What’s Next For The Big Winners Of ONE: CALL TO GREATNESS?

ONE Championship returned home for its latest martial arts spectacle, ONE: CALL TO GREATNESS, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday, 22 February, for an unforgettable night of action.

The 11-bout card featured the coronation of a two-sport ONE World Champion, a pair of lightweights’ advance in the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix, and eight more thrilling bouts.

Before we turn the page, take a quick look at the crystal ball and see what could lie in the future for some of the night’s biggest winners.

Stamp Fairtex

Thai superstar Stamp Fairtex made history on Friday as she became the first athlete to win ONE World Titles in two different sports.

She entered the Singapore Indoor Stadium as the ONE Atomweight Kickboxing World Champion, and she left with the inaugural ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Title, too.

The 21-year-old did not have an easy match, however. Janet “JT” Todd gave her everything she could handle over five rounds, including a surge late in the contest where the American really started to pick up steam. But the Thai’s skills and veteran expertise proved to be too much, as she out-worked Todd en route to a unanimous decision.

Now a two-sport ONE World Champion, there is a big target on Stamp’s back, and her next challenge could be two-time Muay Thai World Champion Istela Nunes.

The Brazilian atomweight has shown incredible striking prowess in mixed martial arts and, just like Stamp did in October, she could relish the opportunity to return to her striking roots and challenge Stamp in a battle among World Champions.

Ariel Sexton & Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev

There is no guesswork involved in the next round of the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix after a pair of exhilarating finishes this past weekend.

In the co-main event, Ariel “Tarzan” Sexton had to survive an early knockdown before surging to a comeback submission victory in the final round against former ONE Lightweight World Title challenger Amir Khan.

Meanwhile, Saygid “Dagi” Guseyn Arslanaliev continued to live up to his reputation as one of the most devastating finishers in the sport after he needed just 25 seconds to knock out veteran lightweight contender Ev Ting.

Now, Sexton faces Arslanaliev in the semi-finals of the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix with the winner moving on to the finals in late 2019.

Sexton is a phenomenal grappler with a battle-tested chin, as well as an incredible will and durability. He will need all of those attributes when he meets the mauler from Turkey, who has torn through the competition since he arrived in The Home Of Martial Arts in January 2016.

Rudy Agustian

Rudy “The Golden Boy” Agustian continued to impress as he finished Cambodia’s Khon Sichan via rear-naked choke in the first round at ONE: CALL TO GREATNESS.

The Indonesian flyweight is now 3-0 in The Home Of Martial Arts with a pair of submission victories under his belt.

Perhaps next he could face another Cambodian flyweight in Chan Rothana.

Rothana engaged in one of the most exciting contests of 2018’s fourth quarter. In December, he had a back-and-forth war with Abro Fernandes and survived a potent ground attack before managing to stop “The Black Komodo” via second-round TKO.

“The Golden Boy” has looked unstoppable thus far, but Rothana’s dynamic skill set and non-stop motor could truly test the Indonesian.

Regian Eersel & Nieky Holzken

Sometimes, match-ups just make themselves, and there is no better case for that than a pair of ONE Super Series lightweight kickboxing contests that unfolded at Friday’s event.

Dutch striker Regian “The Immortal” Eersel brought the Singapore crowd to its feet with his stunning knockout of Anthony Njokuani on the preliminary card.

Eersel has looked like a future World Title contender with his blistering performances thus far in ONE Super Series, but he could face his toughest test to date in fellow Dutch kickboxer Nieky “The Natural” Holzken.  

Holzken showed off his veteran experience while getting the better of Mustapha Haida over three rounds with a picture-perfect performance on the main card.

“The Natural” is a multi-time Kickboxing World Champion across several different organizations, so he certainly has the credentials to back up his claim as one of the best in the sport.

Both Eersel and Holzken are two of the best lightweight kickboxers on the ONE roster, and it only makes sense to see these two collide sooner rather than later.