4 Marquee Victories From The World Champs Of ONE: HEART OF THE LION

When ONE Championship returns to the Singapore Indoor Stadium for ONE: HEART OF THE LION, the promotion will bring along some of the world’s most tenacious and talented mixed martial artists.

Throughout their careers, these unshakable warriors have proven why they are among the best athletes in the world with outstanding displays in sold-out arenas across Asia.

As Friday, 9 November and the biggest event of the year draws closer, let’s revisit a quartet of marquee victories from the World Champions competing at the top of the bill. 

Angela Lee’s Second Epic Against Mei Yamaguchi

ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion “Unstoppable” Angela Lee’s showdown with Mei “V.V.” Yamaguchi in May was her first since she was involved in a harrowing car accident in late 2017. 

The Singaporean looked stronger than ever in her return to action, and she delivered an incredible performance at ONE: UNSTOPPABLE DREAMS in this rematch of an all-time classic.

Showing off an ever-diversifying striking toolkit, she was dominant at the beginning of the bout, and threatened to end things early with several submissions.

She did not have things all her own way though, and she showed a warrior’s spirit to battle back as her Japanese rival pushed her hard in the championship rounds.

After 25 thrilling minutes of intense action, Lee walked away with a unanimous decision victory.

The Singaporean hero will move up a division for her next contest, as she is set to challenge ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan for her belt in next Friday’s main event.

Xiong Jing Nan Beats Samara Santos

In her last outing, which occurred at ONE: BEYOND THE HORIZON in September, ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan made her second title defense against fearsome Brazilian talent Samara Santos.

Santos did not make it an easy night for Xiong.

Midway through the first stanza, the Brazilian was able to take the Chinese champion’s back, but the defending titleholder stayed calm and worked her way out of danger.

From there, “The Panda” took control, both with her wrestling and her power punching.

After an impressive second round, she put a permanent end to things in the third – stunning her challenger with a spinning back kick and finishing the job with punches.

For her next defense, she predicts she will knock out Lee in the main event of ONE: HEART OF THE LION.

Bibiano Fernandes Defends Against The Double Champ

At ONE: IRON WILL in March, ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes defended his title against the most formidable challenger of his reign – ONE Featherweight and Lightweight World Champion Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen. 

Nguyen entered this massive World Champion versus World Champion super-bout with all the momentum from capturing World Titles in back-to-back contests, and he was confident of earning a third after his knockout performances in heavier divisions.

It was a close battle, but Fernandes’ experience and ring craft allowed him to edge his challenger throughout four an a half rounds, before he punctuated his performance with a straight right hand, which knocked down “The Situ-Asian.”

After a 25-minute chess match, “The Flash” did just enough to earn a razor-thin split decision victory.

Fernandes will look to defend his title once more on 9 November against ONE Interim Bantamweight World Champion Kevin Belingon. 

Kevin Belingon’s Finest Hour

When ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano Fernandes was sidelined with an injury in early 2018, the promotion booked a bout for the interim belt between the division’s top contender Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon and a resurgent Martin Nguyen.

Given the cage-rattling punching power possessed by both of these athletes, this contest had fans drooling in anticipation, and it lived up to expectations.

For five rounds, the two stars engaged in a tense, striking battle, which exploded into action every few moments.

There was no doubt that Belingon struck hardest and fastest – pressing forward with rapid-fire punching combinations and supercharged kicks throughout the five rounds. 

By the time it came for the judges’ decision to be revealed, Nguyen was already applauding his opponent, who took a well-deserved unanimous decision.

With this career-defining triumph, Belingon won the ONE Interim Bantamweight World Title and set up his unification rematch with Fernandes in Singapore.