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Welcome to today's edition of the daily Sportskeeda ONE Championship News Roundup, where we present the promotion's most important stories.
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Today we’ll discuss Tawanchai PK.Saenchai looking at a potential super fight against Chingiz Allazov, Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida suggesting that an openweight tournament is the next logical step for ONE Championship’s surging submission grappling scene, and Fabricio Andrade’s confidence heading into his world title rematch against John Lineker.
#3. Tawanchai open to facing Chingiz Allazov in the future
Tawanchai PK.Saenchai knows just how stacked ONE Championship’s featherweight Muay Thai division is, but there is one fighter he wants to face outside of his discipline.
The ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion revealed in an interview with ONE Championship that he wants to face off against Chingiz Allazov, the ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion, in the future.
Tawanchai had high praise for Allazov and even admitted that ‘Chinga’ has him beat in every facet of kickboxing.
“Chingiz is one of the greatest fighters. I like his style a lot. It would be such a great honor if I get a chance to face him one day. It’s tricky to counter him. I’m inferior to him in every way – physique, familiarity of the rules. I’ll have to train kickboxing more if this fight happens.”
Allazov captured the ONE featherweight kickboxing world title when he knocked out Thai superstar Superbon Singha Mawynn at ONE Fight Night 6 this past January.
Tawanchai, meanwhile, will be heading into his first world title defense when he faces Jamal Yusupov at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video. The card emanates from the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium on February 24 and will be available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.
#2. Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida suggests next evolution for ONE Championship's submission grappling is an openweight tournament
Submission grappling has grown in leaps and bounds under ONE Championship, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida believes that the promotion has to implement one more development to push the sport further.
Almeida, who is a 17-time BJJ world champion, said in an interview with ONE Championship that the organization should create an openweight submission grappling tournament just like the one it announced earlier this year for Muay Thai.
“An openweight of submission grappling is something that makes a lot of sense. I’m a guy who’s always been into fighting at weight and openweight, and I’ve always liked the openweight concept, with the chance for champions from other divisions to face each other. The absolute champion is the best of the year.”
The promotion has steadily pushed submission grappling as much as it did for MMA, Muay Thai, and kickboxing. The sport currently has two world champions, Mikey Musumeci at flyweight and Kade Ruotolo at lightweight. Danielle Kelly has also been pushing for a potential run for the inaugural world title in the women’s atomweight division.
#1. Fabricio Andrade says he owns the mental edge over John Lineker heading into rematch
Fabricio Andrade had one of the greatest performances of his career when he first faced John Lineker at ONE on Prime Video 3. While the no-contest finish to the first match was a disappointment, ‘Wonder Boy’ believes that he got more from that bout than his rival.
The 25-year-old was utterly brilliant during that fight and was a few shots away from claiming the vacant ONE bantamweight world title if only his final knee strike landed a bit higher. Andrade tagged Lineker with an accidental low blow that pushed the fight to a no-contest finish.
Aware of what he did to Lineker in October 2022, Fabricio Andrade is heading into the rematch at ONE Fight Night 7 with the belief that he’s better than ‘Hands of Stone.’
“I think the fact that I came very close to ending the fight, that he was badly hurt in the fight, and that I defended all his attempts on the ground, makes a difference in the psychological factor,” Andrade told ONE Championship. “He knows I’m better than him.”
The rivals will run it back at ONE Fight Night 7 for the vacant ONE bantamweight world title on February 24 at Bangkok’s Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. The whole card is available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.
