Category: ONE Championship

Video: MMA Junkie’s 2024 Year End Awards review: KO, Submission, Fight of the Year, & more

On the latest episode of “Spinning Back Clique,” we review our 2024 awards, including Knockout, Submission and Fight of the Year.

2024 is over, and with it, some great moments in MMA that should not be forgotten.

Last week, on the final episode of 2024 of “Spinning Back Clique,” we reviewed our MMA Junkie awards for Male and Female Fighter of the Year. Although those are considered by many the two biggest awards, there were other notable winners and moments that were also recognized and awarded on the site.

On the latest episode of SBC, the first of 2025, MMA Junkie’s Brian “Goze” Garcia, Nolan King, Danny Segura, and host Gorgeous George tackled the rest of our 2024 awards, including Breakout Fighter of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, Knockout, Submission and Fight of the Year, and many more. Did we make the right picks? Who else and what other moments were in the running?

Watch their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below on YouTube.

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MMA Junkie’s 2024 awards roundup: Dakota Ditcheva, Ilia Topuria, Carlos Prates and more

The MMA Junkie 2024 Awards season is in the books. Take a look back at our best of the best from the past year.

The MMA Junkie 2024 Awards season is in the books.

Now, for the first time, you can see all of our staff members’ honors from the past year in one spot, from our top fighters of the year to the biggest stunners and more. We’ve compiled all our awards coverage and best-ofs into one spot.

Take a look back at our best of the best from 2024 below.

MMA Junkie’s 2024 Upset of the Year: ‘Reug Reug’ def. Anatoly Malykhin

Anatoly Malykhin was seen as ONE Championship’s best talent. Yet, that didn’t stop ‘Reug Reug’ from dethroning him and picking up MMA Junkie’s 2024 Upset of the Year.

[autotag]Oumar Kane[/autotag] wasn’t given the credit or respect many other standouts or champions get when they transition from their respective combat sport to MMA. Fair or not, it didn’t matter in the end.

‘Reug Reug’ was one of the best in his own field prior to taking up MMA in late 2019. The Senegal-born fighter had an undefeated record of 16-0 in “lutte avec frappe”, a sand-arena wrestling style, and was built like The Hulk himself.

Yet, compared to Henry Cejudo, Bo Nickal, Rodolfo Vieira, and many other standout grapplers, championship potential wasn’t much of a point of conversation around him. It was all about Kane’s (5-1) crazy physique and freak, Pride-FC-like matchups he could provide for ONE Championship’s ratings.

To start his MMA career, like most newcomers, Kane was matched up against relatively low-level fighters with little experience or poor records. He showed great takedowns, devastating ground-and-pound, and a good understanding of the game. Over time, he escalated in competition, lost, bounced back, and went on to beat then undefeated jiu-jitsu champion Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida in 2023 to cap off this record at 5-1.

Despite punching a bit above his weight and surpassing expectations, Kane still was slapped with a big underdog label when he got his chance at ONE Championship gold in November.

It wasn’t totally unfair. Kane, who was a +500 in most sportsbooks, was fighting an Anatoly Malykhin, who not only had almost three times as much experience, but was undefeated and held belts at both light heavyweight and heavyweight. Malykhin, at a -700, was considered by many ONE Championship’s best fighter at the time.

From the moment the first bell rang for the main event of ONE 169 in Bangkok, Thailand, Kane looked like no underdog. He connected some big shots on Malykhin and then took him to the ground. Kane used his strength, high-level wrestling, and striking power to bully Malykhin like never seen before. The Russian fighter put up a good fight, and had his moments, but it wasn’t enough to beat Kane. In the end, “Reug Reug” was awarded a split decision win, and was able to take the ONE Championship belt back to Senegal.

Few saw Kane becoming a champion of a major promotion at the start of his career. Once he got to the dance years later, he was still written off by most. Against the odds and the critics, Kane scored one of the biggest upsets in ONE Champiosnhip history. That’s what “Reug Reug” was a lock for MMA Junkie’s 2024 Upset of the Year.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DCJInJLSr63/

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ONE rebooks Maurice Abevi vs. Samat Mamedov after cancellation

A notable fight is back on the ONE calendar after a cancellation earlier this year.

[autotag]Maurice Abevi[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Samat Mamedov[/autotag] is back on the ONE calendar.

Initially scheduled for ONE 168 in September, Abevi (8-1) and Mamedov (10-0) will now collide Jan. 24 at ONE 170 at Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, promotion officials recently informed MMA Junkie.

