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Stephen Loman is set to make his debut in ONE Championship on December 17th at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Among the adjustments that the former Brave CF champion has to make is a unique hydration test replacing traditional weight cuts.
This testing was first implemented back in 2017 and it aims for ONE Championship fighters to compete at their walk-around weights. Fighters are to be tested for both weight and hydration during fight week. This has been the practice of Asia's premier MMA promotion to keep their competitors from dropping significant amounts of weight before fight night.
For Loman, this is something new and it is a factor that he should adjust to heading into his debut fight against Yusup Saadulaev at ONE Championship: Winter Warriors II. In doing so, he will be getting some tips from his stablemates in Team Lakay on how to make weight. In an online media press conference, Loman had this to say:
"My mindset before is to stay at 135. Now it's 145 and I only have to shed a few kilos. I still don’t know how this hydration works and I will just know when it comes during the weigh-in. I still get tips from my teammates on how to make weight while staying hydrated. I will just follow what they say."
Knowing the competitive edge heading into his ONE Championship debut
Stephen Loman's arrival has garnered a lot of attention and he is already going up against a top 5 fighter in the ONE Championship bantamweight division. Yusup Saadulaev is ranked third and is on a three-fight winning streak.
In doing his homework, Loman feels that this match will be very technical and he has to prepare to compete on the ground.
"I also take my opponents down. We are both southpaws and I think it is going to be a technical bout. If he chooses to wrestle, I can also defend and take offense. If it goes on the ground, I am confident on my basic knowledge because we always do the basic techniques."
Saadulaev holds a 20-5 professional record and has won 11 fights by submission. 'Maestro' has fought six times under the ONE Championship banner, losing just once. His solitary loss came against Thanh Le.
Meanwhile, Loman has only been defeated twice in 15 professional MMA fights. He has seven decision wins, four knockouts and two submissions under his belt. 'The Sniper' is now on an eight-fight winning streak and has not seen action since November 2019 going into this fight in ONE Championship.
