Fight Preview: ONE Revolution
With the UFC’s highly touted International Fight Week fast approaching, all eyes are turning back to the world of MMA for a week-long celebration of all things fighting. However, while most news stories will be about UFC 266 and the week’s festivities in Las Vegas, there is no better time than now to check in on what is happening across the Pacific with ONE Fighting Championship.
ONE returns for their second show of the month with ONE: Revolution on September 24th. Not only are they ready to deliver some electric performances for a streaming audience, but they will also be welcoming vaccinated fans back into the Singapore Indoor Stadium for the first time in over a year. With the stage set for the return of live sports in Asia, let’s take a deep dive at the card Chatri Sityodtong and the team at ONE have cooked up for fight fans.
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Victoria Lee (2–0) vs Victoria Souza (5–0) — Atomweight MMA
Hawaii native Victoria “The Prodigy” Lee returns to the ring looking to build on an already impressive early career. The youngest sibling in a family of champions (Christian Lee the Lightweight Champion and Angela Lee the Atomweight Champion), Victoria has come out swinging with two impressive submission wins. Just watch her one-round masterclass against Luping Wang to get a taste of what Victoria Lee brings to the table. Oh yeah, she’s also doing all this before she can vote. That’s right folks, Lee is flashing terrifying grappling skills at 17 YEARS OLD. She’s balancing her training with graduating high school, which I’m sure makes for a great college essay. However, Lee faces no easy test against undefeated Brazilian Victoria Souza.
Souza has made a name for herself in her native Brazil, boasting an impressive 5–0 record in Gladiator Combat Fight. She has shown the ability to get the job done both on the mat and in stand-up as well, with two 1st round submissions and two 1st round knockouts. Souza has flashed the same aggressive style that Lee relies on to overwhelm her opponents. She will look to shock the world in her ONE Championship debut. Fans can expect a clinic in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu here.
Amir Aliakbari (10–2) vs Anatoly Malykhin (9–0) — Heavyweight MMA
You only need to take one look at Amir Aliakbari to see what an imposing force in the Heavyweight division he is. The Iranian wrestling champion has shown off his world-class grappling to amass a 10–2 record. Aliakbari is looking to bounce back after getting caught by a counter right from Kang Ji Won in his ONE Championship debut. But don’t let that KO fool you, Aliakbari can use his wrestling and overall aggression to change a fight in an instant. He draws another ONE newcomer in Anatoly Malykhin for this matchup.
The Russian Anatoly “Spartak” Malykhin is as formidable as a fighter can get at Heavyweight. He has run up a 9–0 record and a fantastic ONE Championship debut where he locked up Alexandre Machado in the crucifix to pummel him for a quick win. If anyone has the tools to match up against Aliakbari, it’s Spartak. With effective kickboxing, some creative submissions, and a solid grappling base, he can get it done anywhere. This matchup has all the signs of an intriguing chess match that should deliver some must-watch TV for grappling fans.
Martin Nguyen (13–4) vs Kim Jae Woong (11–5) — Featherweight MMA
When the legend Martin Nguyen is on a card, it instantly becomes a must-watch. The former 2 division world champ starts his climb back to the top of the Featherweight division, after getting caught by an incredibly unlucky punch against Thanh Le. Looking at his resume, he boasts some ridiculous knockouts (PLEASE if you do anything watch this KO of Narantungalag Jadambaa), 2 wins over the Lightweight champ Christian Lee, and one of the most ferocious right hands I’ve ever seen. His plotting, almost stalking style means he can uncork a punch from hell at any second, keeping viewer’s eyes glued to the screen. He will showdown against the Korean striker Kim Jae Woong.
Kim Jae Woong is riding the momentum of a huge TKO win over Tetsuya Yamada, looking to carry it over against his biggest matchup to date. Woong’s aggressive striking makes for some incredible highlights and an impressive 7 knockouts in 11 wins. However, that aggression has backfired as well, resulting in Woong being knocked out 4 times in his career. For us, the fans, this adds up to what could be the fight of the night, as both men will look to slug it out and take the decision away from the judges.
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Joshua Pacio (18–3) vs Yosuke Saruta (21–9–3) — Strawweight MMA World Championship
Everyone loves a trilogy bout, and this is certainly the climax that ONE fans have been waiting for. Their last two bouts have provided some of the closest matchups in ONE history so far. The Filipino, Joshua Pacio, dropped the belt to Saruta in 2019 in a razor-thin decision, before getting it back a few months later with a vicious head kick. Pacio has such a well-rounded game, with championship striking, creative submissions, and ironman cardio. He’ll need every ounce of those skills to get the series lead over an inspired Saruta.
It cannot be understated how impressive Yosuke Saruta is once the fight gets to the ground. He can grind out wins by using his grappling to blanket opponents. This is the exact strategy that led to a win in the first matchup, keeping the bout on the ground and draining Pacio for 25 minutes. Saruta was doing the same the second time around, only to be caught by a well-timed head kick. In all honesty, it may come down to who wants the belt more, who is willing to muster up the strength and determination to grind out a grueling battle and win the war.
Capitan vs Mehdi Zatout — Bantamweight Kickboxing World Championship
Now, if you haven’t gotten a chance to see ONE’s kickboxing divisions, you are missing out on incredibly high-paced and beautiful art. No takedowns, no grappling, no clinch, just pure striking. And there may be no one better right now than Thailand’s Capitan Petchyindee Academy. With 144 (!!!) wins in both Muay Thai and kickboxing, Capitan exploded into ONE with a 6-second knockout before dismantling the former champion Alaverdi Ramazanov. His sights are set on a new challenger in Mehdi Zatout.
Algeria’s Mehdi Zatout is not to be taken lightly. He has incredible ring control, an iron chin, and cardio that can go the distance in a high-paced fight. His head movement and countering helped to pick apart both Han Zi Hao and Leo Pinto. Zatout, however, has shown some problems fighting off his back foot against pressure, struggling against a relentless Nong-O. This aggression is something that Capitan has made a career out of. We’ll just have to see if Zatout has what it takes to get the upset, or if Capitan will put all those questions to rest.
Christian Lee (15–3) vs Ok Rae Yoon (15–3) — Lightweight MMA World Championship
Christian Lee is easily the most dominant athlete to step foot into the ring for ONE and can be argued as one of the best lightweights in the world. Of his fifteen wins, ten have come from knockout and four have come from submission. His only real losses have come twice against Martin Nguyen and one loss due to an illegal suplex. No one in the lightweight division seems to have any answers against Lee, who will pick you apart in stand-up or outclass you on the ground. Most fighters are lucky to even make it into deep water against Lee, with twelve of his finishes coming in the first round. Now the challenge falls to Ok Rae Yoon to attempt the upset.
Okay, I want to preface this by saying I will never disparage a fighter because 1) I respect the work these warriors put in far too much to do that 2) I try not to provoke people who knock people out for a living. With that out of the way, Ok Rae Yoon is the definition of a decision machine. With ten decision wins under his belt, he has made a career of going the distance. He has scored with accurate strikes and flashed his ability to stonewall takedowns in both of his previous outings. Both fights, against former champion Marat Gafurov and MMA legend Eddie Alvarez, also went to the judges. It would be easy to fall into the hype and just call Lee the winner now, but this is martial arts people! Anything can happen. We’ll need to see a perfect match from Yoon if he wants to get this win, but someone will be leaving the cage with the Lightweight strap.
With all that out of the way, be sure to set those alarm clocks and tune in on September 24th at 6:30 am/ET on all Bleacher Report platforms to catch the action.
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