The first booking between the two fighters was canceled due to an injury to Mamedov.

Abevi rides a two-fight winning streak into the matchup. He most recently competed in May when he defeated UFC alum Lipeng Zhang by unanimous decision. Prior to that, Abevi finished Blake Cooper, brother of PFL standout Ray Cooper III, by first-round TKO.

Mamedov is a finisher with nine stoppages in 10 appearances with six submissions and three TKOs. The bout will be his promotional debut, which comes after he choked out UFC alum Will Chope in 71 seconds for Kazakh promotion Octagon League.

With the addition, the ONE 170 lineup includes:

  • Tawanchai PK Saenchai vs. Superbon Banchamek – for muay Thai lightweight title
  • Fabricio Andrade vs. Won Il Kwon – for bantamweight title
  • Superlek Kiatmoo9 vs. Nico Carrillo – for muay Thai featherweight title
  • Saeksan Or Kwanmuang vs. Soe Lin Oo
  • Suriyanlek Por Yenying vs. Thant Zin – muay Thai
  • Bampara Kouyate vs. Jo Nattawut – muay Thai
  • Marcelo Garcia vs. Masakazu Imanari – grappling
  • Maurice Abevi vs. Samat Mamedov

Video: ONE Championship muay Thai standout Panpayak upset by Egor Bikrev

A legend of the muay Thai world went down Friday in Thailand.

A legend of the muay Thai world went down Friday in Thailand.

Panpayak Jitmuangnon, who held a 249-41-3 kickboxing record heading into his ONE Championship muay Thai bout Friday against Egor Bikrev, was upset by the unbeaten Russian with a second-round TKO.

Check out the video highlights below.

 

Panpayak is the only fighter to win Thailand’s Fighter of the Year award from the nation’s sports writers three times. His viral head kick knockout of Savvas Michael in 2022 was one of the top combat sports KOs of that year.

Roberto Soldic vs. Dagi Arslanaliev, Bibiano Fernandes vs. Kevin Belingon 5 added to ONE 171

The early part of ONE Championship’s 2025 got a little healthier with the addition of three fights to ONE 171.

The early part of ONE Championship’s 2025 got a little healthier with the addition of three fights to ONE 171.

Of particular note, Croatian standout [autotag]Roberto Soldic[/autotag] (20-4) will return for the first time in nearly two years to take on [autotag]Dagi Arslanaliev[/autotag] (9-2), who will move up to welterweight from lightweight. The promotion announced the fight for the Feb. 20 event in Qatar.

In addition, ONE 171 will include a matchup between former bantamweight champions [autotag]Bibiano Fernandes[/autotag] (24-6) and [autotag]Kevin Belingon[/autotag] (20-10), who will meet for the fifth time. Fernandes has said this will the final fight of his career. He currently is 3-1 against Belingon with a split decision loss and three stoppage wins.

Plus, [autotag]Shamil Gasanov[/autotag] (14-1) will take on former two-division champ [autotag]Martin Nguyen[/autotag] (15-7) at featherweight.

Soldic came to ONE from KSW, where he was a champion, but a no contest and upset loss in his first two ONE appearances have him no doubt hungry for his first promotional win. A win for Arslanaliev could put him quickly in line for a title shot against champion Christian Lee.

Former ONE bantamweight champ Fernandes, a legendary ground fighter, will try to make it 4-1 against Belingon. They fought in 2016, 2018 and twice in 2019.

Demetrious Johnson, Ben Askren discuss who won UFC-ONE Championship trade

In 2018, an unprecedented trade in MMA took place between the UFC and ONE Championship, but who won?

In 2018, an unprecedented trade in MMA took place between the UFC and ONE Championship, but who won?

Former UFC flyweight champion [autotag]Demetrious Johnson[/autotag] was traded for ex-ONE Championship title holder [autotag]Ben Askren[/autotag]. Johnson went onto capture the ONE flyweight title, capping off his career by besting Adriano Moraes 2-1 in their rivalry.

Meanwhile, Askren came in with a bang by finishing Robbie Lawler in his octagon debut at UFC 235. Despite then being on the receiving end of the fastest knockout in UFC history courtesy of Jorge Masvidal, his ability to sell a fight made him a big star in such a short amount of time.

Judging by the way things panned out, Johnson thinks both organizations benefitted from the trade.

