Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.
Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.
On Episode 3,190, the guys react to the latest headlines in MMA – including [autotag]Evander Holyfield[/autotag] stepping in to face [autotag]Vitor Belfort[/autotag] in a boxing bout this weekend, as well as reviewing the results from UFC Fight Night 191 and “ONE Championship: Empower” – as well as debating the role of the oblique kick in MMA and looking toward the future for [autotag]Darren Till[/autotag]. Tune in!
Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.
Check out the results from the historic first all-female card for ONE Championship.
On an historic card for ONE Championship, [autotag]Jing Nan Xiong[/autotag] kept her belt and staved off [autotag]Michelle Nicolini[/autotag]’s hope to become the promotion’s next superstar.
Xiong (16-2) outworked Nicolini (6-3) on the feet and mostly stayed away from Nicolini’s submission attempts and hopes for the fight to play out on the canvas. In doing so, Xiong retained the women’s strawweight title in the ONE Championship: Empower main event Friday at Singapore Indoor Stadium. The event was the first in ONE history to be made up exclusively of women’s fights.
Xiong’s title defense was her fifth, a ONE Championship record.
Ahead of that title fight, ONE’s atomweight grand prix kicked off with four quarterfinal fights featuring eight women from eight different countries. And while the four women in the semifinals are set the matchups are not. Those matchups will be picked through a fan vote. The eventual tournament winner will move on to a title fight with champion Angela Lee.
ONE Championship is back Friday with the launch of the promotion’s atomweight grand prix and is marking the occasion with a special all-women’s event.
ONE Championship is back Friday with the launch of the promotion’s atomweight grand prix and is marking the occasion with a special all-women’s event.
Here’s how to watch the card from Singapore, which sees reigning strawweight champion [autotag]Jing Nan Xiong[/autotag] (15-2) put her title on the line against Brazil’s [autotag]Michelle Nicolini[/autotag] (6-2) in the in the night’s main event, as well as four quarterfinal grand prix matchups.
Alyse Anderson sees more weight in being a ONE Championship title holder than an Invicta FC one.
[autotag]Alyse Anderson[/autotag] sees more weight in being a ONE Championship title holder than an Invicta FC one.
Anderson (5-1), who asked for her release from Invicta FC with one fight left on her contract, has signed with the Asian-based promotion after three fights under the Invicta FC banner.
While she appreciates her time there, the 25-year-old was having a hard time getting up for a fight and wanted to take her career to the next level.
“I’m not interested in going back to Invicta,” Anderson told MMA Junkie Radio. “I don’t want to hate on their promotion or anything, they’re a great promotion. But I just for me feel like I’d rather fight exclusively for ONE and just being the atomweight champion for Invicta doesn’t get me pumped up and excited. That’s another reason why I wanted this change so bad because when I felt like they were trying to find me a matchup with Invicta, I didn’t have that same excitement to get back to camp.
“I didn’t even want to take time off work, a leave of absence for fight camp, because I just feel like I personally outgrew the promotion and was just ready for, like, the next thing. But I still think it’s a great promotion, and they did so much for me, but I just don’t care to be the atomweight champion for them.”
Anderson will take part in the ONE Championship atomweight grand prix, where the winner of the tournament will get a shot at reigning champion Angela Lee. Anderson meets Itsuki Hirata in the opening round at “ONE Championship: Empower,” which takes place Sept. 3 and streams on B/R Live.
To see the full interview with Anderson, check out the video below.
The opening round of ONE Championship’s atomweight grand prix has been rescheduled for Sept. 3.
The opening round of ONE Championship’s atomweight grand prix has been rescheduled for Sept. 3.
Promotion officials recently announced that “ONE Championship: Empower” takes place on that date, streaming on B/R Live. The all-women’s card is headlined by a strawweight title fight between reigning champ [autotag]Jing Nan Xiong[/autotag] (15-2) and Brazilian challenger [autotag]Michelle Nicolini[/autotag] (6-2), and features the quarterfinal round of ONE’s atomweight grand prix, with the tournament winner earning a shot against reigning champion Angela Lee.
The grand prix was originally set to take place in May, but travel restrictions due to the ongoing global pandemic forced the promotion to reschedule.
The “ONE Championship: Empower” lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (B/R Live, 8:30 a.m. ET)
Champ Jing Nan Xiong vs. Michelle Nicolini – for strawweight title
[autotag]Seo Hee Ham[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Denice Zamboanga[/autotag] – atomweight grand prix quarterfinal
[autotag]Stamp Fairtex[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alyona Rassohyna[/autotag] – atomweight grand prix quarterfinal
[autotag]Meng Bo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ritu Phogat[/autotag] – atomweight grand prix quarterfinal
[autotag]Alyse Anderson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Itsuki Hirata[/autotag] – atomweight grand prix quarterfinal
PRELIMINARY CARD (B/R Live, 7 a.m. ET)
[autotag]Julie Mezabarba[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Mei Yamaguchi[/autotag] – atomweight grand prix alternate bout
[autotag]Grace Cleveland[/autotag] vs. opponent TBA – atomweight grand prix alternate bout
