5 Reasons To Watch ONE Fight Night 15 On October 6
There are some incredible battles lined up for ONE Fight Night 15 on Prime Video.
A pair of World Title showdowns will headline the lineup in U.S. primetime this Friday, October 6, and the supporting card is stacked with some of the most exciting competitors in the world’s largest martial arts organization.
With event day rapidly approaching, here are five of the biggest reasons to catch the action live from the famed Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
#1 The Featherweight MMA Division Crowns An Interim King
While reigning ONE Featherweight MMA World Champion Tang Kai remains sidelined due to injury, the division will keep moving with an interim belt.
Former king Thanh Le has been itching for a rematch with the Chinese superstar, but he’ll need to get past Russian upstart Ilya Freymanov this Friday in a battle of elite strikers.
Le has been working hard since his five-round defeat to Tang last year, and he’s ready to prove that he deserves another shot at the undisputed gold.
But with back-to-back wins over tough opponents – including a KO of Martin Nguyen – Freymanov has quickly pushed himself into contention.
The #3-ranked contender called for a matchup with Le after submitting Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg in June. He got his wish, and there’s even more at stake with 26 pounds of gold ready to go around the winner’s waist.
Given the finishing abilities of both men – with 23 stoppages from their combined 25 MMA wins – there’s a good chance that someone will book their World Title unification battle with Tang in style.
#2 An Undefeated Kickboxing World Champion Defends His Belt
Jonathan Di Bella is putting his ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Title on the line against one of the division’s toughest competitors.
The Italian-Canadian defeated Zhang Peimian to win the belt last year – extending his unbeaten professional record to 11-0 in the process – and he’ll take on Thai-Australian “Mini T” Danial Williams in his first defense.
Like Zhang, Williams is an aggressive striker who will bring the fight to Di Bella, but the slickster from Montreal has no qualms about dealing with an opponent who comes straight toward him.
As the unbeaten king, Di Bella brings a huge amount of confidence and momentum into this contest, but “Mini T” isn’t fazed by anyone – having faced the likes of Superlek Kiatmoo9 and Rodtang Jitmuangnon already on the global stage.
Williams most recently got a late-notice shot at Superlek’s ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Title, but this time, he has a full fight camp at his natural weight class and is vowing to capitalize on the opportunity.
If “Mini T” suffers another setback, his hopes of getting another shot at the coveted strap any time soon will be unlikely. With that in mind, he’ll leave everything in the ring against a man who’s never lost in his professional or amateur career.
#3 Superstar Faces Legend In ONE’s First Openweight Submission Grappling Bout
Mikey “Darth Rigatoni” Musumeci’s openweight submission grappling match against Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki is another exciting first in ONE Championship.
Musumeci is the reigning ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Champion and arguably the greatest American-born Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitor in history. He’s spent his whole life finding ways to tap people out, and he’s brought that skill set to the world’s largest martial arts organization.
Going 5-0 with four World Title victories and three submissions in ONE so far, the 27-year-old has been untouchable at flyweight, but former ONE Lightweight MMA World Champion Aoki will enter with a significant size advantage.
Plus, “Tobikan Judan” is a BJJ and judo black belt in his own right and owns 30 career submissions in MMA while never being tapped out.
But how will the Japanese legend’s world-class MMA grappling fare against the finely tuned specificity of a true submission grappler? And is there anything Aoki can bring that his younger foe won’t have encountered before?
In ONE’s only other openweight battle, Aung La N Sang went against Alain Ngalani in MMA. The smaller man from Myanmar’s skills took precedence over size, and the real intrigue comes from seeing whether that’s the case again in this matchup.
#4 Tawanchai Continues His March Toward Kickboxing Gold
With an injury forcing Superbon Singha Mawynn out of his challenge for the ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Title, reigning king Tawanchai PK Saenchai has a new assignment on Friday.
Tawanchai will now face off against powerful veteran “Smokin” Jo Nattawut in a kickboxing clash that could help to push him toward his dream of two-sport gold.
After a stunning stoppage in his ONE kickboxing debut against Davit Kiria, the Thai superstar could continue his rise with a decisive victory over a man who’s earned his stripes on the global stage.
As well as taking on the likes of Chingiz Allazov and Giorgio Petrosyan, “Smokin” Jo has racked up five wins with three knockouts in his ONE tenure.
He also has more kickboxing experience than Tawanchai in recent years, so he’ll be comfortable with the format, while also relishing the chance to make a statement against one of the promotion’s biggest names.
However, Tawanchai didn’t miss a beat against Kiria, and he looks like a nightmare for every other athlete in ONE’s featherweight kickboxing division.
#5 A World Title Challenger Could Emerge For Jarred Brooks
ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks is ready and waiting for his next challenger to emerge.
Brooks dethroned Joshua “The Passion” Pacio to win the belt last December, but the latter could make his case for a rematch at ONE Fight Night 15.
The Filipino superstar is facing Mansur Malachiev this Friday, and a convincing victory over the Russian wrestler could prove that he’s ready for another shot at “The Monkey God.”
Stylistically, it’s a good litmus test for “The Passion,” but Malachiev also has momentum to make him relevant. The 31-year-old phenom is 11-0 in MMA and dominated Jeremy Miado en route to a first-round victory in his ONE debut.
Now sitting at #5 in the strawweight MMA rankings, Malachiev has a lot to gain from facing #1-ranked Pacio, while the former divisional king must show that he’s made gains in the right areas to go against Brooks again.
While there’s no guarantee, a convincing win for either man could punch their ticket to the next shot at the gold.
