ONE Championship News Roundup

Welcome to today's edition of the daily Sportskeeda ONE Championship News Roundup, where we present the promotion's most important stories.

Today, we’ll look into Danielle Kelly’s message to Mikey Musumeci’s detractors, Anatoly Malykhin’s comments on Chingiz Allazov’s skills, and Fabricio Andrade’s mindset ahead of his rematch with John Lineker.

#3. Danielle Kelly defends Mikey Musumeci’s decision to pursue leglock finish of Gantumur Bayanduuren at ONE Fight Night 6

As far as women’s submission grappling superstar Danielle Kelly is concerned, Mikey Musumeci did nothing wrong against Gantumur Bayanduuren.

The reigning flyweight submission grappling world champion handily retained his gold strap with a unanimous decision win earlier this month. The Mongolian challenger avoided getting submitted after 10 minutes, but it wasn’t for the lack of trying on the American’s part.

‘Darth Rigatoni’ had Bayanduuren in all sorts of trouble the entire match, even locking in his infamous ‘Mikey Lock’. Bayanduuren surprisingly kept a poker face, but the damage to his knee told a different story.

Post-match, it was revealed that the Sambo specialist tore his ACL, MCL, and meniscus, and also suffered a broken ankle.

Musumeci received some criticism for not bailing on the submission.

However, Kelly defended the jiu-jitsu ace and made it clear that Bayanduuren should take the brunt of the blame for not tapping.

She explained in an interview with The MMA Superfan:

“Everyone out there complaining. I don’t think they’re real competitors and they’re probably hypocritical because if they were in a big stage like that and the other person didn’t want to tap, you want to make sure you’re submitting your opponent to get your prize or win that match.”

Kelly continued:

“Honestly, I haven’t seen any criticize Mikey for doing it, so I don’t know. But anyone giving him issues about it are just not real competitors.”

Watch the full interview below:

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#2. Anatoly Malykhin knew Chingiz Allazov would beat Superbon all along

Two-division world champion Anatoly Malykhin literally jumped out of his seat when Chingiz Allazov knocked out Superbon Singha Mawynn to become the new featherweight kickboxing world champion.

‘Sladkiy’, who got to know Allazov when he spent time training with him at Tiger Muay Thai, was cageside to support ‘Chinga’ in his crowning moment earlier this month.

While the Russian star was filled with glee to see Allazov realize his dream, he wasn’t exactly surprised. After training with Allazov, Malykhin knew right away he was destined to become a world champion.

Malykhin told the promotion in an exclusive interview:

“I had already said that Chingiz is very good with the hands. He hits from all angles. I saw him the day before the fight. He was very motivated, very charged. In addition to that, he has a great coach who is doing a good job and gives the right cues during the fight.”

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#1. Fabricio Andrade’s confidence hasn’t wavered since first John Lineker fight

Despite falling short of his goal to become the bantamweight world champion, Fabricio Andrade’s belief in himself remains at an all-time high.

‘Wonder Boy’ is eager to right his wrongs and complete the job in his do-over with John Lineker at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video next month.

The 25-year-old Brazilian was on the verge of victory until a wayward knee to the groin area spoiled his plans.

Still, the unfortunate incident has not dampened Andrade’s desire to prove he has what it takes to become a world champion.

Andrade told The MMA Superfan in an interview:

“I’m a confident guy, and I've been showing it and I showed it in the last fight that I'm one of the best bantamweights on the planet. I want to keep improving and keep putting on good performances and show everyone that I deserve to be the champion, and I deserve to be respected.”

Here’s Fabricio Andrade’s full interview: