ONE In The Media

Kade Ruotolo will make his MMA debut this spring, Sports Illustrated has learned.

His first-ever MMA bout will take place at ONE 167 on June 7 at Impact Arena in Bangkok. Ruotolo will compete in a lightweight bout against Blake Cooper, who is the younger brother of accomplished PFL fighter Ray Cooper.

The Lusail Sports Arena was electrified as ONE Championship made its much-anticipated debut in the Middle East with ONE 166: Qatar.

Fans were treated to a night of unparalleled martial arts action, featuring ten bouts that pitted the organization’s top fighters against each other in a series of thrilling matchups on Friday.

Three-division World Champion Anatoly Malykhin can easily say he’s on top of the world, and a fellow Russian superstar can attest to that.

Islam Makhachev, the reigning UFC Lightweight World Champion, said the ONE Middleweight, Light Heavyweight, and Heavyweight MMA World Champion belongs on a tier all to himself.

Two years ago, former ISKA and WBC Muay Thai World Champion Mehdi Zatout stood inside the ONE Circle with his family as tears streamed down his face. He had just been awarded a $50,000 bonus for scoring a knockout in what would be the last fight of his decorated Muay Thai career.

Fast-forward to ONE 166 in Qatar, where the 40-year-old was presented with an opportunity he couldn’t refuse – coming out of retirement to make his boxing debut against the undefeated Zuhayr Al-Qahtani.

Anatoly Malykhin became the first athlete to hold belts in three divisions simultaneously in a major MMA organization after forcing Reinier de Ridder to quit in the third round at Friday’s ONE Championship 166 event in Qatar.

ONE Championship got everything it could have asked for in Qatar on Friday, from scintillating knock outs, to historic wins and controversial finishes. The promotion’s trip to the Middle East for ONE 166 will keep fight fans talking for days, and the co-main events more than delivered on all that had been promised.

Anatoly Malykhin will go down in history as the first three-division titleholder in a major promotion after recording a third-round technical knockout over ONE Championship middleweight boss Reinier de Ridder in the ONE 166 headliner on Friday at Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar. It ended 1:16 into Round 3.

Anatoly Malykhin made history by becoming a three-division champion when he headlined ONE Championship 166 opposite Reinier de Ridder.

ONE 166: Qatar takes place this Friday, and it is the first ONE numbered event for Prime members in the United States and Canada. The card, headlined by Anatoly Malykhin challenging Reinier de Ridder for the ONE Middleweight MMA title, will air live beginning at 7:30 a.m. ET.

“This is the beginning of really big things between Qatar and ONE,” said ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong. “There’s a great alignment of vision and values. And we have three world championship rematches that are going to deliver.”

Dutch mixed martial artist, Reinier de Ridder has won two silver medals in the European Championships during his career and also held two titles at the same time in ONE Championship after capturing the ONE Middleweight MMA title as well as the light heavyweight belt. Now, the man they call “The Dutch Knight” is facing the most difficult phase of his career.

Zakari El Jamari is just days away from making his debut in the world’s largest mixed martial arts organization. As he trains in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, ahead of his first ONE Championship fight, he is buzzing with excitement.

“I’m so happy and excited to be going to ONE 166. It means a lot to me because it’s a big fight event in an Arab country. I’m so proud to have joined ONE, it’s every fighter’s dream.”