Five fighters you never knew fought in ONE Championship

Song Yadong & Andrei Arlovski fought in both the UFC and ONE
Song Yadong & Andrei Arlovski fought in both the UFC and ONE

#2. Bob Sapp - ONE FC 2: Battle of Heroes

The much-beloeved Bob Sapp fought for ONE Championship on one occasion in 2012
The much-beloeved Bob Sapp fought for ONE Championship on one occasion in 2012

Bob Sapp's time at ONE Championship may have been short, but his overall career deserves its place in the annals of MMA folklore. The 6'5 behemoth has a personality to match his size and is beloved by legions of fans for his exploits during the Pride and K-1 era.

Sapp is a former NFL player and pro wrestler. He signed with ONE in 2012 to fight Rolles Gracie at ONE FC: 'Battle of Heroes' in Jakarta. 'The Beast' suffered a knockout loss in the first round in what was his fifth consecutive defeat. He'd go on to lose eight more fights on the bounce before enjoying a renaissance whilst fighting for Rizin in Japan.

Sapp recently made an appearance at Thailand's Fight Circus. In classic pro wrestling fashion, Sapp appeared with a gang of little people and attacked the promoter just as the feed went down.

It was arguably one of the most entertaining moments in the sport for 2020.

youtube-cover

#1. Song Yadong - ONE FC 24: Dynasty of Champions

Song Yadong has been fighting for such a long time that it's easy to forget that he's still just 23 years old. 'The Kung Fu Monkey' trains at Team Alpha Male under Urijah Faber and is widely-viewed as one of China's biggest talents.

Song began fighting professionally when he was just 16. Before he made his way to the octagon, he fought for ONE Championship at Dynasty of Champions in Beijing.

Fighting his countryman Xian Ji - things did not go well for young Song. He lost the fight via unanimous decision in what was his first-ever pro loss.

After that, he returned to the Chinese circuit as he began to enhance his reputation. Having racked up an 11-4 (1 NC) record, Song was snapped up by the UFC and made his debut in 2017.

The talented bantamweight went on to win eight of his next ten fights in the octagon. Having briefly been in the top 15 at 135lbs, the Chinese star is considered a serious talent and no doubt has a very bright future ahead of him.

youtube-cover

Quick Links