ONE Championship News

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 2, 2018

Today, Stergos Mikkios proudly calls himself a member of the ONE Championship roster. Yet if things had unfolded just a little bit differently for the Greek Muay Thai specialist, he might not have made it to the bright lights of the Singapore-based promotion. In fact, he might not be alive at all.

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.”

Tom Taylor - November 29, 2018

ONE Championship just got a whole lot sexier. Chatri Sityodtong, the chairman and CEO of the Singapore-based promotion, announced early Thursday morning that he’s signed UFC veteran Yoshihiro Akiyama — better known by his hilarious nickname “Sexyama.” I'm thrilled to announce that JMMA Korean-Japanese Legend Yoshihiro "Sexyama" Akiyama (15-6) (otherwise known as Choo Sung-Hoon) has officially signed with ONE Championship!

Tom Taylor - November 27, 2018

When BJJ whiz Garry Tonon submitted South Korea’s Sung Jong Lee at ONE: Heart of the Lion earlier this month, he improved to an impressive 3-0 as a mixed martial artist. Thus far, the the five-time EBI Grappling Champion has drifted between the 155-pound ONE featherweight division, and the 170-pound ONE lightweight division. And from the sounds of it, he could continue floating between both divisions.

BJPENN.COM Staff - November 27, 2018

One mistake. That’s all it took to derail Ev Ting’s hopes for a shot at the ONE Lightweight World Title. “I should have kept moving,” reflected Malaysia’s Ting, who was submitted by Japan’s Shinya Aoki inside the first round at ONE: Kingdom of Heroes in Bangkok, Thailand in October. “I gave him way too much time and respect. He faked a few times and one mistake was all it took for him to put me to sleep.

Thomas Taylor - November 26, 2018

It’s an exciting time to be an MMA fan. While the UFC remains the biggest promotion on the planet, other promotions such as Bellator MMA and ONE Championship are gaining a real footholds, while new promotions like Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy MMA continue to pop up. UFC color commentator Joe Rogan has taken notice of these promotions. Speaking on a recent Fight Companion episode of his popular Joe Rogan Experience podcast, he gave his take on a number of the UFC’s competitors.

Tom Taylor - November 25, 2018

Demetrious Johnson no longer calls the UFC’s Octagon home. After a legendary, 18-fight stint with the Las Vegas promotion, the long-time UFC flyweight champion was traded to Singapore-based martial arts promotion ONE Championship in exchange for top welterweight talent Ben Askren. Several weeks after this unprecedented swap was made official, Demetrious Johnson boarded a plane to Singapore to meet the ONE Championship team and take in the stacked ONE: Heart of the Lion card.