“My standpoint, I said everybody won,” Johnson told Askren on his “MightyCast” podcast. “I got to go to ONE Championship, make good money. You got to come to the UFC, get the opportunity to fight, see what you could do there. The UFC got you, which you were very good about creating buzz. Your sh*t-talking was actually intelligent sh*t-talking. You would be very good snippets.

“So if it wasn’t for you, they might not have the rise of Jorge Masvidal without that flying knee. …Without that flying knee you would never have Jorge Masvidal, ‘Street Jesus’ baptizing people coming up, then you wouldn’t have Kamaru Usman, you wouldn’t have Leon Edwards. Then you look at ONE Championship, they got me, I was able to fight, I get knocked out over there to show that their competition is actually legit. I come back and I beat Adriano. So I think, all in all, everybody won. What say you?”

After losing to Masvidal, Askren was submitted by Demian Maia in October 2019, before opting to hang up his gloves. He agrees with Johnson on both parties benefitting, where his move to the UFC re-ignited a final run.

“ONE Championship, the thing that was golden for them is I wasn’t going to fight,” Askren said. “I was done. If you stay in the UFC, I’m assuming you’re going to continue to fight, at least for a while. And in ONE Championship, I was legit done. I wasn’t fighting anymore.

“So, they essentially sold an asset that was kind of off market for – and you had a five-year run where I think you’ve done some grappling matches, you did a mixed-rules match, you did MMA, you’ve done a lot of things over there, which is obviously very cool. I think the most correct answer is everybody won. I got what I wanted, you got what you wanted.”

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Video: ‘Reug Reug’ gets insane parade in return to Senegal after winning ONE Championship title

Watch ‘Reug Reug’ get a hero’s welcome in Senegal following his ONE Championship heavyweight title.

[autotag]Oumar Kane[/autotag], better known as “Reug Reug,” lit up the streets of Senegal.

Kane (7-1) returned to his native country last Friday as heavyweight champion of ONE Championship. Kane won the heavyweight belt in the main event of ONE 169 on Nov. 9 after fighting and beating Anatoly Malykhin in a split decision. It was his first championship fight and tile win under the ONE Championship banner.

Kane, who was a popular Senegalese wrestler before tuning to professional MMA, arrived in Dakar, Senegal last Friday and was received by a huge crowd of people proud of his triumph.

You can watch Kane’s homecoming in the video above.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DCpPPWSO_xD/

In victory, Kane became the first African champion in promotion history. Kane turned heads when he pivoted to MMA in 2019 because of his size, physique, and athleticism. As he’s developed, Kane has continued to rack up wins, outside of an April 2021 loss by TKO to Kirill Grishenko.

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Rich Franklin thinks ONE Championship would definitely be open to having Cris Cyborg

Cris Cyborg has collected a championship in just about every major promotion – except ONE.

[autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] has collected a championship in just about every major promotion – except ONE.

Cyborg (28-2), a former UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce, and Invicta FC champion, claimed the PFL superfights women’s featherweight title when she defeated Larissa Pacheco in October. Could she add a sixth belt under the ONE Championship banner? Vice president [autotag]Rich Franklin[/autotag] thinks the promotion would certainly entertain that idea.

“I think this is a Chatri (Sityodtong) conversation. Chatri and Matt Hume, because Matt Hume is head of competition, but I think that’s definitely a conversation that they would at least be interested in having,” Franklin told MMA Junkie Radio. “It’s not one of those things where it’s like, ‘No, we’re not interested in that.’ That’s something that would for sure intrigue them,

“And I say that because as a fan, I would personally be intrigued. If I was outside this organization, I would be willing to watch and say, ‘Oh, can Cyborg capture … she’s making her way up the ranks in ONE Championship.’ I would be willing to watch that as a fan. So, I think that’s something that they would definitely be open to having a conversation about.”

However, in MMA, ONE Championship doesn’t currently have a women’s featherweight division for Cyborg to compete in. Cyborg has predominantly competed at 145 pounds throughout her career and holds notable wins over Gina Carano, Holly Holm, Julia Budd, Cat Zingano, and Pacheco.

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MMA Junkie Radio #3513: Guests Andreas Hale and Curtis Millender, UFC 309 and Paul-Tyson previews, more

Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”


Monday’s episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.

On Episode 3,513, the fellas welcome in guests Andreas Hale and Curtis Millender. They also looked ahead to UFC 309, recapped UFC Fight Night 247 and much more. Tune in!