Belingon back in October. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to tighten its grip on the world, it’s increasingly unclear when he will be able to fight again. Ever the picture of composure, Fernandes is keeping his cool in the face of this uncertainty.

Adam Martin - March 17, 2020

Former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler will test free agency after his next fight and is targeting opponents in the UFC and ONE Championship. Chandler is one of the best home-grown Bellator fighters of all time and is a three-time lightweight champion in the promotion. He has one more fight left on his contract with the promotion against Benson Henderson and will become a free agent afterward.

Tom Taylor - March 13, 2020

This Saturday’s UFC Brasilia card has been closed to the public, meaning the fighters on the bill will compete in an arena completely devoid of fans. This is an experience a number of ONE Championship fighters are already familiar with. Late last month, amid growing concerns surrounding the coronavirus, ONE Championship elected to convert its ONE: King of the Jungle card to a closed-door event—just as the UFC has decided to do with the UFC Brasilia card.

Tom Taylor - March 6, 2020

ONE Championship and ARES Fighting Championship have both elected to postpone upcoming events due to concerns about the rapidly-spreading novel coronavirus. Early on Friday morning, ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced that the upcoming ONE: Heart of Heroes card, originally scheduled for March 20 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, has been postponed until June 26.

Tom Taylor - March 4, 2020

You have to scroll a long way down Weili Zhang’s 20-1 record to find her only loss. That solitary L occurred all the way back in 2013, in her very first fight, when she was defeated by a woman named Meng Bo at a regional mixed martial arts show in Xuchang, China. The bout was Meng’s first, too. Although she and Zhang began their careers on the same night, the pair have had traveled different paths in the years since.

Tom Taylor - February 28, 2020

Stamp Fairtex is no longer a two-sport champ. In the main event of Friday’s ONE: King of the Jungle card in Singapore, Stamp sought to defend her ONE atomweight kickboxing title against California’s Janet Todd — who she defeated by decision to win the ONE atomweight Muay Thai title roughly one year ago. It was an extremely competitive fight, with Todd finding success with her boxing and volume, and Stamp bludgeoning her challenger with a steady diet of leg kicks. Ultimately, however, the judges handed Todd a split decision victory. She’ll return to California with a ONE world title belt in her luggage, while Stamp’s dreams of becoming a three-sport champ are dashed for the time being.

Tom Taylor - February 28, 2020

Yoshihiro Akiyama picked up an incredible knockout victory at Friday’s ONE: King of the Jungle card in Singapore. Akiyama appeared on the event’s main card, battling Egypt’s Sherif Mohamed in a 185-pound scrap.

Tom Taylor - February 26, 2020

In late February of 2019, Janet Todd battled Stamp Fairtex for the inaugural ONE Strawweight Muay Thai World Championship. Todd lost that fight by decision, but in a few short days, she’ll get a second crack at Stamp under slightly different circumstances. This Friday, in the main event of ONE: King of the Jungle, Todd will challenge Stamp for the ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Championship — the other belt in the Thai’s trophy case.

Alfredo Zullino - February 26, 2020

When Iuri Lapicus stepped foot in ONE Championship’s ring for the first time, back in May of 2019, nobody but the most hardcore fight fans knew who the undefeated Italian-Moldavian athlete was. During that debut fight, Iuri Lapicus (14-0 MMA, 2-0 ONE) was able to bring home the victory with a slick rear-naked choke on Thai veteran Shannon Wiratchai in the third round. But it was earlier this month that he made a huge statement and shocked the entire MMA community, finishing former ONE and M-1 Global featherweight belt-holder Marat Gafurov with Gafurov’s own signature move, the rear-naked choke.

Tom Taylor - February 20, 2020

ONE Championship announced Thursday that it will be launching a spinoff of the popular reality television show The Apprentice, under license from MGM Television. Per a press release from the promotion, The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition “will feature 16 contestants handpicked from around the world in a high-stakes game of business competitions and physical challenges where the winner will receive a US$250,000 job offer to work for a year directly under Chatri Sityodtong as his protege at the ONE Championship Global Headquarters in Singapore.

Tom Taylor - February 20, 2020

ONE Championship has announced multiple title fights for the upcoming ONE: Infinity 1 and 2 events. The second event will also feature the return of former UFC and Bellator lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez. ONE: Infinity 1 goes down on April 10 in Jakarta, Indonesia. As we already know, the card will feature a flyweight title fight between challenger Demetrious Johnson and champion Adriano Moraes.