ONE Championship Kicks Off ONE:WARRIOR KINGDOM In Bangkok
ONE CHAMPIONSHIP KICKS OFF ONE: WARRIOR KINGDOM AT THE SUKOSOL HOTEL IN BANGKOK
17 January 2017 – Bangkok, Thailand: The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), held a kick-off press conference on 17 January at The Sukosol Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, to formally announce ONE: WARRIOR KINGDOM. The blockbuster event is set for the Impact Arena on 11 March 2017.
Photos of the ONE: WARRIOR KINGDOM Press Conference can be downloaded here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bz-D_xso1M_hU0lsUjdqUHlBbjA.
In attendance was Chairman of ONE Championship, Chatri Sityodtong, and President of ONE Championship Thailand, Kamol ‘Sukie’ Sukosol Clapp. ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion Angela “Unstoppable” Lee of Singapore and challenger Jenny Huang of Chinese Taipei sat at the head table alongside Thai strawweight contenders Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke and Kritsada “Dream Man” Kongsrichai. Also in attendance was featherweight standout Shannon “One Shin” Wiratchai and real-life love interest Rika “The Smiling Assassin” Ishige.
Ticket information for ONE: WARRIOR KINGDOM is available at www.onefc.com.
Victor Cui, CEO of ONE Championship, stated: “ONE: WARRIOR KINGDOM is going to be the biggest event in Thailand’s history. We have Asia’s biggest star in Angela Lee defending her title for the first time in Bangkok against Jenny Huang of Chinese Taipei, and I just cannot begin to say how massive of a main event this will be. Also, we will have real-life couple Shannon Wiratchai and Rika Ishige – Thailand’s first female pro MMA fighter – fighting together on the same card. History will be made in Bangkok on 11 March.”
The Fun88 Board of Directors stated: “Fun88 has always been thrilled to partner with ONE Championship. Our association with world-class sports satisfies our goal in continuously leveling up our members’ excitement by taking them closer to where the action is. We strive to provide exclusive access to the biggest sports events and stars. In the hopes of providing the best in gaming, we plan on bringing our brand ambassadors into the mix, catering to not only our members, but ONE Championship fans worldwide as well. Certainly, there’s so much everyone should be excited about.”
“Unstoppable” Angela Lee of Waipahu, Hawaii is one of the promotion’s most established young fighters regardless of division. Lee is of mixed Singaporean and Korean heritage, and trains at Asia’s premier mixed martial arts gym, Evolve MMA. Lee’s beautiful combination of solid striking and grappling skills has proven to be a potent formula for success as she remains unbeaten in her MMA career. In her last bout, Lee captured the inaugural ONE Women’s Atomweight World Championship with an awe-inspiring victory over Mei Yamaguchi. Lee will now make the first defense of her title against Jenny Huang.
Angela Lee, ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion, stated: “I am so excited for my first title defense! I had back-to-back fights leading up to the title fight, and after I won the belt I took some time off. The goal for 2017 is to be an active champion and to stay busy. I’m really looking forward to headlining the card in Bangkok, Thailand!
“I absolutely love the people and their culture. I know that the crowd is going to go crazy on fight night! Since my last fight, I’ve been training extremely hard, improving my skill set, and I can’t wait to show everyone come March 11th.
“I’ve been watching Jenny and have seen her last few fights. I think that this is going to be a great fight and it will be exciting for the fans to see how our styles match up.”
25-year-old Jenny Huang is a female mixed martial artist representing Chinese Taipei. Unbeaten with a professional MMA record of five wins and no losses, Huang also owns three highly-impressive submission victories. In her most recent bout, Huang electrified the arena by executing an extremely rare submission, the gogoplata, overcoming a spirited performance from Filipino fighter April Osenio. In her next bout, Huang will challenge ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee.
Former ONE Strawweight World Champion Dejdamrong “Kru Rong” Sor Amnuaysirichoke is a three-time Lumpinee stadium Muay Thai world champion who holds a 6-1 record as a professional mixed martial artist. He is known as a technical fighter with devastatingly quick hands and feet. Dejdamrong employs some of the most creative striking combinations in combat sports, and is a martial artist with over 25 years of competitive experience.
Shannon “One Shin” Wiratchai of Thailand is a staple in exciting and memorable battles inside the ONE Championship cage. A mainstay of Bangkok Fight Lab, he trains in various martial arts disciplines at home in Bangkok including Muay Thai, boxing, wrestling, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. A true innovator, Wiratchai likes to be creative with his striking, employing a myriad of unpredictable off-angle elbows and kicks.
Rika “Smiling Assassin” Ishige is a 27-year-old female atomweight who is set to make her professional mixed martial arts debut in front of her hometown crowd of Bangkok. She is of mixed Japanese and Thai heritage, beginning her martial arts training at age nine with aikido and taekwondo. Heavily influenced by her late father who trained in judo, Ishige went on to hone her skills as a martial artist, eventually taking up MMA. She is also a freelance fashion model.
Ishige will debut against Malaysian female fighter Audreylaura Boniface, who trains with Malaysian female standout Ann “Athena” Osman at Borneo Tribal Squad. She will also be making her first appearance in ONE Championship.
Strawweight contender Kritsada “Dream Man” Kongsrichai of Thailand is a professional mixed martial artist with a 4-3 win-loss record. He made his ONE Championship debut in the promotion’s first ever show in Bangkok last May in 2016. Kongsrichai delighted his hometown fans with a spectacular performance, stopping opponent Kev Hemmorlor via first-round technical knockout.
For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.
About Fun88
Fun88 is the online gaming leader in Asia, offering live casino, sportsbook, in-play sports betting lottery, slot games and more. It built its credibility and trustworthiness globally through innovation and growth for over eight years in the business. Apart from its partnership with Asia’s largest sports media property, ONE Championship, Fun88 was also affiliated with top English Premier League clubs Burnley F.C. and Tottenham Hotspur and sponsors Fun88 Racing with Porsche Carrera Cup. NBA legend Steve Nash, football legend Robbie Fowler and Japanese star Rola Mizusaki are among its brand ambassadors.
About ONE Championship™
ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia featuring the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Championship is broadcast to over 1 billion viewers across 118+ countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including FOX Sports, Setanta, MNC, Astro, Thairath TV, ABS-CBN, TV5, MYTV, HTV, OSN and more.
