Road To ONE: Australia kicks off in October with 4-man tournament

ONE Championship is heading to Oceania for Road To One: Australia in search of the next light heavyweight star in mixed martial arts.

In partnership with Queensland’s BEAST Championship, the martial arts organization set up Road To ONE: Australia, which will begin on October 8 at the Gladstone Show Grounds.

The tournament will feature a four-man bracket, with the winner pocketing a US $100,000 contract with ONE Championship.

BEAST Championship CEO Jason Hoad, in an interview with ONE Championship, said the Oceania region has untapped potential for MMA talent. He added that it’s only a matter of time before the next great MMA star emerges from its territories.

Hoad said:

“The Oceania region’s talent pool is very deep. The professional talent we have, in my honest opinion, is on par or above the greatest MMA athletes in the world today. You only need to see the amount of MMA and grappling champions that are from Australia to give you an idea of the immense talent coming through the ranks in our region.”

He added:

“We also possess some of the toughest Muay Thai and kickboxing fighters on the planet, so it’s my vision to help get as many of these athletes into ONE Championship [as possible].”

The tournament’s semifinals will take place at BEAST Championship 11, with the bracket itself set to be revealed in the next few weeks.

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Road To ONE: Australia will feature the continent’s top fighters

The continent’s top names in MMA are set to grace Road To ONE: Australia, making the four-man competition an absolute treat for fight fans, not just in Australia, but in the broader global audience.

Priscus Fogagnolo, Lyle Karam, Isi Fitikefu, and Harry Grech will take part in the tournament, essentially creating a competition to see who the best Australian light heavyweight there is.

Fogagnolo is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu and judo black belt who not only grinds his opponents using his grappling, but also knocks them out cold when he wants to. ‘The Tassie Devil’ owns an 11-1 record, with six submissions and four knockouts to his name.

Fitikefu is a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu brown belt and owns titles in Eternal MMA, Superfight MMA, and Rogue MMA. The Sydney native enters the tournament with a perfect 7-0 record and an impressive 71 percent finishing rate.

Grech is another grappling expert holding black belts in both BJJ and judo. But he utilized an effective striking game in his transition to MMA to capture two knockout wins in his first couple of fights.

Rounding out the field is South Africa’s Karam. ‘Krusher’ fights primarily in his home country and Australia while amassing a 7-1 record.