ONE Championship News

BJPENN.COM Staff - January 14, 2019

Zebaztian Kadestam is a 28-year-old martial artist from Sweden, and he’s the ONE Welterweight World Champion. Over the course of his MMA career, Kadestam has compiled an 11-4 record with nine victories coming by KO and another by submission. When “The Bandit” comes to the cage, he is looking to steal away his opponent’s consciousness. Kadestam is just the third man in history to hold the ONE Welterweight World Title. The other two are Nobutatsu Suzuki and Ben Askren. Kadestam began his reign in November 2018 at ONE: Warrior’s Dream when he scored a fifth-round KO victory over Tyler McGuire to capture the strap that was vacated when Askren was traded to the UFC for Demetrious Johnson. Kadestam’s stamina and constant pressure wore down McGuire, and as the latter retreated following a fifth-round exchange, Kadestam caught him with a power shot that dropped him.

BJPENN.COM Staff - January 11, 2019

Reigning ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio is not deterred by the sudden change of opponent he has to face in his first title defense. A highly-anticipated rematch against Hayato Suzuki was supposed to take place at ONE: Eternal Glory to be held at Istora Senayan, Jakarta on 19 January.

BJPENN.COM Staff - January 11, 2019

If 2018 was momentous for ONE Championship, 2019 is shaping up to be even bigger. There are already a series of significant events planned through till March that are likely to capture the attention of the combat sports world. January 19 – ONE: ETERNAL GLORY

BJPENN.COM Staff - January 11, 2019

Eduard Folayang has vowed to make a statement when he defends his crown at ONE: A New Era on March 31 in Tokyo. Taking on the legendary Japanese grappler Shinya Aoki, the man he stopped back in 2016 to claim the ONE Lightweight World Title for the first time, Folayang has promised to deliver another beating of the No.1 contender.

Mike Straus - January 10, 2019

In recent years the sport of jiu-jitsu has exploded in popularity and right at the forefront of the movement is Garry Tonon. A grappler by trade, Tonon recently dove head first into MMA, going 3-0 under the ONE Championship banner. Having competed in countless grappling and BJJ tournaments “The Lion Killer”, as he is known, believes we are just now starting to see the true essence of jiu-jitsu.

Tom Taylor - January 10, 2019

The four quarterfinal bouts of the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix are now set. This tournament will feature eight of the promotion’s best lightweights in Eddie Alvarez, Timofey Nastyukhin, Saygid “Dagi” Guseyn Arslanaliev, Ev Ting, Amir Khan, Ariel Sexton, Lowen Tynanes and Honorio Banario. These eight fighters will be competing for a shot at the ONE Lightweight title, which will next be on the line at ONE: A New Era on March 31 in Tokyo, Japan, when the champion Eduard Folayang defends his title against Shinya Aoki.

BJPENN.COM Staff - January 9, 2019

In an instant, 12 months of pain had evaporated. With his hand raised and the belt wrapped around his waist, 16,000 screaming fans erupted. Eduard Folayang felt tingles down his spine. “Of course, I wanted to cry but the tears didn’t come out,” reflected Folayang, who became the first man in ONE Championship history to claim the lightweight world title for the second time when he defeated Singapore’s Amir Khan at ONE: Conquest of Champions in late November.

Tom Taylor - January 8, 2019

When we talk about the busiest fighters in MMA, we usually mention names like Donald Cerrone, Neil Magny and Thiago Santos — and rightly so. These fighters keep tremendously busy schedules, oftentimes shoehorning four or five bouts into a single year. Yet no discussion about busy fighters is complete without mention of ONE Championship featherweight Anthony Engelen. Over the last few months, the 33-year-old Dutch-Indonesian talent has kept a timetable that would make the average fighter’s head spin. Engelen’s hyperactivity began at ONE: Heart of the Lion in mid-November when, after a brief hiatus, he made his anticipated return to the ONE Championship cage for a short-notice fight with Cambodia’s Meas Meul.

Tom Taylor - January 7, 2019

Russia’s Timofey Nastyukhin (12-4, 6 KOS, 4 Subs) has been competing in combat sports for a long time. He began training in Pankration when he was just a child, and wound up winning a European championship in the sport at a young age. Buoyed by his success in Pankration, he then transitioned into MMA at 18 years old, and after a seven-fight win streak — all stoppages — he was invited to ONE Championship, where he debuted with a jaw-dropping, flying knee knockout of current lightweight champion Eduard Folayang.

BJPENN.COM Staff - January 6, 2019

Brandon “The Truth” Vera is the reigning ONE Heavyweight World Champion. The 41-year-old Filipino is one of five Filipino champions under the promotion’s banner. While Vera is a champion today, he has had to endure some significant hardships on his way to his current spot. Overcoming Adversity

BJPENN.COM Staff - January 5, 2019

On 16 February, a ONE Super Series Muay Thai Bantamweight World Champion will be crowned. ONE Championship recently announced that Muay Thai legend Nong-O Gaiyanghadao of Thailand will take on Han Zi Hao of China for the ONE Super Series strap. The bout serves as the main event of ONE: Clash of Legends, set for 16 February at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

Thomas Taylor - January 4, 2019

Yuya Wakamatsu couldn’t believe what he was hearing when he was offered the opportunity to welcome Demetrious Johnson, the former UFC flyweight champion and one of the best fighters ever, to the ONE Championship cage. Wakamatsu has competed just once for ONE Championship so far and came up short in his debut effort, losing a decision to Danny Kingad. As such, he didn’t expect to receive this kind of offer so soon. Nonetheless, this was an opportunity he’d been dreaming of for years, and one he simply couldn’t turn down.