ONE on TNT 3: Lineker vs Worthen preview
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ONE Championship rolls on with their third consecutive show of 2021 aimed at U.S. audiences, with another event mostly for the more dedicated fan.
While it’s not a poorly-structured event, cancellations managed to hit this one pretty badly. Wrestling powerhouse Amir Aliakbari was supposed to face Russian workhorse Anatoly Malykhin, and Yoshihiro Akiyama (yes, Sexyama himself) was slated to fight Lebanon’s Mohammad Karaki. Without a doubt, it’s unfortunate those fights aren’t happening, but we do have a smaller action-focused event as a result.
Warrior’s Quest from the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.
In the night’s main event, the promotion’s lightweight champion, Shinya Aoki, put his belt on the line against his countryman, Koji Ando. The 32-year-old Aoki had never tasted defeat in the ONE cage and rode a seven-fight winning streak into the title affair. Twenty-five of his 37 career wins had come via submission. Ando, meanwhile, had scored back-to-back finishes over Zorobabel Moreira and Rafael Nunes to earn his shot at gold.
The co-main event also featured gold on the line as the promotion crowned its inaugural strawweight champion. Thailand’s Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke clashed with Filipino fighter Roy Doliguez to prove which fighter is the best 115-pound combatant under the ONE banner.
ONE Championship returns to Kuala Lumpur on Friday, Sept. 2, for its 47th event, dubbed
Unbreakable Warriors. Malaysia has become a popular destination for the promotion with an increasing number of Malaysian fighters making the jump to ONE.
The main event features one of those rising Malaysian fighters, Ev Ting, facing one of the featherweight division’s formidable mainstays, Rob Lisita. Ting will have the hometown advantage as he looks to earn his third straight win in front of a packed audience at Stadium Negara. Lisita hopes to end his losing skid in what looks like a highly competitive fight on paper.