Category: ONE Championship

Video: We all love MMA, but is there too much to consume these days?

We all love MMA, but do even we have our limits?

How much MMA is too much MMA?

UFC, Bellator, PFL Challenger Series, Invicta, Brave CF, One Championship, Eagle FC, and LFA all held events last week, making it challenging for even those who get paid to watch the sport to keep an intent eye on everything. Heck, it’s not MMA, but even BKFC held a fight night event.

Those combat sports promotions competed with boxing, hockey, basketball, and whatever other sports programming was broadcasted to the world.

In 2022, the MMA landscape is thriving, a far cry from 2020 where many promotions struggled to put on shows. But with head-to-head cards and so many options, do consumers hit a point of being “MMA’d out”?

That’s what we asked our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Nolan King, Danny Segura, and Brian “Goze” Garcia, who discussed the topic with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.

You can watch their discussion in the video above, or check out this week’s full episode below.

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USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, March 15: Ankalaev, Yadong inch up

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings following UFC Fight Night 203.

With UFC Fight Night 203 and Bellator 276 both in the books, numerous fighters have shifted up or down in their respective divisions.

UFC headline victor [autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag] in his first promotional main event scored a unanimous decision win over former title challenger [autotag]Thiago Santos[/autotag]. The decision wasn’t the prettiest but it was decisive. It moves Ankalev to No. 12 in the light heavyweight division.

With his big knockout win over [autotag]Marlon Moraes[/autotag] in the co-main event, [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] enters the bantamweight rankings at No. 13. As for Moraes, he drops into unranked status with his fourth-straight knockout defeat.

And if you’re wondering where [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] went, the all-time UFC light heavyweight great has been removed due to inactivity.

Take a look at the full rankings below, ahead of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 204 in London.

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‘ONE Championship: Lights Out’ results: Thanh Le knocks out Garry Tonon in 56 seconds to retain title

Thanh Le made quick work of jiu-jitsu ace Garry Tonon, keeping his 100 percent finishing rate intact. 

[autotag]Than Le[/autotag] made quick work of jiu-jitsu ace [autotag]Garry Tonon[/autotag], keeping his finishing rate 100 percent in the process.

Le (13-2) retained his lightweight title when he knocked out Tonon (6-1) in the first round of the main event at “ONE Championship: Lights Out” on Friday at Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Tonon backed up Le with a few high kicks and as soon as the pair clinched, Tonon pulled guard and started working for a leg lock. The decorated grappling specialist held onto Le’s leg, but that decision backfired on him.

Le was able to fend off his submission attempts before landing brutal ground-and-pound, including a hard right hand and follow-ups that shut off his lights in less than a minute. Le handed Tonon the first loss of his professional career and earned a $50,000 bonus for his 56-second finish, which you can see below:

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‘ONE Championship: Lights Out’ results: John Lineker knocks out Bibiano Fernandes to capture bantamweight title

The former UFC standout dethroned ONE bantamweight champion Bibiano Fernandes with a thunderous left-hook knockout.

They call [autotag]John Lineker[/autotag] “Hands of Stone” for a reason.

Lineker (35-9) dethroned bantamweight champion [autotag]Bibiano Fernandes[/autotag] (24-5) in the co-main event of “ONE Championship: Lights Out” on Friday at Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Lineker stalked Fernandes to start, with Fernandes firing back a few leg kicks. Fernandes drove Lineker to the mat, but Lineker was able to work his way back up. As soon as Lineker got up, he started landing bombs and wobbled Fernandes with a big left hook. Lineker walked him down as the pair exchanged heavy leather in the pocket.

During the firefight, Fernandes was able to drop Lineker on the counter with a left hook of his own, but once they hit the ground, Lineker reversed position and rode out the rest of the round in top position while landing some solid ground-and-pound.

Round 2 started with Lineker ripping the body, but Fernandes landed a takedown. However, once again, Lineker made his way back up and eventually found a perfect home for his left hook, which knocked out Fernandes and earned Lineker the gold.

Lineker, a former UFC standout, made good in his pre-fight prediction and was awarded a $50,000 bonus for his highlight reel finish.

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, March 8: Mitchell, Rodriguez move closer to the top

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings following UFC 272.

Following their performances at UFC 272, [autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag] and [autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag] have climbed in their respective divisions.

Mitchell (15-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) defeated Edson Barboza (22-11 MMA, 16-11 UFC) in a dominant performance on the main card of Saturday’s pay-per-view event. While he largely controlled the contest on the mat with a smothering grappling approach, he dropped Barboza with a crisp punching combination in the first round. In his first fight since Oct. 2020, Mitchell showed new wrinkles to his game and climbs up to the No. 9 slot in the featherweight divison.

On the prelims of the same event, strawweight title hopeful Rodriguez (16-1-2 MMA, 6-1-2 UFC) edged out a close split decision win over Yan Xiaonan (13-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) to pick up her fourth-straight win over top competition, bumping her up to the No. 4 spot.

After UFC 272, take a look at movement in the featherweight and women’s strawweight divisions, as well as the rest of the full rankings ahead of UFC Fight Night 203 and Bellator 276 using the dropdown menu above.

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How to watch ‘ONE Championship: Lights Out’ – Fight card, start time, live stream

ONE Championship is back Friday with “ONE Championship: Lights Out,” which includes two MMA title fights.

ONE Championship is back Friday with “ONE Championship: Lights Out,” which includes two MMA title fights.

Here’s how to watch the “ONE Championship: Lights Out” card from Singapore, where lightweight champion Thanh Le (12-2) puts his title on the line against Garry Tonon (6-0) and featherweight champ Bibiano Fernandes (24-4) defends against John Lineker (34-9).

