ONE Championship News

Tom Taylor - November 9, 2018

Bibiano Fernandes is no longer the ONE Bantamweight World Champion. After a legendary reign that spanned a whopping seven title defenses, he surrendered his belt to Filipino challenger Kevin Belingon in the ONE: HEART OF THE LION main event. Belingon won the fight by split decision after five incredible rounds of action. Although the Filipino succumbed to a few of Fernandes’ takedown attempts, he denied many others, and deftly fought off several submission attempts. On the feet, meanwhile, Belingon was the picture of excellence, punishing the long-time champion’s body with spinning kicks, and dropping him with a massive punch at the end of the third round.

Tom Taylor - November 9, 2018

On Friday evening (Friday morning in the North America), ONE Championship returned to the Singapore Indoor Arena with ONE: HEART OF THE LION. The card was originally expected to be headlined by a ONE Women’s Strawweight Title Fight between divisional champ Xiong Jing Nan and reigning atomweight Champ Angela Lee. Unfortunately, however, this bout was nixed when Lee was forced off the card with an injury.

BJPENN.COM Staff - November 8, 2018

One of Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson’s dreams as a martial artist is set to become a reality when ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced at the press conference of ONE: HEART OF THE LION at the Marina Bay Sands last Wednesday, 7 November the eight-man Flyweight World Grand Prix, which will be composed of eight of the best flyweights of the stacked ONE flyweight division. Though Sityodtong has yet to reveal the detailed set up of the tournaments, one thing is for sure, the winner will determine the undisputed champion one way or another.

Tom Taylor - November 8, 2018

23-year-old Malaysian bantamweight Muhammad Aiman is known for his unpredictable style inside the cage. One moment, he might be biding his time, and the next, you might catch him throwing back-to-back cartwheel kicks or leaping onto his foe’s back chasing a rear-naked choke. Outside the cage, however, “Jungle Cat” is not nearly as wild.

BJPENN.COM Staff - November 8, 2018

Mixed martial arts stars Eduard Folayang, Angela Lee, and Aung La N Sang were among the big winners at the 2018 Global Martial Arts Awards, held Thursday, 8 November at the JW Marriot in Singapore. The Awards night featured a who’s who of martial arts talent from across the world and the awards were presented by 18 leading broadcasters from all over.

Tom Taylor - November 8, 2018

On Friday night (Friday morning in North America), in the main event of ONE: HEART OF THE LION in Singapore, ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano Fernandes will attempt to unify his undisputed title with the interim title currently owned by Kevin Belingon. As this challenge bears down, the dominant ONE Championship bantamweight king is dialed in on the task at hand.

Tom Taylor - November 8, 2018

Former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson is now a ONE Championship fighter, and it’s becoming clearer and clearer that he’s a perfect fit for the promotion. Mere weeks into his time as a ONE Championship fighter, he’s already being pushed by the full muscle of the promotion’s substantial marketing department. Given that he occasionally felt a little under-promoted by the UFC, he’s very excited about this. “It feels good,” Demetrious Johnson told BJPENN.COM in Singapore this week. “I think with the UFC, their model is different than ONE Championship’s is. They’re looking for the next big star and trying to push out that next pay-per-view. And that’s what the North American audience wants. They want to see confrontation.”

Tom Taylor - November 8, 2018

Earlier this week, ONE Championship featherweight contender Christian Lee hopped on a plane to Singapore to support his sister Angela in her ONE: HEART OF THE LION main event showdown with Xiong Jing Nan. Unfortunately, the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion was forced out of this main event battle with an injury while her brother was making his transpacific journey. Christian Lee was understandably quite disappointed to hear that his sister would not be able to compete in the ONE: HEART OF THE LION main event as planned. In a strange twist of fate, however, his sister’s bad break ultimately resulted in an interesting opportunity for him.

