Several Thrilling Bouts Added To ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLD
Just when you thought the blockbuster card in Manila couldn’t get any better, ONE Championship adds several marquee matchups to accompany the World Champion showdown at ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLD.
Set for 10 November at the state-of-the-art Mall of Asia Arena in the Philippines, the event features ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang (18-5) defending his title against ONE Featherweight World Champion Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen (9-1). The bout takes place as the evening’s headline offering.
An Epic Co-Main Event
In addition, it has just been announced reigning ONE Flyweight World Champion Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes (16-2) of Brazil will put his title on the line against rising Filipino star Danny “The King” Kingad (8-0) of Team Lakay.
Moraes recently regained his coveted belt this past August in Macao, becoming the undisputed flyweight king by unifying the titles and snapping former champion Kairat Akhmetov‘s perfect 23-bout win streak.
It was the perfect payback for the Brazilian, as Akhmetov was the one who first dethroned him via an incredibly close split decision.
Kingad, on the other hand, is one of the most promising young talents to come out of the Philippines, and is currently unbeaten as a martial artist.
He joined ONE Championship in April of 2016, and has impressed with a sublime mix of striking and grappling techniques that have earned him wins over the likes of Malaysia’s Muhammad Aiman and fellow Filipino standout Eugene Toquero.
A Possible Bantamweight Title Eliminator
Also on the card is Filipino knockout artist Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon (16-5) of Baguio City’s Team Lakay, who is set to face unbeaten Korean-American prospect Kevin “Old Boy” Chung (5-0).
Belingon, who has laid waste to the biggest names in the bantamweight division in his past few outings, is knocking on the doorstep of another title shot against reigning ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes, whom he lost to in 2016.
The Filipino’s past three victories — which includes two scintillating stoppages over fellow former world title challengers Toni Tauru and Reece McLaren — are indicative of how much the Igorot warrior has improved.
However, before he can even think of challenging Fernandes again, Belingon will have to get past the highly-regarded Chung, who made his ONE Championship debut last June with a second-round technical knockout over China’s Zhong Qingya.
A Strawweight Submission Showdown
In addition, two high-level grapplers in Brazil’s Alex “Little Rock” Silva (5-1) and Japan’s Hayato Suzuki (17-0) are about to throw down inside the ONE Championship cage.
Silva, a member of the prestigious EVOLVE Fight Team in Singapore, has won his last four contests in impressive fashion, with each victory coming by submission.
The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt will have his hands full against Suzuki, a Japanese champion who shocked the world last August with a first-round victory over former world title challenger Joshua Pacio.
The Philippines’ Finest
Team Lakay is certainly out in full force at ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLD, with the addition of female atomweight contender Gina “Conviction” Iniong and former ONE Strawweight World Title challenger Joshua Pacio to the card.
The highly-regarded Iniong (5-2), is considered a major threat to “Unstoppable” Angela Lee’s ONE Women’s Atomweight World Championship.
She joined the promotion last April, thoroughly defeating Filipino-English competitor Natalie Gonzales Hills via unanimous decision. Iniong is set to take on Jakarta, Indonesia’s Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol.
Pacio, on the other hand, is looking to bounce back from a heartbreaking setback to Hayato Suzuki last August.
After nearly defeating reigning ONE Strawweight World Champion Yoshitaka Naito in 2016, Pacio went on to trump former champion Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke last March, before running into Suzuki months later.
He will be taking on former professional boxer and another former world title challenger in Roy “The Dominator” Doliguez (7-4) of Manila. Doliguez is fresh off a comeback knockout win against the highly-regarded Yago Bryan.
A New Beginning
Just last December, former ONE World Title challenger Reece “Lightning” McLaren (9-5) gave Bibiano Fernandes his toughest bout inside the ONE Championship cage to date.
However, after a stinging loss to Kevin Belingon last August, McLaren now makes the move to flyweight, where he takes on top divisional talent Anatpong “Mak” Bunrad (5-3) of Thailand in a renewed bid for ONE Championship gold.
Bunrad is similarly looking to make a definitive statement, after dropping two razor-thin split decisions to top contenders Geje Eustaquio and Gianni Subba, and taking out a former world title challenger would be the perfect way to do so.
In Preliminary Action
Kicking off an exciting card at ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLD, Chinese featherweight Xie Chao will take on Malaysia’s Kelvin Ong.
Xie was victorious in his most recent contest, submitting Marc Marcellinus with a first-round kimura in his promotional debut at ONE CHAMPIONSHIP: SHANGHAI.
Ong, who trains alongside Ann “Athena” Osman and AJ “Pyro” Lias Mansor at Borneo Tribal Squad, will try his best to derail Xie’s winning ways in one of the evening’s preliminary bouts.
Also featured on the undercard is a classic clash of grappler versus striker, as China’s national wrestling champion Peng Xue Wen takes on three-time national Kun Khmer champion, Phat Soda of Cambodia, in a three-round strawweight bout.
ONE Championship has one bout left to announce at ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLD, which will be revealed at a later date once confirmed.
