Tag: Martin Nguyen

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.

‘ONE Championship 118: Inside the Matrix’ set for Oct. 30, features four title fights

ONE Championship 118 is now official for Oct. 30, and four championship fights headline the card.

ONE Championship 118 is now official for Oct. 30, and four championship fights headline the card.

ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong recently revealed the promotion’s plans, though he declined to name a location for the behind-closed-doors event, which will stream live on B/R Live.

In the night’s main event, two-division champion [autotag]Aung La N Sang[/autotag] (26-10) puts his light heavyweight title on the line against undefeated Dutch challenger [autotag]Reinier de Ridder[/autotag] (12-0).

Additionally, welterweight title holder [autotag]Christian Lee[/autotag] (13-3) puts his belt on the line against undefeated challenger [autotag]Iuri Lapicus[/autotag] (14-0), lightweight champion [autotag]Martin Nguyen[/autotag] (13-3) faces “The Ultimate Fighter 22” cast member [autotag]Thanh Le[/autotag] (11-2), and women’s flyweight champ [autotag]Jing Nan Xiong[/autotag] (14-2) faces [autotag]Tiffany Teo[/autotag] (9-1).

Additional fights are expected to be announced shortly.

“You know, I hate to sound trite but the show must go on, and what I have learned personally is that my team at ONE Championship, the resilience, the passion, the excellence, has far exceeded my expectations,” Sityodtong said on a recent media call promoting the event. “I will tell you that the morale internally in ONE Championship is at all-time high. People are just fired up.

“I always say that in crisis, you really discover who you are as a person, who you are as an individual, and as a team, and one quote that comes to mind, always is, you know, ‘Ships are not made for the calm waters of the harbor, ships are made for the rough seas in search of new horizons,’ and, ‘Great captains are made in rough seas, never in the calm of the harbor.’ That’s why I said, you know, I think, I genuinely believe that the best companies in the world will not only survive, they will thrive in the same way ONE Championship is thriving in this environment. The show must go on.”

ONE Championship hasn’t hosted a title fight since January’s ONE Championship 107 event in the Philippines.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic forced ONE Championship officials to halt live events from March until late July, when the company set up shop for a string of six fight cards in Thailand.

Ahead of the Oct. 30 event, the promotion will host two cards in Singapore, starting with Friday’s “ONE Championship 116: Reign of Dynasties,” which streams on B/R Live.

The lineup for “ONE Championship 118: Inside the Matrix” currently includes:

  • Champ Aung La N Sang vs. Reinier de Ridder – for light heavyweight title
  • Champ Christian Lee vs. Iuri Lapicus – for welterweight title
  • Champ Martin Nguyen vs. Thanh Le – for lightweight title
  • Champ Jing Nan Xiong vs. Tiffany Teo – for women’s flyweight title
  • [autotag]Antonio Caruso[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Eduard Folayang[/autotag]

ONE featherweight champion Martin Nguyen reveals Thanh Le matchup, wants it in Vietnam

ONE featherweight champion Martin Nguyen revealed he’s facing Thanh Le next, and said he’s pressing ONE to stage the fight in Vietnam.

Ever since he stunned Marat Gafurov to capture the ONE featherweight title back in 2017, [autotag]Martin Nguyen[/autotag] has always had a target on his back. But, rather than waiting for the challengers to come to him, he’s been pushing for fights with the most dangerous men in the division.

Nguyen (13-3) explained that he had picked out a shortlist of top contenders and given it to ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong to help get him matched up in his next title defense as easily as possible.

One matchup that looked to be on the table was a title clash with grappling ace Garry Tonon, who has gone undefeated since transitioning to MMA with ONE Championship. But Nguyen explained that, despite accepting Tonon’s challenge, that bout didn’t come to fruition.

“Yeah, most definitely (I’d fight Garry),” he told MMA Junkie. “Garry is part of the five people that were on my list to fight. Chatri has that list, but yeah, I said I would fight Garry Tonon. I accepted a bout on my end (but) I don’t know what happened at his end, or if ONE Championship staff didn’t think that he was ready yet. But the stars will align and, when that day comes, yeah, it’s gonna be fireworks, definitely.

“But this next bout is going to be fireworks (too). Hopefully, if everything goes well and this coronavirus passes through, I’ll be versing [autotag]Thanh Le[/autotag].”

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Le’s clinical knockout performances since joining ONE have marked him out as a clear and present danger to “The Situ-Asian’s” featherweight title reign. Le (11-2) is 3-0 in ONE Championship, with all three wins coming by knockout in a combined time of just 4:31.

Nguyen says that explosive finishing potential should mesh well with his own and deliver a spectacular fight for the fans.

