Stamp Fairtex, Ritu Phogat to lean on strengths in grand prix finale at ‘ONE Championship: Winter Warriors’

In a classic striker vs. grappler matchup, Stamp Fairtex and Ritu Phogat will lean on their strengths in the atomweight grand prix finale.

ONE Championship will crown a winner of its women’s atomweight grand prix, with the victor earning a shot at the division’s champion.

On Friday, the featured MMA bout of ONE Championship: Winter Warriors will see [autotag]Stamp Fairtex[/autotag] take on [autotag]Ritu Phogat[/autotag] in the finals of the atomweight tournament. The winner will earn the right to challenge for Angela Lee’s title in the near future.

The event takes place on Friday, Dec. 3, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore, and airs live on the B/R Live app.

The grand prix finale matchup is a classic striker vs. grappler battle as Fairtex (7-1) is well known as a dangerous striker with her Muay Thai and kickboxing experience. On the other side, Phogat (7-1) is a smothering wrestler who would love to get this one to the mat as soon as possible to impose her will.

“If the fight goes to the ground, I will have to find a way to get back into my own game,” Fairtex said during a recent interview with ONE commentator Michael Schiavello. “I will not play her game. I think that if she would try to stand and fight with me, she would get knocked out.”

Fairtex has three first-round finishes under her belt in her ONE Championship tenure. If Phogat hopes to challenge for Lee’s title, avoiding her opponent’s striking game will be key. Dangerous in her own right, though, Phogat has a trio of finishes in her career, proving she has the ability to end fights early as well.

“In the atomweight division, my wrestling prowess has been unmatched, it’s been unparalleled,” Phogat said.”I feel that Stamp won’t be able to beat me. [I] look forward to the 3rd of December and I’m inviting everyone to understand, to see, and witness for themselves.”

The champion, Lee, is a fan of both competitors and doesn’t have a preference on who wins. She has immense respect for both women and will be ready to face whoever emerges victorious. “I really love Stamp and Ritu,” Lee said. “I think they both have such big hearts and they’re both very humble. I’ve been a fan of them for a while now so I just want to congratulate them both on being in the finals.”

The lineup of ONE Championship Winter Warriors includes:

MAIN CARD (B/R Live, 7:30 a.m. ET)

  • Stamp Fairtex vs. Ritu Phogat – women’s atomweight grand prix final
  • Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev vs. Timofey Nastyukhin
  • Marcus Almeida vs. Ji Won Kang
  • Yong Hu vs. Yuya Wakamatsu

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Proven grappling champ Marcus Almeida fully embraces MMA: ‘It’s a new chapter in my life’

Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida discusses his decision to leave grappling and pursue a career in MMA.

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. – [autotag]Marcus Almeida[/autotag] has a new mountain to conquer.

“Buchecha,” one of the greatest and most accomplished grapplers in the history of sport jiu-jitsu, said goodbye to the mat as he now finds himself competing in the cage. Almeida (1-0) successfully transitioned to MMA in September, winning his professional debut by first-round submission under the ONE Championship banner.

It was the start of a new career as Almeida intends to invest all his efforts in MMA and no longer jiu-jitsu.

“It was amazing,” Almeida recalled fighting MMA for the first time when speaking with MMA Junkie. “To be honest, I thought I was going to be more nervous about it. Of course I was really excited, but I kept calm, and I stuck to the game plan. … I felt great, and it was better than my expectations. I think I got addicted to it, so that’s why I’m fighting again really soon. I don’t see myself leaving this sport anytime soon.”

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Almeida returns to the cage Dec. 3 at “ONE Championship: Winter Warriors.” He’s scheduled to face unbeaten heavyweight Ji Won Kang (5-0).

The 31-year-old is not fully closing the door on grappling but has no interest in competing. He believes he’s done it all in the world of jiu-jitsu and has nothing else to prove.

Almeida is eager to build a legacy in MMA, just as he did in grappling.

“I always had in my head that a real fighter always tests himself, and I want to test myself,” Almeida explained regarding his switch to MMA. “That’s what fighting is about. I test myself in the gi, and I got like 13 world titles as black belt and then I test myself no-gi, and I won two ADCC titles, which is kind of like the Olympics of grappling.

“So now I want to test myself in MMA. I did my first fight and of course I’m not done. I like it. It’s a new game. Since my last world championship, I don’t have the fire, the desire anymore to go through a camp with the gi. To win 14th time, 15th time, I think that’s not going to make a difference in my legacy.

“I proved myself already, so it’s time for a new challenge. It’s time to move on. It’s a new chapter of my life. I’m really excited about it, and it feels like a brand new beginning. It’s the same feeling when I got my black belt in 2010. I wanted to prove myself and test myself against the best. It’s a similar feeling I’m having right now in MMA.”

