Tag: ONE Championship 109

Amir Khan promises to entertain as coronavirus forces ONE Championship 109 behind closed doors

Singapore’s Amir Khan admits he’s disappointed to be fighting behind closed doors at ONE Championship 109 but says he will put on a show for the fans watching at home.

Singaporean lightweight [autotag]Amir Khan[/autotag] says he intends to do what he does best and finish his man when he returns to action on home soil at “ONE Championship 109: King of the Jungle.”

Khan (12-6) has finished 10 of his career victories inside the distance and remains one of the most dangerous contenders in ONE’s lightweight division. But despite his penchant for finishes, his last outing saw him battle all the way to the scorecards as he edged a split-decision verdict against New Zealand’s Ev Ting at “ONE Championship 104: Edge of Greatness.”

Khan takes on Japanese ONE Warrior Series graduate Kimihiro Eto, who won three bouts in ONE’s talent-finding sub-promotion to earn his spot on the full ONE roster. He lost out to South Korea’s Sae Sung Park on his ONE debut in July 2019, but returns this weekend looking to claim a win over one of the promotion’s bigger names.

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Eto (16-5-2) is no stranger to Khan, with the pair having trained together in the past, and the Singaporean says both men know what to expect from each other on fight night.

“We’re both familiar with each other’s styles,” he said. “He has more of a wrestler base. He’s very technical in this area. We both know what we’re trying to do, roughly, but I’ll be expecting some surprises from him, too.”

Khan said his preparation has been as smooth as ever, despite the coronavirus outbreak in the region. The situation has forced ONE to hold the Feb. 28 event behind closed doors at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, with no fans allowed into the building for the fights. However, Khan, who trains at the Evolve MMA gym in the city, said he has experienced no issues during fight camp, and he plans to deliver an entertaining performance for those fans watching from home, rather than inside the arena.

“Training so far has been great, and the coronavirus did not affect my training at all,” he said. “I’ve still been running outdoors, and training has been going phenomenal.

“Initially I was kind of bummed about (fighting behind closed doors), because I love the fans and I get the energy from the crowd. But, at the end of the day, the fight has to go on, and it’s just safe for the fans. So I’ll just keep in mind that they’re watching from home, so I’m still going to bring my A-game and put on a great show.”

With Stamp Fairtex and Sam-A Gaiyanghadao defending their respective kickboxing and muay Thai titles in the two main event fights in Singapore, Khan’s battle with Eto forms the featured MMA fight of the evening in “The Lion City,” and the 25-year-old said his aim is to get back to doing what he does best, finishing fights.

“This year I want to get back to my finishing ways,” he said. “I’m trying to go for the finish and put on the pressure right from the bell. … I feel really confident, really fresh, and ready to go.”

ONE Championship 109’s Troy Worthen targets fast finish in Singapore

Undefeated Troy Worthen is plotting the path of least resistance as he prepares to face Mark Abelardo at “ONE Championship 109: King of the Jungle.”

Undefeated American [autotag]Troy Worthen[/autotag] has his sights set on ONE bantamweight champion Bibiano Fernandes, and hopes he can take another big step toward a title shot with victory at “ONE Championship 109: King of the Jungle.”

Worthen (6-0 MMA) takes on heavy-handed New Zealander Mark Abelardo at Singapore Indoor Stadium on Feb. 28, in a bout that, on paper, looks like a classic striker-vs.-grappler matchup.

“He’s definitely a striker, we all know that, so that’s definitely what he wants to do,” he said. “I’m sure he’s been working his takedown defense, but all my opponents work their takedown defense, and that’s not really stopping me so far.”

Since joining ONE Championship in 2019, Worthen picked up a pair of second-round TKO finishes, and is looking to complete a hat trick of wins to push himself toward title contention, and a shot at two-time bantamweight champ Fernandes.

“I do this to be the champion,” he stated. “I think I could take on Bibiano next week, you know? But unfortunately, I have to work my way up – not unfortunately, fortunately! But I’m gonna work my way up, and I think I’m ready for those guys.”

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To prove that readiness, Worthen knows he needs an impressive showing against Abelardo (19-6), who has 11 knockout finishes to his name. And the 26-year-old said he will take the fastest route to victory when the pair throw down on fight night.

