ONE Championship is putting on back-to-back events this month, and One Fight Night 1 looks to be the crème de la crème of their fight cards this year.
The event looks to have it all covered. Rematches, world championships, and crucial Grand Prix matchups. Stacked from top to bottom, even if you’re yet to watch ONE event, you will surely be entertained throughout.
Key Fights
Main Event: Adriano Moraes vs Demetrious Johnson II
Demetrious Johnson (30-4-1) is highly considered one of the best fighters on planet earth. The former UFC Flyweight champion was also the pound-for-pound king in the organization at one point. After losing his title via a close split decision to Henry Cedujo, Johnson signed to ONE in what many thoughts were a weird and surprising move. Johnson would pick back up on winning ways, winning three straight fights at getting crowned the ONE Flyweight Champion. ONE would then match him up against former Flyweight Champion Adriano Moraes (20-3).
Moraes, a killer with 14 finishes in his 20 career wins, would hand Johnson the first KO loss of his career when he landed a ferocious knee to the face of the Flyweight king, making the referee call the fight off at 2:24 of the second round.
Since the loss, Johnson has been looking for redemption. August 27th, he gets his opportunity.
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Bantamweight Muay Thai World Championship: Nong-O Gaiyanghadao vs Liam Harrison
British striking sensation and Muay Thai Veteran Liam Harrison is always in a fun fight. The 36-year-old has fought a who’s who in the Muay Thai scene, his most recent outing saw him earn an extra $100,000 in his bank for his sensational TKO finish of Muangthai P.K Saenchai. Facing early adversity, Liam was knocked down twice in round one. One more knockdown would have seen the referee implement the three knockdown rule and call the fight. Instead, Liam would turn the fight on its head and win the fight, scoring three knockdowns of his own. A true show of heart for the brit!
His opponent Nong-O has a scary resume. The 35-year-old has not lost a Muay Thai fight since 2015. He’s also undefeated within the ONE cage. Oh, and one more thing, he’s knocked out his last three opponents.
Both are coming off knockout wins and win streaks. The fight is surely set to deliver fight works.
Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix Alternate Bout: Jonathan Haggerty vs Amir Naseri
The final key fight on our radar is fellow Brit Jonathan Haggerty, 25. Despite his young age, Haggerty has already held ONE gold. Before signing for ONE, Haggerty held multiple British titles, as well as European titles. In his 19 Muay Thai wins, Haggerty has stopped 11 of his opponents. He’s also been to war with Muay Thai superstar Rodtang Jitmuangnon twice. Although not victorious in the bouts, he earned the respect of the Muay Thai community with his performances. Since his last loss, Haggerty has won three consecutive fights.
Sitting across the cage from him on fight night is Amir Naseri. Naseri has a resume that boasts 35 Muay Thai fights with 29 wins. Most notably, he stepped in the ring with the G.O.A.T. of Muay Thai, Saenchai. Although not victorious against the legend, he did take the G.O.AT to a decision. COVID-19 halted the Iranian career momentum, but he looks to show the world his skills, making a statement against Haggerty.
Where and When?
ONE Fight Night 1 has a start time of 1 AM BST on Saturday, August 27th, 2022.
The event is being held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore. The event is being aired for U.S primetime, hence the later start compared to usual for the UK and European fans.
Full Fight Card
Main Card:
Flyweight World Championship
Adriano Moraes (c) vs Demetrious Johnson
Bantamweight Muay Thai World Championship
Nong-O Gaiyanghadao (c) vs Liam Harrison
Flyweight Muay Thai Grand Prix Semi-Final
Rodtang Jitmuangnon vs Savvas Michael
Heavyweight
Marcus Almeida vs Kirill Grishenko
Heavyweight
Amir Aliakbari vs Mauro Cerilli
Flyweight Muay Thai Grand Prix Semi-Final
Superlek Kiatmoo9 vs Walter Goncalves
Lead Card:
Flyweight Muay Thai Grand Prix Alternate Bout
Amir Naseri vs Jonathan Haggerty
Catchweight (58kg) Muay Thai
Diandra Martin vs Amber Kitchen
Atomweight
Itsuki Hirata vs Lin Heqin
Welterweight
Zebaztian Kadestam vs Iuri Lapicus
For more details head over to onefc.com.
Featured image credits to ONE PR team