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Nov. 23: Sean Brady debuts at No. 9 among welterweights

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings after UFC Fight Night 198

A rising star has debuted in the welterweight rankings.

Undefeated [autotag]Sean Brady[/autotag] picked up the biggest win of his career thus far at UFC Fight Night 198, defeating Michael Chiesa via unanimous decision at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The fifth win of his UFC tenure launched Brady from unranked to No. 9, taking Chiesa’s place, who falls one spot to No. 10.

[autotag]Talia Santos[/autotag] picked up the only finish in 11 total fights on Saturday’s card, making quick work of Joanne Wood with a first-round submission win. Naturally, she took home a bonus for her efforts and also moved up from No. 11 to No. 9 in the women’s flyweight rankings, passing Wood and Vanessa Porto.

You can check out the full rankings by division with each dropdown above.

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

Here’s how to watch “ONE Championship: NEXTGEN III” on Friday.

ONE Championship is back Friday with the third installment of its “NEXTGEN” events.

Here’s how to watch the “ONE Championship: NEXTGEN III” card from Singapore, where a mix of muay Thai, MMA, and kickboxing bouts will be on display.

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Nov. 16: Cris Cyborg, Max Holloway hold their positions

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings after UFC Fight Night 197 and Bellator 271.

A pair of former UFC featherweight champions shined in their recent bouts, but given their placement in the rankings, don’t have much room to move up.

Former UFC champion [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] put on another high-volume showcase against Yair Rodriguez at UFC Fight Night 197 but stays at No. 3 behind Alexander Volkanovski and A.J. McKee in the featherweight rankings.

Bellator women’s featherweight champ and former UFC champ [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] turned back the clock and made quick work of Sinead Kavanagh at Bellator 271 to pick up her first opening-round finish since 2018, but stays at No. 2 behind her former opponent and current UFC champ-champ Amanda Nunes in the featherweight and pound-for-pound rankings.

You can check out the full rankings by division with each dropdown above.

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

Here’s how to watch “ONE Championship: NEXTGEN II” on Friday.

ONE Championship is back Friday with the second installment of its “NEXTGEN” events.

Here’s how to watch the “ONE Championship: NEXTGEN II” card from Singapore, where a mix of muay Thai, MMA and kickboxing bouts will be on display.

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Nov. 9: Kamaru Usman maintains No. 1 spot

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings after UFC 268 and Bellator 270.

After successfully securing his third title defense of the calendar year, [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] keeps a firm grasp as the No. 1 welterweight on the planet in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings.

Although he didn’t get a finish this time around, Usman defeated former interim champion Colby Covington for the second time, notching his fifth title defense by unanimous decision at UFC 268.

[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] also defended her crown against Zhang Weili, cementing her top spot among the strawweights.

You can check out the full rankings by division with each dropdown above.

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Nov. 2: Glover Teixeira ascends to No. 1

Nearly 20 years after beginning his professional MMA career, Glover Teixeira is the world’s No. 1 light heavyweight.

Nearly 20 years after beginning his professional MMA career, [autotag]Glover Teixeira[/autotag] is the world’s No. 1 light heavyweight.

With a rather dominant submission win over former champ Jan Blachowicz in the main event of UFC 267, Teixeira claimed the UFC’s light heavyweight title, as well as the No. 1 slot in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie light heavyweight rankings.

Of course, Teixeira wasn’t the only athlete to make a move at a stacked UFC 267 event. Check out the new look across all divisions using the dropdown menu above.

MMA celebrates Halloween: Amanda Nunes as Aladdin, Max Holloway as Demon Slayer, more

Check out the best social media posts from fighters and other members of the MMA community on Halloween 2021.

Today is Halloween, and plenty of fighters and other MMA notables are embracing the opportunity to dress up and celebrate the holiday.

Costumes from the past five years set the bar quite high, but the challenge was certainly met with all kinds of creative costumes.

Check below for the top Halloween costumes shared on social media.

 

Twitter reacts to Claressa Shields’ first combat sports loss at PFL Championship

Check out the top Twitter reactions to Claressa Shields’ first career combat sports loss against Abigail Montes at PFL Championship.

[autotag]Claressa Shields[/autotag]’ sophomore MMA venture did not go according to plan on Wednesday. The boxing world champion suffered his first career loss at 2021 PFL Championship.

Shields (1-1) suffered a split decision loss to Abigail Montes (3-0) in their women’s lightweight bout. She had some moments, but ultimately couldn’t thwart the grappling of her opponent and was edged out on the scorecards.

Although there were improvements shown by Shields from her debut, the end result was her first defeat in any combat sports venture as a professional.