9 Blockbuster Matches Confirmed For ONE: DAWN OF HEROES In Manila

ONEchampionship.com

ONE Championship will return to the Mall Of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines on Friday, 2 August with one of its most stacked cards of the year.

The promotion’s upcoming spectacle ONE: DAWN OF HEROES will feature a World Title showdown, a battle between lightweight mixed martial arts icons, a trio of World Grand Prix semifinal bouts, and much more.

In the main event, there will be a highly-anticipated battle for the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Championship.

Reigning titleholder Jonathan “The General” Haggerty will make his first defense against Rodtang “The Iron Man” Jitmuangnon in the headline attraction, and both men will be wearing 4-ounce mixed martial arts gloves.

Haggerty defeated Sam-A Gaiyanghadao via unanimous decision to claim the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Championship back in May.

The Englishman displayed precision and power in order to win the gold, and he hopes to replicate that dazzling performance against Rodtang, a two-time Omnoi Stadium Muay Thai World Champion who is riding a four-bout win streak in The Home Of Martial Arts.

The spectacle will also feature a battle between two of the best lightweight mixed martial artists in history.

Four-time Lightweight World Champion Eddie “The Underground King” Alvarez makes his return against former ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang.

Alvarez, who captured the World Championship in every major promotion he competed in around the globe, will restart his quest to the one belt that has eluded him throughout his entire career — the ONE Lightweight World Title.

In order to take a step closer to the prestigious ONE World Championship, the American will need to defeat the Filipino hero, who is driven to reclaim the belt and begin an unprecedented third World Title reign.

In addition to those two blockbuster match-ups, both ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix semifinal bouts will be contested inside the Mall Of Asia Arena.

American legend Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson faces former DEEP Flyweight World Champion Tatsumitsu “The Sweeper” Wada, and the Philippines’ own Danny “The King” Kingadsquares off against former ONE Flyweight World Champion Kairat “The Kazakh” Akhmetov.

Johnson is recognized around the globe as the best pound-for-pound athlete in the sport of mixed martial arts. The historic 12-time Flyweight World Champion will attempt to maintain that claim to fame and advance to the tournament finals. Wada, however, would love to spoil the American’s party and strengthen his name at the icon’s expense.

On the other side of the bracket, Kingad will look to build on a five-bout win streak in his home country. However, the wushu warrior will face the stiffest test of his career when he goes up against Akhmetov, a former World Champion and multi-time national wrestling champion in his native Kazakhstan.

The two victors will meet in the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix finals later this year.

Those aren’t the only semifinal bouts happening in Manila.

Also on the spectacle will be the second ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix semifinal contest, which features Russian knockout artist Timofey Nastyukhin taking on the Philippines’ own Honorio “The Rock” Banario.

Nastyukhin earned his spot by upsetting Alvarez in the quarterfinal round of the tournament. Now, in order to secure his spot in the finals, he must beat the former ONE Featherweight World Champion, who is stepping in for the injured Lowen Tynanes.

The winner of this explosive match-up will meet Saygid “Dagi” Guseyn Arslanaliev in the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix final.

Below is the current lineup for ONE: DAWN OF HEROES.

Jonathan Haggerty vs. Rodtang Jitmuangnon (ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Championship)
Eduard Folayang vs. Eddie Alvarez (mixed martial arts — lightweight)
Demetrious Johnson vs. Tatsumitsu Wada (ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix semifinal)
Danny Kingad vs. Kairat Akhmetov (ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix semifinal)
Honorio Banario vs. Timofey Nastyukhin (ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix semifinal)
Reece McLaren vs. Yuya Wakamatsu (mixed martial arts — flyweight)
Leandro Issa vs. Daichi Takenaka (mixed martial arts — bantamweight)
Ayaka Miura vs. Samara Santos (mixed martial arts — women’s strawweight)
Neunglanlek Jitmuangnon vs. Chris Shaw (ONE Super Series Muay Thai — bantamweight)