High-level Muay Thai striking will get a big spotlight on Friday night, as Tawanchai P.K.Saenchaimuaythaigym and Niclas Larsen will headline a ONE Championship card from the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. This card was originally meant to have an MMA title fight between Joshua Pacio and Jarred Brooks, although plans changed in recent weeks. Instead, it will be Muay Thai that gets the main event spot.
Along with that Muay Thai fight, 10 MMA bouts and a pair of kickboxing matches are scheduled to go down. Here’s a preview of the full show.
Click here to skip to a preview of the main card.
Lead Card (5:30AM EDT / 5:30PM SGT) (Youtube)
Bout 1: Kim Kyung Lock (0-0) vs. Edson Marques (9-2) (170 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Kim Kyung Lock will make his MMA debut in the opening bout, facing Edson Marques in a welterweight fight.
Kim competed in ONE’s Muay Thai division earlier this year. He was unsuccessful in that fight, getting stopped in the first round by Liam Nolan. He’ll now switch over to MMA for this fight.
Marques will be fighting for his first ONE victory. He has struggled through two fights in the promotion, getting stopped in both appearances. His previous fight was in January, when Hiroyuki Tetsuka stopped him in the third round with strikes.
Bout 2: Jenelyn Olsim (5-3) vs. Julie Mezabarba (9-3-1) (115 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Both looking to return to their winning ways, Jenelyn Olsim and Julie Mezabarba will meet on Friday night. The fighters are similar to each other, as they both competed in ONE’s eight-woman tournament last year as alternates. They were brought in as part of the semi-finals to face other bracket competitors.
In Mezabarba’s instance, she lost a unanimous decision to Stamp Fairtex. That bout broke an extensive winning streak that she had, including a previous fight in ONE.
Olsim suffered a scorecard defeat to Ritu Phogat, breaking a two-fight run that she had going in the year.
Bout 3: Duke Didier (8-1) vs. Zhasur Mirzamukhamedov (5-0) (265 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Undefeated heavyweight Zhasur Mirzamukhamedov and Duke Didier will make their ONE debuts in a prelim fight.
Mirzamukhamedov has earned five victories since he debuted in 2017. The Brave CF vet last fought in February, when he earned a submission win on a regional Uzbekistan card.
Didier has a pro record of eight wins and one loss. He ended a two-year break from competition in February, defeating David Taumoepeau in Australia.
Bout 4: Odie Delaney (3-0) vs. Mehdi Barghi (4-3) (265 lbs) (MMA Bout)
In another heavyweight fight, Odie Delaney and Mehdi Barghi will face off.
Delaney had a quick ONE debut earlier this year, submitting Thomas Narmo in just over a minute via hammerlock. His two previous wins also came via stoppage.
Barghi will be appearing for the first time in over a year. He lost his promotional debut in early 2021, taking a first-round finish loss to Kang Ji Won.
Bout 5: Marouan Toutouh vs. Constantin Rusu (170 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
In the first of two kickboxing bouts on the card, Marouan Toutouh and Constantin Rusu will fight.
Both kickboxers will be making their first ONE appearance. Toutouh is coming off a recent victory in Enfusion, defeating Nabil Ouach in November 2021. Rusu scored two wins and one loss around the kickboxing scene last year, per Tapology.
Bout 6: Yodkaikaew Fairtex (7-4-1) vs. Gurdarshan Mangat (16-3) (135 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Gurdarshan Mangat will return on the prelims to face Yodkaikaew Fairtex in an MMA bout.
Mangat has slowly put together a solid record since joining ONE in 2019. He scored his third win through four appearances last year, defeating Roshan Mainam via decision in May 2021.
Yodkaikaew will be attempting to snap a losing streak. He has taken two consecutive losses since 2021. He had a fast defeat in February, as Woo Sung Hoon stopped him in just 18 seconds with strikes.
Bout 7: Alex Silva (11-7) vs. Adrian Mattheis (10-5) (125 lbs) (MMA Bout)
The prelims will wrap up with a rematch between Alex Silva and Adrian Mattheis.
The flyweights met just three months ago at ONE’s “Lights Out” event. That fight had a sudden conclusion in the second round, as Matheis stopped Silva in just five seconds with an overhand right punch. Likely because of how fast this finish was, the fight is being done once again.
