5 Reasons To Watch ONE Fight Night 7: Lineker vs. Andrade II on February 24
This Friday, February 24, the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium will play host to a blockbuster fight card featuring contests in four different combat sports disciplines.
Airing live in U.S. primetime, ONE Fight Night 7: Lineker vs. Andrade II on Prime Video will showcase a number of the promotion’s most entertaining warriors competing in high-stakes, action-packed bouts from start to finish.
Simply put, fans of world-class martial arts won’t want to miss this show.
With less than a week until the action goes down, let’s take a closer look at why ONE Fight Night 7 is sure to produce fireworks in Bangkok, Thailand.
#1 A Heated World Title Rematch
In the main event, former bantamweight MMA king John “Hands of Stone” Lineker and rising superstar Fabricio “Wonder Boy” Andrade will finally settle their score and determine the undisputed ONE Bantamweight World Champion.
The bitter rivals first squared off last October at ONE on Prime Video 3, but their electrifying battle ended in a disappointing no contest when Andrade delivered an inadvertent illegal low blow midway through the third round – just moments after Lineker appeared to be on his last legs.
With no love lost between these two fan-friendly Brazilian knockout artists, we can safely expect another barnburner in their much-anticipated World Title rematch.
#2 Tawanchai’s First World Title Defense
Five months after he wrested the ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Title from Petchmorakot Petchyindee, 23-year-old striking phenom Tawanchai PK.Saenchai can prove he’s here to stay when he defends his throne against surging challenger Jamal Yusupov in the co-main event.
An explosive striker with an unbreakable will, the Thai sensation has long been touted as a generational talent.
But on Friday, he’ll have to get past Yusupov. The Turkish-Russian star is undefeated inside the ONE Championship Circle and is feared for his thunderously powerful left hand, making him a serious threat to capture Tawanchai’s gold belt.
#3 Grappling Stars On The Rise
ONE Fight Night 7 will showcase some of the promotion’s ever-expanding roster of elite submission grapplers.
First, the lead card will feature an intriguing matchup between Europe’s top BJJ black belt, Tommy Langaker, and multiple-time Sambo World Champion Uali Kurzhev.
Langaker comes into the bout following an impressive victory over Renato Canuto and could earn a shot at lightweight submission grappling king Kade Ruotolo with another strong showing against Kurzhev.
On the main card, American BJJ superstar Danielle Kelly will aim to build on a dominant submission win in her last outing and position herself for an inaugural World Title shot when she tussles with judo black belt and MMA standout Ayaka Miura.
#4 Big Boys Throw Down
While fans can definitely get invested in technical battles where the skill sets make for a game of inches, you can never underestimate the excitement of two giant men slugging it out.
Romanian Andrei Stoica and Albanian Françesko Xhaja will offer this type of showdown when they clash in a light heavyweight kickboxing tilt, with the 6-foot-2 Stoica giving up 2 inches to his 6-foot-4 opponent.
Known as “Mister KO,” Stoica has fists like lumps of iron, but Xhaja will not back down from a firefight given his own concussive tendencies.
This means that fans will get to witness two elite strikers throw down until the match reaches its most likely conclusion – a knockout finish.
#5 Indonesia’s Top MMA Stars Look To Make Statements
Finally, a trio of Indonesian phenoms will aim to prove that their country is now an MMA powerhouse.
Currently riding a seven-fight winning streak – with an absurd 100 percent first-round finishing rate – Eko Roni Saputra could enter the flyweight division’s top-five rankings with a victory over #3 contender and former World Title challenger Danny Kingad.
Also, Linda Darrow is the region’s top atomweight and will have the chance to improve on her perfect 6-0 record when she goes toe-to-toe with Victoria Souza.
And in the opening bout of the event, long-established strawweight Adrian Mattheis will try to make his own case for a top-five spot when he takes on talented Chinese striker Ze Lang Zha Xi.
