ONE Championship stars name the ONE: Century matchups they’re most excited for

ONE Championship will soon promote its 100th event. Titled ONE: Century, this landmark event is actually divided into two parts. The first goes down on the morning of Sunday, October 13 in Tokyo (the night of Saturday, October 12 in North America). The second goes down on the night of Sunday, October 13 in Tokyo (the morning of Sunday, October 13 in North America).

ONE Championship has stacked these two cards with some of its biggest names. The end result is an event that has fight fans the world over excited — and that includes ONE Championship fighters themselves.

Ahead of this stacked ONE: Century card, BJPENN.com reached out to several ONE Championship stars to see which matchups on the docket they’re most excited for.

Here’s what they had to say:

Demetrious Johnson (Meets Danny Kingad in the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Final at ONE: Century – Part 1)

Demetrious Johnson, the former UFC flyweight champion, is excited for a number of matchups on the ONE: Century lineup, such as the light heavyweight title fight between Aung La N Sang and Brandon Vera, and the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix final between Giorgio Petrosyan and Samy Sana.

“I can go down the list. Aung La N Sang taking on Brandon Vera. You’ve got Giorgio Petrosyan taking on Samy Sana. You’ve got Senzo Ikeda fighting [Lito Adiwang] as well, Yuya Wakamatsu is fighting [Dae Hwan Kim]… I mean the card is just stacked. Angela Lee as well. She’s on a two-fight losing streak, I’m kind of curious to see how she bounces back. This card is sick from top to bottom.”

Danny Kingad (Meets Demetrious Johnson in the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Final at ONE: Century – Part 1)

Danny Kingad, a representative of Team Lakay in Baguio City, Philippines, is most excited to watch his teammate Kevin Belingon rematch Bibiano Fernandes for the ONE Bantamweight World Title.

“On that card, I want to see Kevin and Bibiano’s fight. Last time they met in Tokyo, it was a disqualification. I want them to fight again to prove who’s the best.”

Angela Lee (Defends the ONE Atomweight World Title against ONE Strawweight Champion Xiong Jing Nan at ONE: Century – Part 1)

It should come as no surprise that Angela Lee is very excited to see her brother, ONE Lightweight World Champion Christian Lee, take on the destructive Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev. Christian was not originally expected to compete on this card, but stepped in to battle Arslanaliev when Eddie Alvarez was forced off the card with an injury.

“Now I’m super excited that my brother is going to be fighting. I won’t be able to pay too much attention to [his fight]. We talked about it, and we talked about what would be best, and I’m not even going to be walking out [with him], cause I’ll be focused on my fight. But I’m super excited for Christian. He’s a champion for taking this fight on such last-minute notice.”

Kevin Belingon (Challenges Bibiano Fernandes for the ONE Bantamweight World Title at ONE: Century – Part 2):

Kevin Belingon, who will rematch Bibiano Fernandes for the bantamweight belt, is excited to see his teammate Danny Kingad battle the great Demetrious Johnson. He’s also excited to see his teammate Lito Adiwang make his ONE debut against Japan’s Senzo Ikeda, and his teammate Honorio Banario battle Japanese legend Shinya Aoki.

“The fight between Danny and Johnson, and also the fight between Honorio and Shinya. And the fight between Lito and Ikeda. It’s all very exciting. All of the fights are very exciting.”

Aung La N Sang (Defends the ONE Light Heavyweight World Title against ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon Vera at ONE: Century- Part 2)

Aung La N Sang, who owns the ONE light heavyweight belt, is excited for the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix final between Christian Lee and Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev and the ONE Kickboxing World Grand Prix final between Giorgio Petrosyan and Samy Sana.

“Definitely the lightweight contest — the lightweight Grand Prix final, and also the kickboxing  finals between Giorgio Petrosyan and Samy Sana. That’s a big fight.”

Brandon Vera (Challenges Aung La N Sang for the ONE Light Heavyweight World Title at ONE: Century – Part 2)

Brandon Vera, the ONE heavyweight champ, is looking forward to seeing Angela Lee defend the ONE Atomweight World Title against ONE Strawweight World Champion Xiong Jing Nan.

“Dude, honestly, all of the scraps are going to be fire. But, I am excited to see Angela Lee and ‘The Panda’ Xiong Jing Nan. I’m excited for that scrap for real, but I’m going to have to watch that fight on replay because we’re going to have to stay focused on the task at hand.” 

Arjan Bhullar (Meets Mauro Cerilli at ONE: Century – Part 2 )

Arjan Bhullar, a former UFC heavyweight, is hoping to earn a title shot against Brandon Vera with a big win over former Cage Warriors champ Mauro Cerilli. As such, he’s excited to watch Brandon Vera drop down to light heavyweight to challenge Aung La N Sang. He’s expecting Vera to win this matchup.

“Vera and Aung La, bar none. I think Vera’s size is going to be too much to overcome. If Aung La can get him out of the first round, I’d like to see what Vera’s got, because he hasn’t been there in a few years. But I just think the size, and his experience, that’s going to be a huge factor.” 

Which fights are you most looking forward to on this stacked ONE Championship card?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/9/2019.