ONE Championship News

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.

BJPENN.COM Staff - December 10, 2018

Now that the curtain has come down on ONE Championship’s 2018 schedule, fans can begin to look ahead to what 2019 has in store for them. The upcoming year looks set to be a blockbuster for the Asian martial arts powerhouse, and we are all invited along for the ride. Here are five reasons for fans to excited about 2019.

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.

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 4, 2018

When Kevin Chung returns to the cage for the first time in more than 12 months on Friday night (Friday morning in North America), he will have two things on his mind. Firstly, he wants to stop Japan’s Daichi Takenaka in his tracks. But secondly, Chung wants to be a trailblazer and set the example for Asian-American athletes. As Chung looks out at the mixed martial arts landscape in Virginia, USA, he does not see too many athletes like him. However, that is something the American-born Korean wants to change with his success in ONE Championship.

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 1, 2018

After weeks of speculation, it’s finally official. Eight-time UFC veteran Sage Northcutt (11-2) is the latest high-profile free agent to join the ONE Championship roster. Because ONE Championship does not allow extreme weight cutting, Sage Northcutt is almost certain to compete in the promotion’s 185-pound welterweight division, as this is the closest division to his walk-around weight. And as luck would have it, Northcutt is joining the division at a time when it has never been better.

Tom Taylor - November 30, 2018

After weeks of speculation, it’s official. Former UFC welterweight and lightweight star Sage Northcutt is the latest high profile free agent to sign on the dotted line and join the ONE Championship roster. ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced the news just moments ago.

BJPENN.COM Staff - November 30, 2018

Former ONE middleweight titleholder Vitaly Bigdash has revealed he temporarily moved to Sweden in a bid to rejuvenate his career.  Speaking ahead of his clash against Japanese striking star Yuki “Yu-King” Niimura (12-4-0) on the main card of ONE: Destiny of Champions on 7 December, Russia’s Bigdash said he turned to fearsome light heavyweight Alexander Gustafsson for help. And with Gustafsson by his side, Bigdash admitted he made significant changes to his game following a pair of disappointing defeats.

Tom Taylor - November 30, 2018

It’s a strange and worrying time for the UFC flyweight division. The former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson has been traded to ONE Championship in exchange for welterweight talent Ben Askren. A procession of long-time UFC flyweights have been released from their contracts, including Justin Scoggins, Jared Brooks, Roberto Sanchez, and most recently, Ulka Sasaki. Rumors that the promotion plans to close the division have been rampant, and when pressed about these rumors, UFC President Dana White hasn’t exactly provided cause for optimism… “The flyweight division just never took off, it never caught on,” White said on a recent episode of the UFC Unfiltered podcast. “Even with a dominant champion like Demetrious, it just never caught on. People didn’t care. I battled for a long time, I tried to keep it alive and obviously, it’s still going on now. We still have fights going on in that division, but we’ll see what the future holds for it.”