Category: ONE Championship

ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong savagely takes down Arjan Bhullar after DQ: ‘India will no longer look at him as a hero’

The first “red card on timidity” in the history of ONE Championship incurred the wrath of promotion chief Chatri Sityodtong.

You might say ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong took a page out of Dana White’s playbook on Friday.

Countless times throughout the years, White has thrown his UFC fighters under the bus when they haven’t performed to his expectations. Sityodtong did just that after ONE Championship 166 when he went in on criticizing former heavyweight champion [autotag]Arjan Bhullar[/autotag] following his disqualification loss to Amir Aliakbari.

“There’s just no excuse,” Sityodtong told reporters at the ONE Championship 166 post-event news conference in Lusail, Qatar. “What Arjhan did is just unacceptable at ONE Championship.”

The reason Bhullar was disqualified? Inactivity.

To say Sityodtong was embarrassed by the outcome might be an understatement as he didn’t hold back with his criticism of Bhullar (11-3).

“That’s the first time in the history of the company that we’ve ever issued a red card on timidity,” Sityodtong said. “He didn’t want to fight. And if you don’t want to fight then why are you a professional fighter? And you definitely don’t belong in the pinnacle of martial arts. I was deeply disappointed in Arjan, and I think he let down India.

“India will no longer look at him as a hero.”

Harsh words from the ONE boss about a fighter the promotion once touted as a huge deal for growing MMA in India. But were they warranted?

Referee Herb Dean made things clear with repeated warnings throughout the fight that he needed to see more forward engagement from Bhullar. Using ONE’s soccer-like card warning system, Dean issued Bhullar a yellow card early in the second round and then again a few minutes later before the bell rang – each of which came with a 10 percent fine from Bhullar’s fight purse.

At the start of the third, Dean told Bhullar a third infraction would likely incur a disqualification. With 45 seconds left in the fight, Dean finally had seen enough – or not enough – and disqualified Bhullar.

The defeat was Bhullar’s second in a row after he lost the heavyweight title to Anatoly Malykhin – who became a three-division champion at ONE 166 –in June 2023.

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ONE Championship 166 results: Anatoly Malykhin claims third title after dominant finish of Reinier de Ridder

ONE Championship returns Friday with its first visit to Qatar – and three title fights at the top of the lineup to celebrate the occasion.

ONE Championship returned Friday with its first visit to Qatar – and three title fights at the top of the lineup to celebrate the occasion.

In the main event, light heavyweight champion Reinier de Ridder met Anatoly Malykhin in a rematch. Malykhin knocked out de Ridder in December 2022 to win the heavyweight belt while de Ridder was a two-division champion.

In the co-feature, lightweight champion Kai Tang put his title on the line in a rematch with Thanh Le, whom he beat in August 2022 to win the belt. They were scheduled to meet in mid-2023, but a Tang injury forced the delay.

ONE Championship 166 took place at Lusail Sports Arena in Al Masrouhiya, Qatar. Check out the results below.

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Umm, quick question: Is a leg supposed to look like this?

Takeru Segawa may have left more than a title behind at ONE 165 in Tokyo.

Look, there’s not a hell of a lot we can really say about this.

We’re showing you a horrifyingly nasty image of a leg that has been bruised beyond true comprehension for most of us. You’ve been warned.

(And our headline? There is an understood and very rhetorical “Nope – sure ain’t” attached to the end of it.)

Takeru Segawa lost his bantamweight kickboxing title to Superlek Kiatmoo9 by unanimous decision Sunday at ONE Championship 165 in Tokyo. Takeru posted a photo on Instagram that showed him on crutches with his left leg heavily bandaged – and one of his upper leg almost entirely purple from Superlek’s kicks.

Takeru thanked fans for their support and said he will take a break to regroup. But the way that leg looks … Sheesh. A break seems like the least he could do for it.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C2rVpKKpFOP

 

Video: Yoshihiro Akiyama suffers first-round TKO loss in mixed rules bout vs. Nieky Holzken

MMA veteran Yoshihiro Akiyama loses in his return to fighting at Sunday’s ONE 165.

Longtime fan favorite [autotag]Yoshihiro Akiyama[/autotag] was stopped in his fighting return Sunday.

The Japanese star quickly was dispatched by former Glory Kickboxing champion [autotag]Nieky Holzken[/autotag] in the first round of their 187.25-pound catchweight bout at ONE 165 in Tokyo.

Akiyama and Holzken competed in a three-round mixed-rules bout, alternating between boxing, muay Thai and MMA. The official stoppage came at the 1:40 mark of Round 1.

