5 of the most stacked weight divisions in ONE Championship

#2. ONE Lightweight Division

Smack in the middle of ONE's male MMA weight classes is the ONE lightweight division. What makes fights in the 77.1kg class memorable encounters is that most competitors own pace like fighters from the lighter weight divisions, and power similar to the larger behemoths in the promotion.

Ok Rae Yoon wrote his name in the history books last year by becoming only the sixth man to hold the division’s championship belt. The South Korean star blitzed his way to the world title following commanding outings against Marat Gafurov, Eddie Alvarez and former kingpin Christian Lee.

Just like Ok, the top five contenders in the division can take on any of the world’s leading lightweight fighters outside the promotion. Christian Lee, the fighter with the most finishes in the promotion’s history sits at the top of the rankings, while Dagi Arslanaliev (2), Shinya Aoki (3), Iuri Lapicus (4), and Timofey Nastyukhin (5) follow behind.

Any fight between these stars promises a clash of skills, styles, and martial arts of the highest order.

To describe this division as stacked is an understatement when you consider names like James Nakashima, Eduard Folayang, Marat Gafurov, Lowen Tynanes, Ruslan Emilbek Uulu, and Zhang Liping.

Then there are former UFC stars like Eddie Alvarez, Sage Northcutt, and Yoshihiro Akiyama, who have all found life pretty difficult in the promotion.

Saygid Izagakhmaev is the latest addition to the 77.1kg weight division. The Russian star, who trains with MMA legend Khabib Nurmagomedov, makes his debut against wrestling specialist Nakashima at ONE: Heavy Hitters on January 14.

The rematch between Arslanaliev and Nastyukhin at ONE: Winter Warriors last month was voted as the promotion’s 2021 MMA Fight of the Year. It was an ideal match to sum up the quality of every individual in this division.

With knockout power, boxing combinations, stamina-draining grappling, submission wizardry and blistering striking, whatever fans look for, the lightweight division provides.

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#1. ONE Featherweight Kickboxing Division

In combat sports today, there are few divisions that can hold a candle to the level of talent in the ONE featherweight kickboxing division.

The athletes in the 70.3 kg division are world champions in striking. Even if you look back at the history of the sport, there has never been a time when all fighters had similarly been placed together under one umbrella.

Superbon became the inaugural world champion of the division when he knocked out kickboxing GOAT Giorgio Petrosyan at ONE: First Strike last year. Everyone expected the Italian-Armenian icon to outscore his opponent on his way to the world title. However, the Thai striker reminded Petrosyan that there are several stars with a burning desire to achieve a similar goal.

Other prominent names in the kickboxing world are Davit Kiria, Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong, Marat Grigorian, and Chingiz Allazov. These four are all in the semifinals of the second edition of the ONE featherweight kickboxing world Grand Prix, which gets underway at ONE: Only the Brave on January 28.

German striking machine Enriko Kehl, Dutch-Turkish slugger Tayfun Ozcan, Spanish sensation Jonay Risco, Lithuanian star Dovydas Rimkus, and French warrior Samy Sana have all enjoyed stellar careers in the European circuit. They are all waiting for their chance to take on better and bigger names. The number of world-class superstars in this ONE Super Series division gives these strikers the perfect platform to showcase their talents.

Thailand’s Sagetdao Petpayathai and Jo Nattawut are two more names that show how much excitement and talent this division packs.