Tom Taylor - November 7, 2018

ONE Champion is welcoming Eddie Alvarez to its roster in style, having recently announced that the former UFC and Bellator lightweight titleholder will make his promotional debut as part of a wild, eight-man Lightweight Grand Prix. Like most combat sports fans, Eddie Alvarez was thrilled to learn about this upcoming tournament.

Drake Riggs - November 7, 2018

The Singapore based MMA promotion ONE Championship is only just beginning with their continuation of big-name acquisitions as former UFC and Strikeforce champion Miesha Tate has joined their staff. ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced the addition of Tate late on Thursday night.

Tom Taylor - November 7, 2018

The end is nigh for the UFC flyweight division. Earlier this week, FloCombat reported that the promotion will soon be pulling the plug on its lightest mens’ division, and that many of the fighters on the promotion’s flyweight roster will not be given the chance to move up to the bantamweight division. Shortly thereafter, UFC flyweights such as Jose Torres, Jared Brooks and Justin Scoggins all reported that they have been released from their contracts.

BJPENN.COM Staff - November 7, 2018

Former PXC Welterweight Champion Zebaztian Kadestam knows he has to weather an early storm when he takes on the unbeaten Tyler McGuire for the vacant ONE Welterweight World Title in the main event of ONE: WARRIOR’S DREAM on 17 November at Stadium Istora in Jakarta, Indonesia. Kadestam, 28, is coming off a huge third round stoppage victory over Agilan Thani this past July. Nicknamed as “The Bandit”, the Swedish striker says he’s been training for the kind of style that McGuire brings to the table.

Tom Taylor - November 7, 2018

At a Wednesday afternoon press conference in Singapore, ONE Championship announced plans for a Flyweight Grand Prix. This intriguing flyweight tournament is expected to feature stars such as reigning ONE flyweight champ Geje Eustaquio, former champions Adriano Moraes and Kairat Akhmetov, rising contender Danny Kingad, and of course, new ONE Championship athlete Demetrious Johnson. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp3qsDKhUCi/

Drake Riggs - November 7, 2018

ONE Championship’s biggest all-time acquisitions in former UFC champions Demetrious Johnson and Eddie Alvarez now know when their promotional debuts will take place. Interestingly enough, they won’t be coming in your basic format but instead, tournament style as ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced via Instagram.

Cole Shelton - November 6, 2018

Sage Northcutt, a current free agent and once highly touted prospect will be heading to Singapore to take in the festivities at ONE Championship: Heart of the Lion this Friday night. Along with Northcutt, former UFC and Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and longtime UFC flyweight champion, Demetrious Johnson will also be attending the event.

Tom Taylor - November 6, 2018

Reigning ONE bantamweight champion Bibiano Fernandes and former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson are two of the biggest stars on the ONE Championship roster. That being said, we’ll never see the pair fight, as they’re long-time friends and training partners under Matt Hume at AMC Pankration in Kirkland, Washington. While Bibiano Fernandes and Demetrious Johnson will never share the ONE cage, it sounds like we will see a bit of friendly competition between them going forward. Speaking on the latest episode of BJPENN.COM Radio, Fernandes divulged that he plans to best Johnson’s record of 11-straight title defenses.

BJPENN.COM Staff - November 5, 2018

Brazilian grappling dynamo and reigning ONE bantamweight world champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes is easily one of the best to ever set foot inside a ONE Championship cage or ring. On November 9 at ONE: HEART OF THE LION in Singapore, Fernandes faces another tough challenge in reigning ONE interim bantamweight world champion Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon in a ONE bantamweight world championship unification matchup.

BJPENN.COM Staff - November 5, 2018

Singapore’s Tiffany ‘No Chill’ Teo (7-1) makes her highly-anticipated return to action on Friday, November 9 at ONE: HEART OF THE LION. Teo will face off against Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Michelle Nicolini in a strawweight bout that could have significant title implications going forward. Both women are without question two of the best athletes competing in ONE Championship’s women’s strawweight division. A victory for either Teo or Nicolini would go a long way in helping the winner build their case for a future crack at the title.