Below, you can watch the video of Akiyama TKO defeat:

Akiyama, now 48, has been competing sporadically in combat sports in this late stage of his fighting career. Prior to this defeat at ONE 165, Akiyama fought and defeated fellow Japanese legend Shinya Aoki in an MMA bout in March 2022.

Although already a known name in Asia, “Sexyama” made his fame in America in the early 2010s fighting under the UFC banner. He gave many exciting and memorable performances competing against notable names like Michael Bisping and Vitor Belfort.

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Video: Garry Tonon scores nasty, first-round rear-naked choke at ONE 165

Watch Garry Tonon pick up another submission win at Sunday’s ONE 165.

[autotag]Garry Tonon[/autotag] continues his campaign back to the ONE championship featherweight title.

The grappling standout picked up a first-round submission win over Martin Nguyen on the main card of ONE 165 on Sunday in Tokyo. Tonon sank a nasty rear-naked choke at the 4:41 mark to get the tap. The 32-year-old also won a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus for his finish.

Below, you can watch Tonon’s submission win:

Tonon now is on a three-fight wining streak, all by submission, since his first professional defeat in 2022 when he challenged for the ONE featherweight title.

Tonon told MMA Junkie, in the lead up to the event, that he hoped to secure another title shot with a win at ONE 165.

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ONE 165: Sage Northcutt pulls out, so Shinya Aoki taps John Lineker in open-weight bout

After a bizarre circumstance, Shinya Aoki submitted John Lineker in the first round in a fight Lineker took on just a few hours’ notice.

ONE 165: Sage Northcutt pulls out, so Shinya Aoki taps John Lineker in open-weight bout

After a bizarre circumstance in Tokyo, Shinya Aoki submitted John Lineker in the first round in a fight Lineker took on just a few hours’ notice. That’s the ending, but how it got there seems unique even for MMA.

Aoki (48-11) was set to meet Sage Northcutt (12-3) in a 170-pound bout at ONE 165. The fight was the top-billed MMA bout on a card that, like most for ONE, offered matchups in disciplines other than MMA. But shortly before the fight, Northcutt pulled out due to “unforeseen circumstances” involving his cornermen.

With no welterweight available to fight Aoki on that short of notice, Lineker (37-11), who most recently fought at 135 pounds, stepped up for an open-weight shot at what would likely have been instant legend status in MMA had he won. But three minutes into the first round, jiu-jitsu wiz Aoki thrilled his home fans in Japan with a face crank submission.

Northcutt posted on Instagram in the aftermath of his pullout and said his cornermen had “last-minute visa issues” and those two coaches were on the way back to the United States. Northcutt said ONE offered up another corner option for him, but he didn’t want to fight without his core team.

Northcutt did not elaborate on when his cornermen tried to arrive to Japan, but regardless of when they were trying to get there, they couldn’t, and that led to his decision.

“I’m sorry to all my fans and to my opponent Shinya Aoki for not fighting tonight,” Northcutt posted on Instagram. “There were some last-minute visa issues with two of my coaches and they are on their way back to the US right now. One Championship offered to help by giving me a world champion Jiu Jitsu coach for a replacement, but not having my coaches that I trained my whole camp with out there with me to compete against arguably the worlds greatest MMA submission artist of all time wasn’t going to be best for me. Thank you Chatri and One Championship for trying your best to make things work at the last minute. Again I apologize to Shinya and everyone that was tuning in. I know that One 165 is an incredible card with incredible world class talent that everybody will still enjoy.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/C2pB3ImLgOE

Northcutt was supposed to fight Aoki under the ONE banner in 2021, but pulled out due to COVID-19. It’s not yet known if ONE will try to put together an Aoki-Northcutt fight for a third time.

Garry Tonon expects title shot with win over Martin Nguyen at ONE 165: ‘Makes the most sense’

Garry Tonon is hoping a win over Martin Nguyen at Sunday’s ONE 165 gets him a title shot.

[autotag]Garry Tonon[/autotag] feels he’s fighting for more than just a win or a loss on his record this Sunday.

The standout grappler thinks his upcoming fight against Martin Nguyen is an unofficial No. 1 contender bout in the featherweight division. Tonon (8-1) and Nguyen (15-6) are scheduled to fight at ONE Championship 165, which goes down at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. If victorious, Tonon sees himself getting another shot at the ONE Championship title.

“I don’t really see too many options for ONE Championship even if they didn’t want that for whatever reason, but I don’t know why (they wouldn’t),” Tonon told MMA Junkie. “I feel like it’s going to be the thing that makes the most sense, assuming I win this fight.

“Thanh Le and Tang Kai are going to fight each other. The only thing that can happen – maybe, I guess – I mean, I would’ve won three fights in a row so it would seem kind of weird to me, but the only thing that I suppose you can argue is that Thanh could lose to Tang Kai and then maybe they can ask me to fight Thanh instead of Tang Kai, but then who fights Tang Kai?”

