Why You Can't Miss The ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix

ONE: ENTER THE DRAGON boasts a stacked card of outstanding match-ups, including a pair of World Title showdowns.

However, one of the other biggest talking points heading into ONE Championship’s upcoming event on Friday, 17 May is the launch of the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix.

The tournament promises to deliver some of the highest-level striking action ever seen in a martial arts event, with eight World Champion strikers set to feature in four quarterfinal bouts at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

With all that talent on display from The Home Of Martial Arts, here are five reasons why you cannot afford to miss out on the ONE Super Series action from Singapore.

Big-Time Tournaments Are Back

Grand prix tournaments used to be a regular part of the landscape at the highest level of martial arts – particularly in Asia, where Japan’s biggest martial arts organizations attracted huge crowds to pack arenas.

But those tournaments, featuring the best competitors in the world, have not been a factor for fans in more than a decade.

Now, thanks to ONE, those tournaments are back. The ONE Lightweight and Flyweight World Grand Prix tournaments are already underway under mixed martial arts rules – and have delivered some unforgettable bouts.

However, for the first time in ONE history, an all-striking tournament will join them.

The ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix is stacked with eight of the very best stand-up martial artists on the planet, and they will battle in a single-elimination tournament to crown a new World Champion, as well as decide who is the greatest striker in the world.

World Champions All Around

The World Grand Prix’s eight superstars are all bonafide World Champions in kickboxing or Muay Thai.

Some striking sports see the best athletes protected as they pad out their records before they cherry-pick big-money matches and paper-title belts, but that does not happen on the global stage for martial arts.

The octet of elite competitors has each thrown their hat into the ring to test themselves against the best. No fear, no protection, no handpicked opponents – just the world’s best going head-to-head.

Here is the elite lineup of World Champion strikers set for action in the tournament:

• Petchmorakot Petchyindee Academy – two-division Lumpinee Stadium Muay Thai World Champion, WMC World Champion
• Giorgio Petrosyan – two-time K-1 World MAX Champion
• Yodsanklai IWE Fairtex – two-time Lion Fight Middleweight Muay Thai World Champion, two-time WMC Muay Thai World Champion, two-division Lumpinee Stadium Muay Thai World Champion
• Samy Sana – WBC and A1 Muay Thai World Champion
• Smokin’ Jo Nattawut – two-division Lion Fight Muay Thai World Champion
• Sasha Moisa – WMC Muay Thai World Champion
• Dzhabar Askerov – two-time TNA Kickboxing World Champion
• Enriko Kehl – K-1 World MAX Champion

Two All-Time Greats Go For The Ultimate Glory

Among the eight-man field of World Champions, two names, in particular, stand out.

Thailand’s Yodsanklai and Italy’s Petrosyan have each earned legendary status in the world of martial arts through their outstanding performances and achievements in hundreds of bouts.

Now they will both chase one thing that is both missing from their résumés – a ONE World Title.

Both athletes have also expressed their desire to face each other, but the only way that can happen is if both men can progress to the final, and while many fans may fancy them to do so, that will be far from easy.

Every other contender in the competition will be gunning to shock the world and upset either of these two titans of the martial arts world, so they can expect to have to be at the peak of their powers to prevail and get their dream match.

ONE Super Series Newcomers Arrive To Prove Their Worth

Russia’s Dzhabar “Genghis Khan” Askerov and Ukraine’s Sasha Moisa will make their promotional debuts in the quarterfinal round of the tournament as they bid to take their first step on their way to the final.

Askerov, who is based in Melbourne, Australia, has 107 career victories to his name across kickboxing and Muay Thai bouts, and is a two-time TNA Kickboxing World Champion, as well as a two-time Russian Challenge Champion.

The 33-year-old striker will face skillful German kickboxing ace Enriko “The Hurricane” Kehl in the first quarterfinal match of the night at ONE: ENTER THE DRAGON.

Moisa competes out of Bangkok, Thailand, and will face “Smokin'” Jo Nattawut, who has three ONE Super Series victories to date.

The WMC Muay Thai World Champion is 24, and will enter the contest with a record of 39-7.

ONE Super Series Bouts Always Bring The Action

The birth of ONE Super Series last year has proved to be a huge success for The Home Of Martial Arts as a plethora of outstanding striking match-ups has wowed crowds across Asia.

Many of the stars set for action at ONE: ENTER THE DRAGON have been front and center in some of the most exciting ONE Super Series bouts so far.

Kehl’s thrilling win over Liam Nolan booked his spot in the tournament, while Petchmorakot’s stunning elbow against Liam Harrison produced one of the best knockouts in ONE Super Series to date.

Sana announced his world-class skill set with a victory over Giorgio Petrosyan’s brother, Armen, while Nattawut’s all-action performances have powered him to a trio of victories in ONE Super Series already.

Through their performances to date, all of the stars set for action in the World Grand Prix have proved their worth, but only one can make it all the way through the tournament and be crowned the World Champion.