Before that fight earlier this year, Silva had a two-fight winning streak from 2021. Matheis was making his return, with his previous bout being a loss to Stefer Rahardian that dated back to 2019.
Lead Card (5:30AM EDT / 5:30PM SGT) (Youtube)
Bout 8: Rade Opacic vs. Guto Inocente (265 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Heavyweight kickboxers Rade Opacic and Guto Inocente will appear in the first bout of the main card. This fight was first booked for May, but was moved to this card due to COVID-19 protocols.
Inocente is a former GLORY Kickboxing and UFC fighter. He won his ONE debut in February, stopping Bruno Susano in the second round of a kickboxing bout.
Opacic has yet to lose since joining ONE. He has picked up four consecutive victories since 2020, with all of the wins coming via stoppage in the second round.
Bout 9: Kairat Akhmetov (28-2) vs. Tatsumitsu Wada (24-11-2) (135 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Experienced fighters Kairat Akhmetov and Tatsumitsu Wada are expected to appear on Friday’s main card.
Akhmetov has not been very active in recent years, but his few appearances have only been successful. He scored his fourth consecutive win late last year, defeating Danny Kingad via decision.
Wada has won two straight fights over the past year. His most recent fight was in January, when he beat Wang Shuo on scorecards.
Bout 10: Marcus Almeida (2-0) vs. Simon Carson (2-1) (265 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Grappling ace Marcus Almeida will search for his third pro victory on Friday night, facing promotional newcomer Simon Carson.
Almeida was previously booked to face Hugo Cunha in May. However, due to COVID-19 protocols, that fight was canceled. Almeida now has a new opponent in place for this weekend’s card.
Almeida has earned two wins since first turning pro in September 2021. Both of his pro wins have been quick, submitting both opponents in the opening round.
Carson has a pro record of two wins and one loss since he debuted in 2016. His last fight was back in 2019, when he beat veteran Shannon Ritch.
Bout 11: Reece McLaren (14-8) vs. Xie Wei (14-3) (135 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Xie Wei will attempt to take his winning streak to four consecutive fights on Friday when he faces promotional vet Reece McLaren.
Xie has scored a trio of wins since late 2020. He scored two finish victories last year, including a win over Kim Dae Hwan.
McLaren, a 12-fight ONE vet, is returning after a year outside of the cage. His last fight was in April 2021, when he lost a decision to Yuya Wakamatsu.
Bout 12: Kwon Won Il (11-3) vs. Fabricio de Andrade (7-2) (145 lbs) (MMA Bout)
In the final MMA bout of the night, rising featherweights Kwon Won Il and Fabricio de Andrade will put their winning streaks on the line.
De Andrade has yet to lose since joining ONE in 2020. He extended his promotional winning streak to four straight in February, stopping Jeremy Pacatiw in the second minute of a bout with strikes.
Kwon has won three fights in recent years. Throughout his entire ONE career he has earned six wins and three losses, with all of the victories coming via finish.
Bout 13: Tawanchai P.K.Saenchaimuaythaigym vs. Niclas Larsen (155 lbs) (Muay Thai Bout)
ONE Championship’s card on Friday night will wrap up with a Muay Thai bout between Tawanchai P.K.Saenchaimuaythaigym and Niclas Larsen. The fight is being marketed as a title eliminator, meaning the winner will secure a fight against divisional champ Petchmorakot Petchyindee Academy.
Tawanchai has been a regular for ONE in recent years, competing three times since debuting in May 2021.
Tawanchai’s first ONE appearance saw him score a head kick win, stopping Sean Clancy. Three months later, he lost a split decision to prolific Muay Thai striker Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong.
Tawanchai bounced back from that defeat early this year, scoring a first-round finish win over Saemapetch Fairtex.
Larsen will be making his ONE debut on Friday night’s card but that’s not to say he doesn’t come without experience and name value. Larsen notably competed in GLORY Kickboxing from 2013 to 2017, attaining an even record of three wins and three losses in that time. Touching down in Singapore for the first time, Larsen has a chance to jump to the front of the line for a ONE title fight.
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