Tonon is currently on a two-fight winning streak since losing to Thanh Le in a ONE Championship featherweight title fight. He has not been explicitly told by the organization that he’s up next if he were to get his hand raised this weekend. However, he just doesn’t see anyone better suited for the job if he defeats Nguyen.

The 32-year-old knows Nguyen is dangerous, but he plans on making a statement by submitting him.

“I don’t think he’s ever faced someone like me before,” Tonon explained. “Maybe that’s a bit of an ego-driven statement, but he has dealt with a ton of types of different challenges of elite level competition, and he’s done exceptionally well. He’s risen to the occasion. … I like my chances, of course. I don’t think he has the grappling skills to deal with the things I’m going to throw at him. The way I see this fight going is the way I see every fight going. We start by punching each other in the face, we clinch up, and I eventually put this guy down, lay some punishment and submit him. That’s the way I see this fight going.”

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Sage Northcutt plans on ‘being ready for anything’ against Shinya Aoki at ONE Championship 165

Sage Northcutt knows Shinya Aoki is a grappling specialist and plans on testing him everywhere at ONE Championship 165.

[autotag]Sage Northcutt[/autotag] plans on testing [autotag]Shinya Aoki[/autotag] everywhere.

Northcutt (12-3) mets Aoki (47-11) on Sunday at ONE Championship 165 from Ariake Arena in Tokyo in what is expected to be Aoki’s retirement fight. Northcutt originally was scheduled to fight Aoki in April 2021, but lingering effects from COVID-19 forced him out.

Four years after his brutal 29-second KO loss to Cosmo Alexandre in 2019, Northcutt returned this past May when he submitted Ahmed Mujtaba in 39 seconds. With Aoki on his radar for years, the Team Alpha Male fighter is ready for the submission specialist.

“I’ve been working my grappling for the past several years a lot,” Northcutt told MMA Junkie Radio. “Great grapplers, great teammates, great coaches. So, I’ve been really, really preparing and training my grappling a whole lot to improve.”

Aoki, 40, has 30 submissions to his name. Over 60 percent of his wins have come by submission, but Northcutt showed off his own jiu-jitsu game when he tapped out Mujtaba with a heel hook.

“A lot of people know that Shinya is known for his grappling, but it’s not just a grappling match out there,” Northcutt said. “It is mixed martial arts. You have a whole different set of tools and same thing, it’s not just a striking match. So, I think really going out there and being ready for anything is very important.”

You can watch Northcutt’s full interview above.

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ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong applauds Francis Ngannou, says boxing gamble ‘worked out beautifully’

ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong gives his opinion on Francis Ngannou’s recent success.

Like many, [autotag]Chatri Sityodtong[/autotag] didn’t see [autotag]Francis Nannou[/autotag]’s success in the boxing world coming.

Sityodtong, CEO of ONE Championship, is amazed to see Ngannou’s profile rise in the combat sports world after taking a huge gamble in leaving the UFC as champion, and perhaps taking an even bigger one by stepping in the ring with WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.

“He nailed it. Congrats to Francis,” Sityodtong told Brendan Schaub. “The whole world was skeptic, and he proved everyone wrong, so congratulations to him. He’s making history. I honestly thought him fighting Tyson Fury was crazy, beforehand. But when the fight unfolded, I was like, ‘Oh my Gosh. He actually thinks in there and beat Tyson.’ I thought Francis beat Tyson.

“All you can do is applaud and congratulate Francis. I’m like, ‘Man, he crafted his own destiny. He’s one in eight billion, and he’s proving it.’ Again, I have nothing but good things to say about Francis.”

Sityodtong and Ngannou were briefly linked during Ngannou’s free agent days. There are contrasting versions of that story, as Sityodtong claims ONE was in talks with Ngannou for a potential signing, but later chose to withdraw, while Ngannou claims Sityodtong was just “performing” and that there weren’t any serious discussions for him to join the promotion.

They both did confirm they had a three-hour meeting in Los Angeles prior to Ngannou signing with PFL for his MMA career.

Sityodtong feels Ngannou’s success has put him over any MMA entity. He also gives him credit for betting on himself.

“He’s beholden to nobody,” Sityodtong explained. “When you can fight the very best in the world the way he did with Tyson, and actually beat Tyson, like for lack of a better analogy, he’s now Mike Tyson. You call the shots.

“It was a high-risk, high-reward strategy, and it worked out beautifully. Given his life stories of working the mines in Cameroon, living in the streets of Paris homeless, his life should be a movie.”

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