“This one’s going to be a cracker of a fight,” he said. “I cant wait to showcase everything that I’ve learned. He’s going to be getting three camps’ worth of Martin Nguyen, so we’ll see what happens.”

Both Nguyen and Le are of Vietnamese heritage, and the Australian said he’s already pitched the possibility of their fight taking place in Vietnam in what would be the first major global title fight to be held in the nation, which only legalized MMA in February.

“I did make a suggestion, and it would make a killer of a sell-out show if there was anyone was allowed to attend the fight,” he explained. “I did say that me and my opponent in Vietnam would be a killer event, since I heard MMA had just been legalized there. So we’ll see what happens, man.”

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Beat the lockdown blues and watch these 35 stunning finishes from ONE Championship archive

Get your fix of spectacular MMA with this highlight reel of finishes, courtesy of ONE Championship.

It’s officially lockdown season, so killing time watching compilation videos on the internet is probably something many of you have already started doing. Don’t worry, you’re not alone!

The folks at ONE Championship are also well aware of that fact and have put together an action-packed highlight reel to help brighten up your day with some of the very best finishes from the Asian promotion’s recent history.

All of the big stars are in there, with ONE champions [autotag]Martin Nguyen[/autotag], [autotag]Aung La N Sang[/autotag] and [autotag]Angela Lee[/autotag] joined by the stars of ONE Super Series, who helped bring an added dimension to ONE Championship’s events with their action-packed muay Thai and kickboxing bouts.

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It all adds up to a 21-minute thrill ride of fight finishes, featuring spectacular knockouts, creative submissions and a few names who, if you’re not familiar with ONE, you may well want to check out again once the global coronavirus lockdown is over.

There are a whopping 35 finishes to check out here, so settle in, enjoy, and hit us up on Twitter to let us know whose finish was your favorite.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

ONE Championship stars deliver the positivity we all need during the coronavirus lockdown

Demetrious Johnson and Angela Lee head a list of ONE Championship’s stars offering words of support to fans during the coronavirus crisis.

We all need a little positivity in our lives right now, and the stars of ONE Championship are on hand to deliver.

A host of ONE Championship’s biggest names joined forces to share a message of support to their fans around the world as we all battle to cope with a new way of life during the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Recording video messages from their homes, ONE stars [autotag]Demetrious Johnson[/autotag], [autotag]Martin Nguyen[/autotag], [autotag]Sage Northcutt[/autotag], [autotag]Aung La N Sang[/autotag], [autotag]Angela Lee[/autotag], and [autotag]Vitor Belfort[/autotag] came together to send their positive messages to everyone as the world adapts to life during the global lockdown.

Demetrious Johnson, ONE flyweight grand prix champion

“I just want to give everybody some positive vibes. Take some time to enjoy the family and get things done that you don’t have time normally to do. I know a lot of people are going crazy. They can’t go to their gym, they can’t work out, they’ve got to stay on their fitness grind. Don’t worry about that. That’s gonna be there.”

Martin Nguyen, ONE featherweight champion

“I know the world’s going through a disaster at the moment. I urge everyone to please stay home, stay safe, be with family. You are not alone in this situation. The world will all get through this together.”

Sage Northcutt, ONE championship lightweight

“I know right now the world is fighting off this coronavirus and for so many of us to set back, set back our family, our work, the things we do in our day-to-day life. But our success comes in overcoming this hardship, and defeating it. So don’t give up, keep your faith up, stay strong and together we’re stronger. We’ve got this.”

Aung La N Sang, ONE middleweight and light heavyweight champion

“It’s important that we keep safe. It’s important that we stay healthy, hydrated and get plenty of sleep, because if our immune system’s weak, we can be compromised. So it’s very important our immune system is strong and our body is healthy. Stay safe, guys.”

Angela Lee, ONE women’s atomweight champion

“We’re all going through a very uncertain time, and I know it may be hard, but we’ve got to stay positive. Yes, life may not be like it usually is. There’s some things we have to change, things that get in the way. Trips canceled, fights delayed. But I can guarantee you there’s at least one thing that you can be grateful for right now. So let’s count our blessings. Let’s stay grateful, stay healthy, and we’ll get through this together.”

Vitor Belfort, ONE championship light heavyweight

“This virus affects every place on the planet. And the lesson is everyone is locked down, everyone is struggling, but I believe the lesson we learn is love your kids more. More time for you to dig inside of you. Who are you? What’s your identity? Remember, we are one – one people fighting one virus. This virus is so small, so tiny. How can that thing can everybody down on their knees? Don’t stay down. Stay positive. Get back up. Do as much as you can right now. Isolate yourself. Time now is in your favor. Let’s use it. Be smart. We are all one. Let’s go.”

