ONE Championship will launch a new era this weekend, debuting on Amazon Prime Video with a card that will air in U.S. prime time. But before that event kicks off, the promotion will air a sneakily packed lineup on earlier in the weekend. On Friday night from the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore, ONE will present a pair of title fights atop an eight-bout card in total.
Ok Rae Yoon will attempt to defend his 170-pound belt for the first time in the main event, rematching former title challenger Christian Lee. Before then, explosive 155-pound champ Thanh Le will take on rising contender Tang Kai.
Here’s a full preview of the night.
Main Card (8:30AM EDT / 8:30PM SGT) (Youtube)
Bout 1: Thales Nakassu (5-1) vs. Kantharaj Agasa (11-3) (135 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Thales Nakassu will make his return to competition this weekend, meeting Kantharaj Agasa in the ONE cage.
Nakassu has a strong record of five victories and one loss. However, he has mysteriously been absent from the sport since 2014. Nearly eight years since he last fought, Nakassu will make his ONE debut on Friday night.
Agasa had an unsuccessful ONE debut last year, suffering a doctor stoppage defeat against Xie Wei. Earlier in his career he had succeeded in Indian promotion Super Fight League, and had appearances in Brave CF.
Bout 2: Renato Canuto vs. Tommy Langaker (170 lbs) (Grappling Bout)
In the sole grappling bout of the card, Renato Canuto and Tommy Langaker will face off.
Canuto is a 26-year-old grappling specialist that will be making his ONE debut. He is coming off a 2021 first-place award at the 2021 IBJJF World Championship, which is among the many achievements that he has picked up since 2017.
Canuto was originally scheduled to face Valdir Rodrigues on this card. Instead it will be Langaker, another decorated grappler, which will take his place. He has earned many achievements in the European scene and has also accomplished much on the world scene.
Bout 3: Paul Elliott (3-1) vs. Martin Batur (7-3) (265 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Heavyweights Paul Elliott and Martin Batur will face off as part of Friday’s card.
Elliott is returning after an unsuccessful ONE debut earlier this year. He took his first pro loss when he faced Kang Ji Won in March, getting stopped in just 58 seconds with strikes. Before then, he earned a series of finish wins over low-level talent on the regional scene.
Batur will be making his first appearance in ONE this weekend. He enters on a three-fight winning streak since 2020, with all of those appearances coming via finish.
Bout 4: Amir Khan (14-8) vs. Keanu Subba (8-5) (155 lbs) (MMA Bout)
ONE veterans Amir Khan and Keanu Subba will meet in the next fight.
The lightweights have fought a combined 33 times in ONE. Their records have been similar, both showing success overall but not being in the title conversation.
Subba snapped a two-fight skid in his last appearance, beating James Yang on scorecards in April. Khan is also coming off a decision victory, beating Ryogo Takahashi on scorecards in March.
Bout 5: Rittewada Petchyindee vs. Saemapetch Fairtex (145 lbs) (Muay Thai Bout)
Fighting in a rematch, Rittewada Petchyindee and Saemapetch Fairtex will meet on Friday’s main card.
Rittewada picked up a win in his first meeting against Saemapetch, as a doctor stoppage forced their bout to end in the second round of a fight late last year. Saemapetch has suffered another loss since then, getting finished within a round by Tawanchai P.K.Saenchaimuaythaigym. Heading into this fight, a win is quite important for the ONE Muay Thai vet.
Bout 6: Thanh Le (13-2) vs. Tang Kai (14-2) (ONE MMA Featherweight Championship) (155 lbs)
Friday’s co-main event sees explosive 155-pound MMA champion Thanh Le face Tang Kai.
Le has finished all of his opponents since joining ONE in 2019. He became champion in 2020, earning a third-round finish over Martin Nguyen. His first appearance as champion was a quick one, using his ground and pound skills to put away grappler Garry Tonon in just 56 seconds a few months back.
Coming off a quick victory, Le hopes to defend his belt for the second time this weekend.
Le’s opponent this weekend is Tang, a well-rounded fighter who has strung together a winning streak that cannot be ignored. The 26-year-old has earned six wins since entering ONE in 2019, including three consecutive finish victories as of late. He has been given a title shot after scoring a win earlier this year, putting away Kim Jae Woong in just over two minutes.
Bout 7: Ok Rae Yoon (16-3) vs. Christian Lee (15-4) (ONE MMA Lightweight Championship) (170 lbs)
In a rematch nearly a year in the making, Ok Rae Yoon and Christian Lee will face off.
Ok was crowned champion in the fall last year, as he went five rounds against Lee to win a fight via unanimous decision. But the result of the bout didn’t satisfy Lee, and he controversially said after the fight that he hoped the result would get overturned.
But the truth is, the fight was close and Ok put on a performance that was enough to make him champion. The victory was the culmination of Ok’s quick climb up the ONE ranks, earning a title shot just five months after entering the promotion.
Ok made a splash early in his ONE run, beating Marat Gafurov and former UFC champion Eddie Alvarez in the same month. That alone was enough to give him the title shot, which he later prevailed in.
The loss last year ended a fairly long title run for Lee. He first gained the belt in 2019, defeating veteran Shinya Aoki. He went on to defend the belt two more times, including a 2021 finish over Timofey Nastyukhin in April.
On Friday, Ok has the chance to start a new era for the division and keep Lee in the contender spot — a status he held for numerous years before gaining a belt back in 2019. But on the other side of things, Lee has the chance to make a statement and prove that Ok’s victory was not a representation of who he is as a fighter.
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