“The goal for me is always to get in and out healthy,” he said. “However I feel I can finish the fight quickly without taking any damage is what I’m going to do.

“But Mark’s an aggressive guy and he’s not going to go away easy, so it’s my job to go in there and make it look as easy as possible without taking damage. Obviously, he has different ideas of how that’s gonna go, but if I have it my way, it’ll be quick and easy just like the other ones, and you guys will find out what I have planned.”

YouTuber Jeff Chan is ready to entertain his biggest online audience at ONE Championship 109

Canadian YouTuber Jeff Chan hopes his career will start trending upwards after his ONE Championship debut at “King of the Jungle.”

Canadian YouTuber [autotag]Jeff Chan[/autotag] is used to showing his techniques in front of large audiences, but now he’s set to do so in front of the biggest online audience of his career.

Chan’s channel “MMA Shredded” has almost 200,000 subscribers on YouTube, as he has shared his training methods, technique tutorials and even his fight camps as part of his popular outlet. Now he’s set to showcase his skills in front of millions as part of Asia’s largest martial arts organization.

“I make tutorials online, through YouTube, Instagram and Facebook,” he explained. “I make breakdowns, I teach tutorials in muay Thai, wrestling and jiu-jitsu. I also vlog my training, so I put up all my sparring videos. I’m sure my opponents are watching everything!”

“Jackie” Chan (3-1) will open the show under unusual circumstances at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Feb. 28 when he takes on local fighter Radeem Rahman (3-2) in the first bout of the night at “ONE Championship 109: King of the Jungle.” It’s his ONE Championship debut, but while he’ll be fighting in a big arena, he won’t experience the roar of the crowd.

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The coronavirus outbreak in Asia has forced ONE to run the show as a behind-closed-doors event, which means Chan’s friends and family will have to watch his debut from in front of a television, computer, tablet or phone.

It’s an unusual way to kick off his ONE career, but the Tristar-trained fighter said that the unique setting may actually play to his advantage on fight night.

“I won’t know until I actually fight, but my first thought was it’s going to be a closed-door event, so it’s kind of going to be like an ‘Ultimate Fighter’ show,” he said. “I actually think there’ll be less pressure because there won’t be people watching, and it might play to my advantage because I’m very used to being filmed when sparring or training and fighting – just a camera and not a whole crowd. So I think I’ll be used to it.”

But regardless of the lack of paying spectators in the stands, Chan said he hopes he and Rahman can serve up a fight to entertain the fans watching at home, ideally by standing toe-to-toe and throwing down in an exciting standup battle.

“I like to keep it entertaining,” he said. “I like to stand and bang, (so) I hope my opponent’s going to stand with me. If he takes it to the ground, I’m also very comfortable (there). But I like to strike.”

ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong defiant in face of coronavirus: ‘The show must go on’

“ONE Championship 109: King of the Jungle” will go on, but it will be held in an empty arena amid fears of the coronavirus outbreak.

ONE Championship’s upcoming event in Singapore will go ahead as planned, despite the ongoing coronavirus crisis in the region, with the promotion’s chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong announcing the event will take place behind closed doors at Singapore Indoor Stadium on Feb. 28.

“ONE Championship 109: King of the Jungle” will feature nine MMA bouts, with a pair of striking title fights – one kickboxing and one muay Thai – at the top of the card. All 11 bouts are set to go ahead as planned, but fans will not be allowed access to the arena.

“As has been well documented all over the world, the coronavirus has a high transmission rate, although it has a low mortality rate,” Sityodtong said during a media conference call Monday. “We just felt this was an incredible moment for us to ignite hope and strength across the continent of Asia and to fans all over the world given this very difficult time, with mass hysteria or fear across many countries across Asia. I also want to say that it is only by love, compassion and resilience that Singapore as a country and Asia as a continent can overcome and conquer the coronavirus.

“I think the most important thing is ONE Championship is proving to the world that, no matter what crisis exists, the show must go on.”

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A host of sporting events in the region have either been canceled or postponed, with the Chinese Formula 1 Grand Prix, the World Indoor Athletics Championships and the Singapore and Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournaments, as well as a host of qualification tournaments ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, all affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

Sityodtong admitted he had come under pressure to cancel or postpone ONE’s Feb. 28 show but had instead opted to push forward with the event, albeit in a behind-closed-doors format.