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

Aung La N Sang vs. Jon Jones? Fantasy matchmaking with ONE Championship’s Michael Schiavello

ONE Championship commentator Michael Schiavello chatted with MMA Junkie as he shared his dream fights to make once the MMA world gets back into full swing.

With no fights set to take place for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis, much of the MMA world has been left pondering which big fights they’d love to see when the world gets back to normality again.

One man who has a wish list packed with blockbuster super fights is ONE Championship commentator Michael Schiavello, who chatted with MMA Junkie to offer his suggestions for some of the biggest post-coronavirus matchups he’d love to see under the ONE Championship banner later this year, as well as a pair of dynamite cross-promotion fantasy fights involving ONE Championship and UFC stars.

Aung La N Sang vs. Jon Jones

Schiavello: “[autotag]Aung La N Sang[/autotag] vs [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] is such a battle of styles and a battle of range.

“How does Aung La handle someone with the range of Jon Jones? He got past the range of Vera pretty easily, but Jones uses his range on a whole other level. And how does Jones react when he hits Aung La with these long-reaching high knees and hands and legs, and Aung La walks through them, gets in his face and lands that steel pipe to his jaw, and touches him up?

“That would be magnificent. But it also depends a lot on where you’re going to hold this match. If you hold it in the U.S., in Jones’ backyard, an obvious advantage swings to him. But if you hold this in Yangon, in Myanmar, in a soccer stadium with 50,000 people in there, I’m telling you, a big advantage swings back to Aung La. That crowd alone is like nothing you’ve ever seen in your life.

“I’ve commentated the biggest combat events. I’ve done the Olympics, I’ve done K-1, I’ve done DREAM, I’ve done Dynamite, I’ve done 80,000 people in the Tokyo Dome – I’ve done them all. But I’ve never heard anything like 10,000 inside Thuwunna Indoor Stadium when Aung La is fighting. To say you can’t hear yourself think is true. I can’t hear myself commentate these fights, even though I’ve got my headphones cranked up to 10 out of 10 on my levels. I can’t hear myself. It’s nuts.

“For anyone to come into that atmosphere – for Jon Jones to step into Myanmar and compete in that atmosphere – it’s so overwhelming. People might read this and go, ‘Come on, Schiavello! Jon Jones will obliterate Aung La.’ People are thinking you can’t compare Aung La to Jon Jones, but no, man. If you’re going to compare, you have to compare in all the aspects, and one big aspect is Aung La in Myanmar is untouchable, unbeatable. What would happen if Jones stepped into Aung La’s backyard and did it there? There’s so many factors, and that’s what makes it a fantastic match.”

Zhang Weili vs. Xiong Jing Nan

Schiavello: “From a population viewpoint, clarifying they’re [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] and [autotag]Xiong Jing Nan[/autotag] – imagine the eyes on that, just from China alone.

“You put Xiong Jing Nan against Zhang. Who’s the better? Who’s the real superpower between those two? Two ferocious athletes who have completely different styles. That would be magnificent. That would be a great fantasy double-header right there.”

Next up: A huge fight for the biggest title in ONE Championship

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Garry Tonon shoots his shot on Twitter, calls for ONE featherweight title fight

“The longer you wait, the worse it’s gonna get.”

Grappling ace [autotag]Garry Tonon[/autotag] has proved his mastery on the mats. Now he plans to do the same in MMA by capturing the ONE Championship featherweight title.

“The Lion Killer” transitioned to MMA with ONE Championship in 2018 and has looked better with each performance as he’s reeled off five consecutive victories in ONE Championship, three by submission and two by TKO.

Now the 28-year-old New Jersey native says he’s ready for a shot at the ONE featherweight title held by Australia’s former two-division champion [autotag]Martin Nguyen[/autotag] (13-3), and Tonon (5-0) has taken his campaign to to social media to respectfully call for a shot at the belt.

In a video message posted to his 20,000 followers on Twitter, Tonon said, “I’ve been working my ass off my whole life to give you guys some of the most exciting grappling matches and fights you’ve ever seen. And now, I come to you asking for a favor.

“I need you to hit up ONE Championship and Chatri (Sityodtong, ONE Championship CEO), and tell them you want to see Garry Tonon and Martin Nguyen fight for the title. Thanks guys, I really appreciate your support.”

Tonon later doubled down on his callout as he posted a second video message, addressing the “The Situ-Asian” himself.