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, March 1: Mackhachev, Mousasi climb after dominant wins

Bellator middleweight champ Gegard Mousasi and UFC lightweight Islam Makhachev rise in this week’s rankings update following dominant wins.

Two of the most impressive fighters in the sport climb in their respective divisional rankings following strong wins.

At Bellator 275, middleweight champion [autotag]Gegard Mousasi[/autotag] (49-7-2 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) made quick work of previously undefeated Austin Vanderford (11-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) in the main event. In just 85 seconds, the fight was over after Mousasi overwhelmed his opponent with sharp striking, leading to the fast TKO finish to defend his title. With his strong performance, he moved up to the No. 4 spot in the middleweight division, passing UFC’s Marvin Vettori.

Although he needed a replacement opponent on short notice once Beneil Dariush suffered an injury, Islam Makhachev (22-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC) still took care of business in dominant fashion against Bobby Green (29-13-1 MMA, 10-8-1 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 202. Although the victory wasn’t as fast as Mousasi’s, it was just as dominant, with Makhachev controlling virtually every moment of the fight from the start to the finish at 3:23 of the first round – a performance worthy of a jump up to the No. 4 position.

After UFC Fight Night 202 and Bellator 275, take a look at movement in the middleweight division, as well as the rest of the full rankings ahead of UFC 272 using the dropdown menu above.

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ONE Championship: Full Circle results – Reinier de Ridder dominates, taps fellow champ Kiamrian Abbasov

Kiamrian Abbasov’s quest to become a two-division ONE champion came up short Friday – well short.

[autotag]Kiamrian Abbaso[/autotag]v’s quest to become a two-division ONE champion came up short Friday – well short.

In the ONE Championship: Full Circle main event, middleweight and light heavyweight champion [autotag]Reinier de Ridder[/autotag] (15-0) retained his middleweight belt with a third-round submission of welterweight champ Abbasov (23-5), who had moved up to try to become a dual titleholder.

De Ridder took Abbasov down early in the first round. He omved to side control and unleashed ground and pound for much of the opening frame. In the second, it was more of the same. Late in the round, de Ridder worked for an arm-triangle choke and nearly got the finish, but Abbasov survived to see the third.

But in that round, after de Ridder again quickly got the fight to the canvas, his choke was not denied. Abbasov had to tap 57 seconds into the third. De Ridder got a $50,000 bonus to go along with his win.

Also on the card, former ONE middleweight champ Vitaly Bigdash picked up a unanimous decision over Aung La N Sang in their trilogy fight. La N Sang was strong on the feet, but Bigdash used takedowns throughout the fight to lead to submission attempts and won over the judges.

ONE Championship: Full Circle results included:

  • Champ Reinier de Ridder def. Kiamrian Abbasov via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 3, 0:57 – to retain middleweight title
  • Vitaly Bigdash def. Aung La N Sang via unanimous decision
  • [autotag]Fabricio Andrade[/autotag] def. [autotag]Jeremy Pacatiw[/autotag] via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:37
  • [autotag]Zebaztian Kadestam[/autotag] def. [autotag]Valmir da Silva[/autotag] via knockout (strikes) – Round 1, 1:26
  • [autotag]Daniyal Zainalov[/autotag] def. [autotag]Yuri Simoes[/autotag] via split decision
  • [autotag]Drex Zamboanga[/autotag] def. [autotag]Rahul Raju[/autotag] via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:05

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Shinya Aoki gets his wish, will face Yoshihiro Akiyama in a clash of Japanese legends at ONE X

After calling him out, Shinya Aoki will get his opportunity to face Yoshihiro Akiyama in March.

ONE Championship continues to stack its March event by adding an exciting welterweight matchup between two legends of Japanese MMA.

At ONE X on March 26, [autotag]Shinya Aoki[/autotag] will get his wish by facing [autotag]Yoshihiro Akiyama[/autotag] at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The two men will meet at 170 pounds, ONE officials confirmed with MMA Junkie.

After a grappling event in Tokyo, Aoki (47-9) directly confronted Akiyama (15-7) and asked him why he declined a previous fight offer. Akiyama explained there was an injury and other circumstances that prevented the fight from coming together, but also stated he was open to taking the matchup at a later time.

The stars have aligned for the bout to take place at ONE X, the date Aoki suggested.

Aoki, 38, will bring a wealth of experience from 56 professional bouts along with his grappling prowess to put his four-fight win streak on the line against a fellow legend. Aoki will enter on the heels of a first-round armbar finish of Eduard Folayang last April.

Akiyama, 46, affectionately known as “Sexyama,” will enter on the momentum of a first-round finish of his own. The seven-fight UFC veteran knocked out Sherif Mohamed at ONE: King of the Jungle in February 2020.

With the addition, the ONE X lineup includes:

  • Angela Lee vs. Stamp Fairtex – for women’s atomweight title
  • Adriano Moraes vs. Yuya Wakamatsu – for flyweight title
  • Shinya Aoki vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama
  • Demetrious Johnson vs. Rodtang Jitmuangnon

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How to watch ‘ONE Championship: Full Circle’ – Fight card, start time, live stream

ONE Championship is back Friday with “ONE Championship: Full Circle,” which includes a middleweight title bout at the top of the card.

ONE Championship is back Friday with “ONE Championship: Full Circle,” which includes a middleweight title bout at the top of the card.

Here’s how to watch the “ONE Championship: Full Circle” card from Singapore, where middleweight champion [autotag]Reinier de Ridder[/autotag] (14-0) takes on challenger and welterweight champ [autotag]Kiamrian Abbasov[/autotag] (23-4).