SINGAPORE – One Championship’s double-header weekend of mixed martial arts (MMA) action got off to an explosive start on Friday (Aug 26) night, after its athletes delivered some heavy hits at the One 160 event at the Indoor Stadium.
The five MMA bouts on the card saw two title changes and three first-round knockouts.
In the main event of One 160, Christian Lee, who fights under the Singapore flag, exacted revenge on Ok Rae-yoon after he beat the South Korean for the One Championship lightweight world title with a second-round knockout.
Ok had defeated Lee at the One: Revolution event last September, also in Singapore, for the title that he had held since May 2019, via a unanimous decision which was strongly disputed by Lee.
The American, who has a Singaporean father and South Korean mum, made sure he did not leave the decision to the judges in the rematch and dominated the opening exchanges before knocking out his rival with a knee early in the second round.
The other title change saw China’s Tang Kai beat Vietnamese-American fighter Thanh Le for the featherweight world title via unanimous decision after a five-round battle.
Among the other fights at One 160, Singaporean Amir Khan slumped to a first-round knockout loss to Keanu Subba of Malaysia in their featherweight bout.
Amir had been looking to string back-to-back wins for the first time since Sept 2018, but instead continued his see-saw form. The former lightweight contender has won three and lost four of his last seven fights.
Less than 12 hours after One 160, the One on Prime Video 1 event – which will be broadcast at prime time in the United States – will begin on Saturday morning in Singapore, marking the beginning of the organisation’s long-awaited American expansion.
It will be One’s debut on Amazon Prime Video since signing a five-year agreement in April, and will pave the way for One to finally stage its first major event in the US in early 2023.
In the main event, American star Demetrious Johnson is eyeing revenge over Adriano Moraes, who defeated him to retain the One flyweight world title in April 2021.
Then, Moraes stunned Johnson – considered by many to be one of the greatest athletes in the sport – with a brutal grounded knee knock-out. It was the first time the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) great had been finished in a fight.
A win would also mark a milestone for Johnson since his arrival in One in October 2018 following a 2,142-day reign as champion in the UFC. The 36-year-old had won three straight fights in One, winning the flyweight Grand Prix competition in Oct 2019 to earn contendership for Moraes’ world title, only to suffer defeat.
In the event’s official press conference on Thursday, Johnson vowed to deliver his usual brand of inventive grappling, frenetic pace and formidable striking in order to win his first world title in One.
“My style never changes… (It) is always to go forward,” he said. “I’ll just go out there and push the pace and just fight.”
Moraes, who looked relaxed, said he does not have anything to prove but added: “I need to be ready to defend my throne. And I will be.”
One chief executive Chatri Sityodtong said: “For sure, if Adriano beats DJ again – which is a super tall order – I do think you can consider him the flyweight G.O.A.T (Greatest of All Time).”
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MCI (P) 031/10/2021, MCI (P) 032/10/2021. Published by SPH Media Limited, Co. Regn. No. 202120748H. Copyright © 2021 SPH Media Limited. All rights reserved.