“This next message is for Martin Nguyen himself,” he said. “I respect everything you’ve done in ONE Championship, becoming a champ-champ over there, and I aspire to do the same. I just have a little piece of advice for you. You should probably take the fight now. The longer you wait, the worse it’s gonna get.”

With Nguyen currently looking for his first title defense of 2020, and with ONE looking to expand their global footprint into the United States, Tonon’s callout could potentially be perfectly timed. Neither man currently has a fight booked and, with ONE’s event in Ho Chi Minh City on March 20, ONE Championship 110, needing a main event, a matchup between Tonon and Australian-Vietnamese champion Nguyen might just prove to be the ideal booking.

Video: ONE Championship’s Top 10 Knockouts of the Year: Part 3 – Relive Joshua Pacio’s show-stealing finish

Recap the best knockout finishes from Asian MMA promotion ONE Championship in their end-of-year countdown.

It’s been a spectacular year for Singapore-based promotion ONE Championship. With big-name signings and a packed schedule of events encompassing MMA, kickboxing and Muay Thai, 2019 has been the biggest year in ONE Championship history.

The promotion has served up more than its fair share of spectacular finishes over the course of the year, as the stars of Asian MMA have delivered a plethora of eye-catching knockouts to wow the fans across the region.

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In Part 3 of ONE’s official countdown of their Top 10 knockouts of the year, we round out the list with the top three knockout finishes from the Asian promotion.

The KO that resonated the most with the U.S. MMA audience was undoubtedly [autotag]Timofey Nastyukhin[/autotag]’s first-round demolition of former UFC and Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez at “ONE: A New Era” in Tokyo, Japan. The Russian lightweight had a well-earned reputation as a devastating first-round finisher, but his resumé nonetheless flew under the radar of many fans heading into his bout with the debuting Alvarez on Mar. 31.

But those fans who weren’t aware of Nastyukhin’s nasty KO power were certainly aware of it by the end of the contest, as the power-punching Russian dismantled Alvarez inside a round to claim a huge victory and eliminate the American from the ONE lightweight grand prix at the quarterfinal stage.

If Nastyukhin’s stoppage of Alvarez was a heavy-handed beatdown, the No. 2 KO on the list was a one-shot special from one of the organization’s best athletes.

Australia’s [autotag]Martin Nguyen[/autotag] became ONE’s first “champ champ” in 2018, but after relinquishing the lightweight belt later that same year due to injury, “The Situ-Asian” headed into 2019 focused on defending his featherweight title. And he successfully held on to his belt throughout the year with a pair of stoppage victories, with his April finish of former featherweight champion Narantungalag Jadambaa at “ONE: Roots of Honor” featuring at No. 2 on the list.

Nguyen systematically broke down Jadambaa with his slick striking and deft footwork as he picked apart the Mongolian. Then, after hurting the former champion with a well-placed low calf kick, Nguyen saw his moment and launched into a spectacular flying knee that sent his man crashing to the canvas.

But Nguyen’s finish wasn’t quite enough to earn the top spot on the list, as Filipino strawweight star [autotag]Joshua Pacio[/autotag] claimed the Knockout of the Year award with his fourth-round roundhouse knee finish of ONE strawweight champ Yosuke Saruta at “ONE: Roots of Honor” in Manila.

“The Passion” had captured the strawweight title in September 2018, but lost the belt to Saruta after a razor-thin split-decision verdict went the Japanese fighter’s way at “ONE: Eternal Glory” in January. A rematch was booked for April, and a packed Mall of Asia Arena crowd roared their support for Pacio as he battled into the championship round with Saruta once again.

But, just as people began to wonder how the fight might be scored, Pacio ended all doubt about the outcome as he connected with a roundhouse knee, which landed flush on Saruta’s temple, sending the defending champion face-first into the canvas.

It was a stunning KO as Pacio registered the best ONE Championship knockout of the year and reclaimed the ONE strawweight title amid wild scenes in Manila.

Watch the top three ONE Championship finishes of 2019 via the video player above, or via YouTube here.

ONE Championship’s Knockouts of the Year 2019 – in full:

  1. Joshua Pacio (vs. Yosuka Saruta)
  2. Martin Nguyen (vs. Narantungalag Jadambaa)
  3. Timofey Nastyukhin (vs. Eddie Alvarez)
  4. Robin Catalan (vs. Gustavo Balart)
  5. Cosmo Alexandre (vs. Sage Northcutt)
  6. Jeremy Miado (vs. Miao Li Tao)
  7. Niu Kang Kang (vs. Sunoto)
  8. Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev (vs. Amir Khan)
  9. Yuya Wakamatsu (vs. Geje Eustaquio)
  10. Thanh Le (vs. Yusup Saadulaev)