6 Bouts Announced For ONE: VISIONS OF VICTORY

On Friday, 9 March, ONE Championship is scheduled to make its return to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at the newly-remodeled Axiata Arena with ONE: VISIONS OF VICTORY.

Although the main event has yet to be determined, six action-packed matches have been announced, most of which will feature Malaysia’s finest martial arts talents.

The Return Of “The Alligator”

Leading the pack is local favorite Agilan “The Alligator” Thani (8-1).

Just three months following his lone blemish to recently-retired ONE Welterweight World Champion Ben Askren, Thani came back stronger than ever, as he thoroughly routed Egypt’s Sherif Mohamed to earn a unanimous decision victory.

Thani is attempting to get back into the world title picture. He will get a chance to continue building some momentum when he meets Indian knockout artist, and former SFL Welterweight Champion, Amitesh Chaubey.

A Battle Between Two Top Featherweights

Also, martial arts prodigy Christian “The Warrior” Lee (8-1) will square off against two-division DEEP Champion Kazunori Yokota (26-7-3).

Ever since losing to future ONE Featherweight and Lightweight World Champion Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen in August 2016, Lee has returned with a vengeance.

The young lion is currently riding a three-bout win streak. Most recently, in December, he tied the record for most stoppage victories in ONE history by knocking out former ONE Lightweight World Champion Kotetsu “No Face” Boku via a spectacular slam in the first round.

Yokota, a former DEEP Featherweight and Lightweight Champion, has some unfinished business with Nguyen, too.

In his last promotional appearance in January 2017, the Japanese veteran fell to Nguyen via knockout. He has since bounced back from the rare defeat with a masterful kimura submission victory last December.

Now, Yokota is ready to ascend up the featherweight ladder in an effort to earn a rematch.

Fierce Flyweights Collide

Elsewhere on the card, Kuala Lumpur’s Gianni Subba (9-2) is looking to follow up on his impressive unanimous decision victory over former flyweight world title challenger Riku “The Outsider” Shibuya.

He has been training consistently at Bali MMA in an effort to secure a world title opportunity, but that will not be easy, especially since he draws another tough task, this time against the Philippines’ Danny “The King” Kingad (8-1).

Since making his professional debut in November 2014, Kingad has torn through the competition. He has defeated tough athletes such as Filipino knockout artist Eugene Toquero, and the always-exciting “Jungle Cat” Muhammad Aiman.

The Team Lakay standout experienced his first major setback last November, when he failed to snatch the ONE Flyweight World Championship away from divisional kingpin Adriano Moraes, and is now ready to make a return to title contention, starting with victory over Subba.

Malaysian Heroes Take Centerstage

MIMMA featherweight champion “Jungle Cat” Muhammad Aiman, who is coming off a sensational victory over the highly-regarded Yang Fei, will make his bantamweight premiere against Filipino hard-hitter Burn “The Hitman” Soriano.

Kota Kinabalu’s Hisyam “Zephyrus” Samsudin, who competed through his father’s untimely death to get his first ONE victory in September, will attempt to follow-up on his inspirational performance when he clashes with Indonesia-based Liberian Jerome S. Paye.

And finally, the event marks the promotional debut of Jihin “Shadowcat” Radzuan. The Johor Bahru resident is a Southeast Asia Open Muay Thai gold medalist. She faces India Wushu Champion Puja Tomar in a women’s atomweight clash.