Pancrase champion Senzo Ikeda steps in to fight Danny Kingad in ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix quarterfinal

By Alexander K. Lee@AlexanderKLee

Senzo Ikeda is joining the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix.

A champion in Japan’s Pancrase promotion, Ikeda will now be part of ONE’s upcoming eight-man tournament to crown a top contender at 125 pounds as he steps in for an injured Andrew Leone to fight Danny Kingad (11-1) in a quarterfinal bout at ONE Championship: A New Era on March 31 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, per an official release.

Ikeda (12-6-1) has won four straight, most recently defeating Yuya Wakamatsu in a five-round thriller last February. The 36-year-old currently fights out of Tokyo and he is making his ONE debut.

Kingad, a one-time ONE flyweight title challenger, has also won four straight. In his last outing, he defeated Tatsumitsu Wada by unanimous decision to improve to 7-1 inside the ONE cage.

ONE Championship: A New Era will feature a quartet of title fights. Eduard Folayang defends his 170-pound title against Shinya Aoki, 115-pound champion Angela Lee looks to become a dual-division champion when she fights 125-pound queen Jingnan Xiong, 205-pound champion Aung La Nsang rematches Ken Hasegawa, and 145-pound star Bibiano Fernandes attempts to reclaim his title from Kevin Belingon after losing a split decision to Belingon last November.

Former UFC champions Demetrious Johnson and Eddie Alvarez will also be making their ONE debuts on the March 31 card.

See the updated lineup below:

Eduard Folayang vs. Shinya Aoki

Jingnan Xiong vs. Angela Lee

Aung La Nsang vs. Ken Hasegawa

Kevin Belingon vs. Bibiano Fernandes

Yuya Wakamatsu vs. Demetrious Johnson

Eddie Alvarez vs. Timofey Nastyukhin

Andy Souwer vs. Yodsanklai Iwe – kickboxing

Senzo Ikeda vs. Danny Kingad

Tatsumitsu Wada vs. Ivanildo Delfino

Kairat Akhmetov vs. Reece McLaren

Rodtang Jitmuangnon vs. Hakim Hamech – Muay Thai

Hiroki Akimoto vs. Joseph Lasiri – kickboxing

Mei Yamaguchi vs. Kseniya Lachkova

Anthony Engelen vs. Garry Tonon

Panicos Yusuf vs. Mohammed Bin Mahmoud – Muay Thai

Yoon Chang Min vs. Bala Shetty

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