ONE Championship News

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 24, 2018

Following an impressive performance against Brazilian arch-nemesis, Adriano Moraes to unify the ONE flyweight world titles this past June, Geje ‘Gravity’ Eustaquio puts his rivalry with the former champion behind him as he looks for more intriguing matchups in his nascent reign as the division’s kingpin. The thought of returning to action and defending the gold-plated strap jolts the competitive spirit of the 29-year-old Baguio City native.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 23, 2018

Early last week, ONE Championship announced that it had locked a multiple-bout contract with free agent Eddie Alvarez. Known as “The Underground King”, Alvarez’s arrival at ONE instantly sent shockwaves into the martial arts industry, sparking conversations about not only who about possible matchups for Alvarez under the ONE banner, but also other potential free agent signings ONE could announce. ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong hinted that Alvarez isn’t the only big name to be joining the promotion, and that he has plans of announcing other big names in the near future. This had fans immediately speculating.

Tom Taylor - October 23, 2018

ONE middleweight and light heavyweight champion Aung La N Sang is a hero to the people of Myanmar. When he fights in the country — as he has in his last four bouts — it has the feeling of a national event. The Burmese champion draws nationwide media attention and unfailingly packs Yangon’s Thuwunna Indoor Stadium to the rafters. His next fight, which will pit him against the undefeated Mohammad Karaki in the main event of ONE: Pursuit of Greatness this Friday, will be no different.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 23, 2018

There are few martial artists in the world who have accomplished as much or more than Eddie Alvarez has in his 15-year, 36-bout career. That’s why ONE Championship’s recent signing of the Underground King was such a big deal. The 34-year-old has won multiple championships with a number of different organizations, but he hasn’t conquered a division in ONE. During a global press conference to promote the upcoming ONE: HEART OF THE LION event in Singapore in November, and to introduce Alvarez, the 34-year-old talked about his upcoming challenge, new opportunity, and organization.

Tom Taylor - October 22, 2018

Brandon Vera has been a ONE Championship fighter since 2014. In the years since he joined the ONE Championship roster, he’s fought in his ancestral homeland of The Philippines, become one of the promotion’s biggest stars, and even captured its heavyweight title. To say Brandon Vera has enjoyed his time with ONE would be understatement. Speaking on episode 102 of BJPENN.COM Radio, Vera heaped praised on the Asian MMA powerhouse.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 22, 2018

Angela Lee, Aung La N Sang, Bibiano Fernandes, Ben Askren, and Martin Nguyen are the names most synonymous with ONE Championship today. There is no end in sight for most of them, but top-tier talent continues to make its way into the organization. The current champions and most recognizable figures will likely have to make room for the next wave of superstars. Obviously, anything can happen in martial arts, but there are at least four competitors with a good chance to become the next main-event level members of ONE Championship’s roster.

Tom Taylor - October 19, 2018

Former UFC and Bellator lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez is now a ONE Championship fighter. Speaking on the ONE: Heart of the Lion conference call on Wednesday evening, Alvarez opened up on his decision to sign with the Singapore-based promotion. “Without getting too much into it, we had offers from all around the world,” Eddie Alvarez said (transcript via MMA Fighting). “We got offers from just about everyone you can think of. Everyone expressed interest. The idea of ONE Championship, it’s the only major organization I haven’t held world title in. I won the Bellator title twice during my career, I won the UFC title during my career and as far as I’m concerned, ONE is the only major organization that I haven’t got to touch that world title belt.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 18, 2018

There are a handful of top-tier, seasoned titleholders on the ONE Championship roster, and Aung La N Sang is one of them. He is one of the promotion’s most beloved, revered and respected martial artists. N Sang will put his middleweight title on the line against Mohammad Karaki in the main event at ONE: Pursuit of Greatness on October 26 in Myanmar.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 18, 2018

On Thursday, October 11 we saw Mark Fairtex Abelardo earn the $100,000 ONE Championship contract when he scored a TKO win over Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg at the ONE Warrior Series Season 3 show in Singapore. The bantamweight had already put together a memorable performance in his first appearance on the ONE Warrior Series stage. Those two wins were enough to secure him a roster spot and the lucrative contract.

Thomas Taylor - October 17, 2018

Former UFC and Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez appeared on ONE Championship’s Thursday evening media conference call, alongside ONE women’s atomweight champion Angela Lee, ONE women’s strawweight champion Xiong Jing Nan, ONE bantamweight champion Bibiano Fernandes, ONE interim bantamweight champion Kevin Belingon, and ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong. Among the highlights of this call was Eddie Alvarez’s announcement that he plans to stick to ONE Championship’s lightweight division (169 pounds), and that he will not be heading north to the promotion’s welterweight division (185 pounds). Because ONE Championship does not allow extreme weight cutting, this would seem to rule out a widely desired fight with the promotion’s ostensibly retired former welterweight champion Ben Askren.

Tom Taylor - October 16, 2018

ONE women’s atomweight champion Angela Lee is currently gearing up for a massive title fight with ONE strawweight champ Xiong Jing Nan. If Lee is able to win this mammoth showdown, she will become a two-division ONE champion. She’ll also reaffirm her status as one of the world’s best female fighters. Considering the amount of talented female fighters that are currently competing on the sport’s biggest stages, thats saying something.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 16, 2018

Singapore is a place where martial arts dreams can come true, and 34 competitors had an opportunity to use the location as a springboard in their professional careers on Thursday, 11 October. Placed neatly between the ONE: KINGDOM OF HEROES show from Bangkok, Thailand, on 6 October, which drew 25 million viewers, and ONE: PURSUIT OF GREATNESS in Myanmar on 26 October, the ONE Warrior Series scratched the itch for fans of martial arts and the promotion.