3 fights to look forward to on ONE Championship on TNT 1
ONE Championship is Asia's biggest martial arts property. It is definitely the most diverse organization in terms of combat styles when compared to UFC and Bellator. ONE Championship has separate fights under Muay Thai, Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts.
For a combat sports fan, this is a dream.
The company made news amongst UFC fans when they signed flyweight legend Demetrious Johnson and lightweight veteran Eddie Alvarez. Both former UFC champions are fighting in the upcoming 'ONE Championship on TNT 1' event, which is the company's debut on the American television network TNT.
We couldn't be more excited.
Here are 3 fights to look forward to from ONE Championship on TNT 1:
3) Rodtang Jitmuangnon vs Danial Williams
This is a catchweight Muay Thai bout between reigning ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon and fierce Australian debutante Danial Williams.
Rodtang was initially supposed to face Englishman Jacob Smith, but after Smith withdrew from the bout, Williams stepped in to face the Thai champion. This is extremely bold, considering this will be his ONE Championship debut, against one of the company's most dominant athletes.
While it is a non-title bout, we wouldn't be wrong to expect some fireworks. Danial Williams comes from a family of Muay Thai champions and has won a plethora of titles throughout his career. Rodtang needs no introduction, having a legendary record of 266-45-10. Safe to say, this fight is going to be a highly entertaining one.
2) Eddie Alvarez vs Iuri Lapicus
Following his loss to Dustin Poirier in 2018, 'The Underground King' made his way from UFC to ONE Championship. In what was a shock to many, Alvarez lost his debut fight against Timofey Natsyukhin by TKO in the first round.
With a point to prove, Eddie Alvarez faced former ONE lightweight champion Eduard Folayang in his next fight and won via rear-naked choke in round 1. Now, he's set to face #2 ranked ONE lightweight contender Iuri Lapicus and you can be sure he will come out all guns blazing.
Eddie Alvarez has repeatedly said that he wants to be the first lightweight to capture belts across three organizations, making him the greatest lightweight of all time in his opinion.
This is going to be a tough test for Alvarez, though, considering his opponent Iuri Lapicus has only 1 loss in his 15 fight career, and trains with Italian kickboxing legend Georgio Petrosyan. The 25-year old Lapicus also frequents Amsterdam to train with MMA veteran Gegard Mousasi, and is hungry to prove himself.
This fight deserves all the hype.
3) Demetrious Johnson vs Adriano Moraes
This is the main event of the night, and rightly so. Flyweight legend Demetrious Johnson made news when he left the UFC for ONE Championship, and then dominated their flyweight Grand Prix to win one of the biggest belts of his career thus far.
While he may be the ONE Flyweight Grand Prix Champion, there is a resident flyweight world champion in the company and his name is Adriano Moraes. The Brazilian submission specialist is putting his belt on the line against 'Mighty Mouse', who is arguably the best flyweight the world has seen.
While Moraes has 18 wins and 3 losses in his career compared to Johnson's 30-3 record, there is no reason to underestimate the Brazilian. This fight is going to be a martial arts chess match, especially on the ground, considering both men have excellent grappling skills.
Here's how you can watch ONE Championship on TNT 1.