ONE Unveils 6 Massive Bouts For Historic First Event In Japan

ONE Championship is bringing out its biggest guns for its inaugural event in Tokyo, Japan.

Some of the world’s best and most well-known martial arts superstars are set to compete on the ONE: A NEW ERA mega-card, which will feature three World Title matches.

The event will take place at the world-famous Ryogoku Kokugikan on Sunday, 31 March.

Eduard “Landslide” Folayang will defend the ONE Lightweight World Title he reclaimed last month in a long-awaited rematch against Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki.

The pair first met in November 2016 when Folayang defeated the Japanese icon via TKO to begin his first reign as World Champion.

Now, after three consecutive first-round stoppage wins, Aoki will get the chance to settle the score against the Filipino hero in his hometown in front of his compatriots.

Also on deck is the rescheduled women’s World Champion VS World Champion super-bout between “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan and “Unstoppable” Angela Lee.

This match-up was originally scheduled for ONE: HEART OF THE LION in November, but Singapore’s Lee was forced to withdraw due to injury. Now, the atomweight queen is healthy, and she will move up in weight to challenge for her Chinese rival’s ONE Women’s Strawweight World Title.

A rematch of the greatest mixed martial arts bout in ONE history will also take place at the event.

Two-division ONE World Champion Aung La “The Burmese Python” N Sang defends his ONE Middleweight World Championship for the second time – and third time, overall – against Ken Hasegawa.

Their last contest was an epic battle in Myanmar in late June, which went all the way into the fifth round before Aung La N Sang knocked out his challenger. This time, he will travel to Hasegawa’s homeland to put his gold on the line.

In addition to this trio of World Title bouts, three more contests that could be headline attractions at any other event will capture the world’s attention at ONE: A NEW ERA.

A ONE Super Series kickboxing clash will see two legends of stand-up martial arts go head-to-head, as Yodsanklai IWE Fairtex meets Andy Souwer.

This will be a rematch of their previous meeting in 2008, when Souwer earned a victory via unanimous decision in his homeland of the Netherlands after an extension round.

Returning to mixed martial arts action on the main card, two of the promotion’s latest marquee signings from the United States Of America will make their bow on the global stage for martial arts.

As part of the first night of the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix, Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson will be welcomed to The Home Of Martial Arts by Tokyo native Yuya “Little Piranha” Wakamatsu.

Johnson is known as the most dominant world champion in the history of mixed martial arts, but he will have his hands full with his opponent, who is well-versed in a grand prix format as a Pancrase Flyweight Tournament Champion.

The ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix will also continue after its debut on 22 February at ONE: CALL TO GREATNESS in Singapore with a quarterfinal match-up between Eddie “The Underground King” Alvarez and Timofey Nastyukhin.

The three-time mixed martial arts world champion will compete in Japan for the first time since 2009 against the Russian powerhouse, who boasts an 83 percent stoppage ratio.