"The future is bright" - Fighters and fans alike pick debate who the best teenage superstar is at ONE Championship
ONE Championship undoubtedly has the best roster of the current best martial artists in the world across various disciplines, but the promotion doesn't only have the top fighters in their prime right now because they also have a pool of the finest young stars.
The world's largest martial arts organization recently flexed some of the young phenoms on Instagram, and asked the fans on who they think is the best among them, as they captioned the post with:
"Who's YOUR pick for TOP teenage fighter in ONE? 🌟🤩"
ONE Championship included Adrian Lee, Smilla Sundell, Johan Ghazali, Freddie Haggerty, and Ramadan Ondash in the post. These athletes were all under 20 years old but had already established themselves as top names in their respective sports.
Lee recently made his successful pro MMA debut against Antonio Mammarella at ONE 167 with a second-round submission win. Sundell is a former two-time strawweight Muay Thai world champion who is still undefeated in five bouts. She lost her world title because she only missed weight during her last fight with Natalia Diachkova in May 2023 at ONE Fight Night 22.
Meanwhile, Ghazali (5-1 record, Haggerty (1-0 record), and Ramadan (2-0) were all Muay Thai savages who earned their respective stripes in their weight classes.
Fans and other ONE Championship fighters chimed in on this post by ONE Championship, as former ONE featherweight MMA world champion Martin Nguyen (@martinnguyenmma) and current two-sport bantamweight world champion Jonathan Haggerty (@jhaggerty_), along with users @thechelseam, @omar_elousers, @husen_m07, @pinkyyoshimoto, and @stephaneyannemorales picked their top fighter with their comments:
"@smilla_fairtex @adrianleemma @freddiehaggerty_ the future is bright!!!! 👏🔥"
"@freddiehaggerty_ 💯"
"I mean... Smilla had a ONE world championship belt +a defend, and would have had a third if she made weight in the last fight by 19. How is this even a question on who's the best?"
"@johanghazali_ the best youngest fighter 💯"
"@ramadan_ondash 100% 🔥"
"@adrianleemma of course 🙌😁"
"All of the above 😂"
Johan Ghazali and Adrian Lee to compete on September 6 at ONE 168: Denver
Among the aforementioned athletes above, Ghazali and Lee are set to return to action on September 6 at ONE 168: Denver, as the former takes on Josue Cruz in a flyweight Muay Thai clash.
Meanwhile, Lee will square off against Nicolas Cornejo in a lightweight MMA clash as the curtain-opener of the loaded card inside the Ball Arena in Colorado.
ONE 168: Denver will air live from the Ball Arean in U.S. primetime on Sept. 6. Tickets for the event are now available on sale on Ticketmaster.