ONE Championship books Nieky Holzken-Islam Murtazaev kickboxing fight for ONE X super-card

Nieky Holzken will make his ONE Championship return at the ONE X super-card on March 26. He will face Islam Murtazaev in a lightweight kickboxing fight announced during the ONE: Only the Brave broadcast on Friday, January 28.

Short of revealing his opponent, 'The Natural' recently dropped a handful of hints that he will be fighting in the promotion's 10-year celebration event.

Both Holzken and Murtazaev have stayed busy during the pandemic. In April 2021, Holzken had his first Muay Thai fight in more than 13 years and scored a thunderous head-kick knockout win over living legend John Wayne Parr.

Meanwhile, Murtazaev recently made his ONE Championship debut in December 2021. He lost to Regian Eersel via a split decision. Interestingly, Holzken's last defeats were also to Eersel in back-to-back bouts in 2019.

Holzken and Murtazaev now join a star-studded ONE X card with more big names surely to come in the next few weeks.

Before this latest addition, the promotion had ONE fans abuzz after booking a long-awaited rematch between Denice Zamboanga and Ham Seo Hee.

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Nieky Holzken guns for more ONE Championship highlights after two straight finishes

Nieky Holzken has been on a tear in the ONE Circle since losing twice to Regian Eersel. Prior to his knockout of Parr, the 38-year-old downed Elliot Compton with a hard body shot for a first-round KO.

Islam Murtazaev will likely be wary of Holzken's newfound fire. After all, the 34-year-old is still looking for his first win under the ONE umbrella since joining in late 2021.