6 Great Performances From The Stars Of ONE: ROOTS OF HONOR

The world’s most exciting mixed martial arts action will return to the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines next Friday, 12 April with a star-studded card from ONE Championship.

ONE: ROOTS OF HONOR features a World Title double-header as Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen defends his ONE Featherweight World Championship against Narantungalag “Tungaa” Jadambaa in the main event.

The co-headliner will see Yosuke “The Ninja” Saruta aim to make the first defense of his ONE Strawweight World Title in a rematch against the man who he narrowly defeated to win the belt, Joshua “The Passion” Pacio.

As we get set for another big night in one of the hotbeds of Asian martial arts, take a look at a fistful of fine performances from some of the heroes who will step into the cage on 12 April.

Nguyen Shows His Class

Martin Nguyen may be best known for his stunning one-punch World Championship-winning knockouts against Marat Gafurov and Eduard Folayang, but the Australian-Vietnamese star has much more to his game than just one-shot knockout power.

Nguyen showcased that in his most recent defense of the ONE Featherweight World Title, when he employed a strategic game plan and showcased excellent bout IQ to defeat young challenger Christian “The Warrior” Lee at ONE: UNSTOPPABLE DREAMS last May.

Nguyen expertly mixed up his game, switching between striking and grappling to keep the dangerous submission threat of Lee at bay during the five-round contest, and pull ahead on the scorecards when he moved forward to attack

It showed that Nguyen had learned in-bout maturity as a World Champion, as he adapted his style to suit the challenge of his opponent to emerge victorious.

Those skills will come in handy at ONE: ROOTS OF HONOR when defends his belt in the night’s main event.

Jadambaa’s Powerhouse Performance

Former ONE Featherweight World Champion Narantungalag Jadambaa’s quest to return to the top of the ONE Championship featherweight tree began in June 2018 when he returned from an 18-month hiatus to defeat contender Edward “The Ferocious” Kelly via TKO.

Just three weeks later, he jumped back into the cage again to face Japanese contender Kazuki Tokudome at ONE: PURSUIT OF POWER.

The Mongolian could not connect with many of his heavy punches because of Tokudome’s defensive approach, so he switched gears and turned to his wrestling to take the action to the mat. When both men were on the canvas, “Tungaa” began to unleash his power.

The pair exchanged knockdowns in the second round, but it was Jadambaa whose heavy blows throughout the contest were clearly the more effective, and a dominant third round secured a unanimous decision win that put him at the front of the queue to challenge for featherweight gold.

Saruta & Pacio’s War Of Attrition

The ONE Strawweight World Title battle between Yosuke Saruta and Joshua Pacio showed the best of both martial artists in a back-and-forth five-round contest that left the judges split on the identity of the victor.

Saruta’s takedowns caught the eye throughout the contest, while Pacio’s dangerous submission attacks on the mat kept the Japanese athlete on his game whenever the action went to the ground.

Both men also enjoyed successes on the feet, so the bout was a coin-flip heading into the final exchanges at ONE: ETERNAL GLORY.

Some believed Saruta’s positional control gave him the edge, while others felt Pacio’s relentless pursuit of offense, even off his back, put him ahead.

In the end, it was Saruta whose hand was raised after a split-decision verdict went his way as he captured the ONE Strawweight Title.

However, after a bout that was so closely contested, a rematch seemed inevitable, and we will see that match-up in Manila on 12 April.

Nakashima’s Debut Domination

When presented with an opportunity on the big stage, some athletes freeze, or suffer from debut jitters that prevent them from delivering the level of performance that earned them that opportunity in the first place.

There were no such issues for American James Nakashima when he made his ONE Championship debut at ONE: CONQUEST OF CHAMPIONS last November.

Nakashima used his wrestling base and impressive cardio to outlast the previously undefeated Raimond Magomedaliev across their three-round welterweight contest.

Such was Nakashima’s level of control and dominance over a talented opponent, his victory instantly marked him as a serious threat to the very best in ONE’s welterweight division.

The 10-0 American will face the vastly-experienced Luis “Sapo” Santos at ONE: ROOTS OF HONOR knowing a victory will push him toward the front of the queue for a shot at Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam and his World Title.

Saemapetch Prevails In An All-Out Battle

Sometimes in martial arts, you get a match-up that looks almost perfect on paper, and then it delivers the goods on event night.

That was the case with the ONE Super Series bantamweight Muay Thai clash between Saemapetch Fairtex and Alaverdi Ramazanov at ONE: CONQUEST OF CHAMPIONS.

The bout offered an exciting clash of differing approaches, as Saemapetch’s more traditional Muay Thai striking meshed beautifully with Ramazanov’s high-energy approach to create a thrilling contest that had the fans on their feet.

Both men exchanged thudding kicks and pushed each other backward with sharp teeps for three rounds, but the Thai star appeared to land the crisper, cleaner strikes to sway the judges’ scorecards in his favor.

He claimed the unanimous decision after one of the most competitive match-ups we have seen so far in ONE Super Series.