ICYMI: Everything That Went Down In August 2023 In ONE Championship
August certainly picked up where July left off for the world’s largest martial arts organization.
ONE Championship’s global fan base witnessed a plethora of action early in the month that featured dominant performances from three pound-for-pound kings.
What followed was the revealing of a Muay Thai mega-fight, the official signing of a ONE Friday Fights fan favorite, and the announcements of many other tantalizing bouts.
In case you missed any of the excitement or news, here’s what unfolded in August 2023 in ONE.
Pound-For-Pound Kings Dominate At ONE Fight Night 13
On August 4 in U.S. primetime, ONE Fight Night 13 on Prime Video featured a star-studded lineup of some of ONE’s top athletes – and they each proved why they are the most feared combatants in their respective divisions.
In the main event, ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion Chingiz Allazov put on a masterful performance against #2-ranked Marat Grigorian.
What made Allazov’s performance so great wasn’t that it was another knockout. It was quite the opposite, in fact. The Azerbaijani-Belarusian proved that he has the fight IQ to match his power by outsmarting the kickboxing great over five rounds to retain his belt.
Before the main event, ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Champion Mikey Musumeci showed why he’s one of the planet’s best ground specialists by submitting strawweight MMA king Jarred Brooks.
It took a moment for the Italian-American to get going but, when he did, he stuck his tentacles all over Brooks to secure the triangle-armbar victory.
On the same night, ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai splintered Davit Kiria’s arm under kickboxing rules, announcing himself to the division in style.
Seksan Secures US$100,000 Contract
Seksan Or Kwanmuang has fought like a madman to secure his spot on ONE Championship’s main roster, and at ONE Friday Fights 29 on August 18, he finally did just that.
“The Man Who Yields To No One” bagged a coveted US$100,000 multi-fight contract with ONE after a series of incredible performances that continuously left fans scooping their chins off the floor.
Since January of this year, Seksan has gone 5-0 fighting in ONE’s 140-pound catchweight division, and every fight has been an instant classic.
Now that he’s locked down a long-term spot, we could see the Thai legend rematch Rodtang or Superlek at flyweight, or he could move up to bantamweight and challenge the man with seemingly the biggest target of all – Jonathan Haggerty.
The opportunities are endless.
Rodtang-Superlek Finally Set For ONE Friday Fights 34
We’ve been waiting for flyweight striking giants Rodtang Jitmuangnon and Superlek Kiatmoo9 to fight in ONE Championship – and now, we finally have our date.
At the beginning of August, ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced that Rodtang will defend his ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Title against Superlek at ONE Friday Fights 34 on September 22 at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Asia primetime.
The two were supposed to meet in March of this year, but “The Iron Man” had to withdraw due to injury.
Since then, flyweight kickboxing king Superlek has stopped Danial Williams, Nabil Anane, and Tagir Khalilov – two of which occurred under Muay Thai rules. Rodtang, meanwhile, finished Edgar Tabares at ONE’s United States debut in May.
There’s no doubt that it’s time to make this fight happen, especially with Superlek’s recent run of form.
In addition to the thrilling main event, the rest of ONE Friday Fights 34 is shaping up to be a blockbuster.
Thai stars Muangthai PK Saenchai and Yodlekpet Or Atchariya will square off in 138-pound catchweight Muay Thai action. Also, Aussie phenom Tyson Harrison will meet Thai veteran Kulabdam Sor Jor Piek Uthai in a bantamweight Muay Thai banger.
Plus, Seksan makes his first return to ONE since winning the coveted contract against Omnoi Stadium Muay Thai Champion Amir Naseri. ONE Interim Strawweight Muay Thai World Champion Prajanchai PK Saenchai moves over to kickboxing to face Akram Hamidi.
Finally, Lito Adiwang returns to ONE after a year-long hiatus. He injured his ACL in 2022 and had to undergo surgery and rehab. Now 100 percent healed and ready, the former top-five ranked strawweight MMA contender takes on promotional veteran Adrian Mattheis.
The card should continue to fill out over the coming weeks.
ONE Friday Fights 32 Gets A Thriller
ONE recently broke the news that #2-ranked contender Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong will square up with Mohammed Siasarani under featherweight Muay Thai rules on September 8 at ONE Friday Fights 32.
If the Thai legend wins, we could see him earn a World Title challenge. If Siasarani defeats the striking great, though, he could enter the rankings of one of the deepest divisions in all of combat sports.
ONE Fight Night 14 Card Is Complete
Some massive contests were announced during August for ONE Fight Night 14: Stamp vs. Ham on Prime Video on Friday, September 29, in U.S. primetime.
Aside from the already stacked upper portion of the card that features eight of ONE’s top women’s athletes, #2-ranked bantamweight MMA contender Stephen Loman meets the division’s top-ranked heavy hitter in John Lineker.
Loman has gone undefeated in his three ONE bouts, including a smothering performance against former divisional king Bibiano Fernandes. During that same span, Lineker lost his belt to Fabricio Andrade but bounced back with a momentous win over Kim Jae Woong this month.
In striking action, fan favorite Sinsamut Klinmee meets Dmitry Menshikov in a lightweight Muay Thai contest. Both men have fallen to divisional king Regian Eersel, and both want another stab at their former tormentor.
It was also announced that Eduard Folayang will take on old foe Amir Khan. This will be Folayang’s first fight as a representative of his newly formed Lions Nation MMA squad. And he’ll look to make the team proud when he meets the Singaporean star on the latter’s home turf.
These men last fought in 2018, as Folayang won the vacant ONE Lightweight MMA World Title with a unanimous decision over Khan.
In addition to the above bouts, former ONE Heavyweight MMA World Title challenger Mauro Cerilli takes on Paul Elliot. Asa Ten Pow welcomes Rombolek Chor Ajalaboon to U.S. primetime in bantamweight Muay Thai. And promotional debutant Blake Cooper faces Maurice Abevi in lightweight MMA.
5 More Big Battles Added To ONE Fight Night 15
As if the main event of ONE Fight Night 15 on Prime Video between Tawanchai and former ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion Superbon Singha Mawynn wasn’t exciting enough, the event on October 6 received some other high-profile additions.
In U.S. primetime, ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Champion Jonathan Di Bella makes the first defense of his belt against exciting three-sport sensation Danial Williams.
Musumeci sees a quick turnaround when he meets Japanese MMA legend Shinya Aoki in an openweight submission grappling bout that will offer the chance to finish a much bigger opponent.
In kickboxing, Thai star Anna “Supergirl” Jaroonsak is once again scheduled to face Cristina Morales. The two were originally supposed to meet at ONE Fight Night 13, but Morales had to withdraw and instead faced – and defeated – Lara Fernandez.
Under MMA rules, it was announced that Eko Roni Saputra has stepped in to fight “Wolf Warrior” Hu Yong at flyweight. Hu most famously knocked out former divisional titleholder Geje Eustaquio in 2022. Saputra, on the other hand, has seven first-round finishes in eight outings under the ONE banner.
Finally, former ONE Lightweight MMA World Title challenger Timofey Nastyukhin takes on Zhang Lipeng. The latter holds a notable win over the former divisional king in Folayang.