“Many people were pushing me to cancel, but my team and I felt the right thing to do was to offer full refunds to all the fans who bought tickets for the stadium event, but to continue with the show,” he explained. “Our athletes, for me, are heroes, and now more than ever across Asia we need heroes. There’s a lot of panic (and) a lot of fear in every country in Asia, and I want to give all our fans, all of the people of Asia a night of entertainment and inspiration, a night to celebrate the best of humanity so they can forget their problems, but also so they can be inspired to unite and fight against this coronavirus together.”

It means the show will be broadcast live as usual via all of ONE’s regular broadcast and streaming partners, and while the enthusiastic atmosphere in the stands will be missing on fight night, Sityodtong said the fighters themselves will be inspired to produce memorable performances for everyone watching at home.

“We want millions of fans to be sitting in the comfort of their homes watching the incredible martial artists in action, but also to be inspired by the stories of our heroes and all the adversity they have overcome,” he said. “For me, success is not judged by what happens in the stadium. For me, success is about our mission, and our mission is very different from our two other global competitors. This is a time in which we get to show our true colors as an organization and as a company. And so I think, if I had to predict, I bet our viewing figures are going to be very, very strong because everyone wants to rally and unite together around our heroes in a time like this in Asia.”

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“ONE Championship 109: King of the Jungle” MMA fight card includes:

MAIN CARD

  • Kimihiro Eto vs. Amir Khan
  • Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Sherif Mohamed
  • Ayaka Miura vs. Tiffany Teo

PRELIMINARY CARD

  • Mei Yamaguchi vs. Denice Zamboanga
  • Mark Abelardo vs. Troy Worthen
  • Honorio Banario vs. Shanon Wiratchai
  • Wu Chiao Chen vs. Rity Phogat
  • Hexi Getu vs. Adrian Mattheis
  • Jeff Chan vs. Radeem Rahman

Yoshihiro Akiyama returns at ONE Championship 109 in February

Fan favorite Japanese fighter Yoshihiro Akiyama will turn 45 in July, but he’s not done yet.

Fan favorite Japanese fighter [autotag]Yoshihiro Akiyama[/autotag] will turn 45 in July, but he’s not done yet.

Akiyama (14-7) will return next month in a middleweight bout against [autotag]Sherif Mohamed[/autotag] (9-5) at “ONE Championship 109: King of the Jungle,” the promotion announced today. Akiyama, known as “Sexyama” to his legion of fans, arguably is the highest profile MMA fighter on a card that is topped with a trio of fights in ONE’s Super Series.

ONE Championship 109 takes place Feb. 28 at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. The card streams on the B/R Live app.

After a seven-fight run in the UFC in which he went just 2-5, but won three straight “Fight of the Night” bonuses, Akiyama stepped away from the sport after a split decision loss to Alberto Mina in late 2015. But this past June, he returned under the ONE banner to fight for the first time in nearly four years. His comeback ended in a decision loss to Agilan Thani in China, giving him six losses in his past seven fights.

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Egypt’s Mohamed will be looking for his first win under the ONE banner. He has dropped three of his past four fights over a three-year stretch, and all three of those setbacks have been in ONE fights. After a win outside the promotion in August 2017, he came back to ONE on a week’s notice and lost to a decision to Thani. Then this past June, he was stopped by Rong Fan with a second-round TKO for his second straight loss.

Other key MMA fights on the card include a fight between former welterweight title challenger [autotag]Amir Khan[/autotag] (12-6) and [autotag]Kimihiro Eto[/autotag] (16-5-2), and a women’s strawweight bout between two-time title challenger [autotag]Mei Yamaguchi[/autotag] (21-11-1) and [autotag]Meng Bo[/autotag] (14-5).

The ONE Championship 109 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (B/R Live app)

  • Kimihiro Eto vs. Amir Khan
  • Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Sherif Mohamed
  • Meng Bo vs. Mei Yamaguchi

PRELIMINARY CARD (B/R Live app)

  • [autotag]Mark Abelardo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Troy Worthen[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Honorio Banario[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Shannon Wiratchai[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Ayaka Miura[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tiffany Teo[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Wu Chiao Chen[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ritu Phogat[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Hexi Getu[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Adrian Mattheis[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Jeff Chan[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Radeem Rahman[/autotag]

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