(Courtesy of ONE Championship)
O
ne of Indonesia’s young tigers, Elipitua “The Magician” Siregar, is slated to kick off the ONE Championship events calendar for 2022 on Friday, Jan. 14.
The world’s largest martial arts organization will broadcast ONE: HEAVY HITTERS live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium, where the Indonesian wrestling champion will face Robin “The Ilonggo” Catalan, a veteran who defeated his senior Stefer “The Lion” Rahardian and fellow strawweight fighter Adrian “Papua Badboy” Mattheis.
This will be the first appearance of “The Magician” after two years of being sidelined by the Covid-19 pandemic that swept across Asia. Elipitua said this would be a crucial fight to mark his return to the world stage.
“For me, this is more of a comeback after two years of being out of the fight. I am more excited, because I hope this will be my year,” said the 25-year-old fighter.
“Starting from January – when I hope I will win – and to get back into another fight quickly, I want to have more bouts with ONE next year.”
Following Elipitua’s fight, the lead card will feature the return of Japanese mixed martial arts legend Yushin “Thunder” Okami, top-ranked women’s strawweight contender Tiffany “No Chill” Teo, Chinese knockout artist Meng Bo, and former ONE World Title challengers Elias “The Sniper” Mahmoudi and Walter Goncalves.
Main Card’s Heavy Hitters
ONE will light up the night in the main card.
ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan will defend her belt against fourth-ranked contender Ayaka “Zombie” Miura in the night’s main event.
Xiong, who has a 16-2 career record, claimed the inaugural ONE Women’s Strawweight World Title in January 2018 and has successfully defended the strap five times, with notable wins against reigning atomweight queen “Unstoppable” Angela Lee, first-ranked strawweight contender Tiffany “No Chill” Teo, and second-ranked strawweight Michelle Nicolini.
Additionally, “The Panda” is the all-time leader in knockouts in her division, with three KOs to date.
Next, she will meet Miura, who appears to be her perfect foil with an impressive 11-3 (1 NC) career record, a 64 percent finishing rate and four submission victories during her ONE tenure, all of which have come by her trademark scarf-hold Americana.
In the co-main event, ONE Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Champion Roman Kryklia defends his gold against one-punch behemoth Murat “The Butcher” Aygun, after a bantamweight Muay Thai match-up between top-ranked contender Saemapetch Fairtex and Tawanchai PK.Saenchai Muaythaigym.
Debutants and phenoms
. (Courtesy of ONE Championship/.)
The show will also mark the highly anticipated promotional debut of Saygid Izagakhmaev, who will be cornered by his mentor, mixed martial arts legend Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Izagakhmaev is a Sambo World Champion who has a 19-2 mixed martial arts record and a 74 percent finishing rate, mostly from submission wins. Moreover, “The Dagestani” will be looking to make his 20th victory a special one, especially with “The Eagle” by his side.
His first assignment in the Circle will come in a lightweight contest against James Nakashima, a former ONE Welterweight World Title challenger who is settling into his new weight class.
Nakashima sports a 12-2 record, and though he’s known primarily for his wrestling pedigree, the American southpaw has extensively trained his striking with kickboxing icon Giorgio “The Doctor” Petrosyan.
The thrilling spectacle will also see the return of 18-year-old Muay Thai star Supergirl, who became the youngest athlete to compete in – and win – the promotion’s all-striking league, ONE Super Series, in September 2020.
The teenage phenom will face the biggest test of her career when she collides with three-time Muay Thai World Champion Ekaterina “Barbie” Vandaryeva, who is set to prove that she is still one of the sport’s elite female competitors.
Jeremy “The Jaguar” Miado will also compete on the main card.
Since linking up with Marrok Force, the Philippine fighter believes he has taken his striking to a whole new level and is ready to make a run at a strawweight gold, by first taking over former Pancrase Flyweight Champion Senzo Ikeda.
Following ONE: HEAVY HITTERS, the dates for the first quarter of the 2022 events calendar are also confirmed. The promotion’s second event of the year, ONE: ONLY THE BRAVE, will be held on Jan. 28, with four additional live shows to be broadcast on Feb. 11, Feb. 25, March 11 and March26.
ONE Championship kicks off 2022 with ONE: HEAVY HITTERS on 14 January, featuring ONE World Champions Xiong Jing Nan and Roman Kryklia! Plus, don't miss the debut of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s protege Saygid Izagakhmaev! #ONEHeavyHitters #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/C6uoLZY79i
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) December 19, 2021
Here is the full card of ONE: HEAVY HITTERS:
Main Card – ONE: HEAVY HITTERS
- (c) Xiong Jing Nan vs. Ayaka Miura (ONE Women’s Strawweight World Title)
- (c) Roman Kryklia vs. Murat Aygun (ONE Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Title)
- Saemapetch vs. Tawanchai (Muay Thai, bantamweight)
- James Nakashima vs. Saygid Izagakhmaev (mixed martial arts, lightweight)
- Supergirl vs. Ekaterina Vandaryeva (Muay Thai, strawweight)
- Senzo Ikeda vs. Jeremy Miado (mixed martial arts, strawweight)
Lead Card – ONE: HEAVY HITTERS
- Elias Mahmoudi vs. Walter Goncalves (Muay Thai, flyweight)
- Beybulat Isaev vs. Giannis Stoforidis (kickboxing, light heavyweight)
- Yushin Okami vs. Leandro Ataides (mixed martial arts, middleweight)
- Shuya Kamikubo vs. Troy Worthen (mixed martial arts, bantamweight)
- Tiffany Teo vs. Meng Bo (mixed martial arts, strawweight)
- Robin Catalan vs. Elipitua Siregar (mixed martial arts, strawweight)
Watch ONE: HEAVY HITTERS on the ONE Super App or subscribe to ONE Championship on YouTube!
This article is in collaboration with ONE Championship