Sportskeeda picks: ONE Championship’s most memorable event of 2023

Of the several high-profile cards ONE Championship staged this calendar year, it can be argued that ONE Fight Night 10 was the premier event the promotion held in 2023.

It’s not to say that other cards are deemed lesser, but ONE Fight Night 10 has one massive argument for the global martial arts promotion.

ONE Fight Night 10 was the first on-site fight card that ONE Championship held in the United States, a landmark event that solidified its place among the world’s best sporting organizations.

Months of anticipation led to the blockbuster card inside 1stBank Center in Colorado. As always, it managed to exceed the massive expectations of the viewing public.

A total of 11 matches across MMA, Muay Thai, and submission grappling graced the event that culminated in the historic trilogy match between archrivals Demetrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes for the ONE flyweight MMA world title.

It was a bit of a homecoming for Johnson, who had his first match on American soil since his second meeting against Henry Cejudo in the UFC in 2018.

Johnson and Moraes were 1-1 in their head-to-head matchups heading into the May 5 event, and both held spectacular knockout wins against each other.

The atmosphere was electric inside the Denver stadium, and it sustained that kind of energy after Johnson retained the ONE flyweight MMA world championship via unanimous decision.

While Johnson and Moraes deserved their spot on the card, the other 10 matches showed the American audiences why ONE Championship is in a league of its own.

Jackie Buntan set the tone for the main card when she completely obliterated Aussie star Diandra Martin in the opening round of their catchweight Muay Thai bout. Burmese legend Aung La N Sang then scored his first submission win since 2017 when he submitted Fan Rong with a guillotine choke in their middleweight MMA contest.

Sage Northcutt made a successful return to action at ONE Fight Night 10 when he submitted Ahmed Mujtaba with a heel hook less than a minute into their lightweight MMA contest.

Former ONE welterweight MMA world champion Zebaztian Kadestam then followed it up with a second-round comeback KO win against Croatian sensation Roberto Soldic.

Stamp then further captivated the American fans when she split Alyse Anderson in half with a body shot KO in the second round of their atomweight MMA matchup.

Mikey Musumeci started the trio of world title fights when he took IBJJF world champion Osamah Almarwai to school with a textbook rear-naked choke finish to retain the ONE flyweight submission grappling world title.

Rodtang Jitmuangnon also made his mark on US soil when he completely battered Mexican striker Edgar Tabares to defend his ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title.

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ONE Fight Night 10 pushes ONE Championship to all-new heights

ONE Championship exclusively held its major cards in Asia for its entire existence, but the arrival of ONE Fight Night 10 showed the promotion that the US is ripe for the picking.

The sold-out show was just the beginning of the promotion’s imminent expansion into the country, and ONE Championship already announced its plans to stage more shows in the United States in 2024.

There are no official announcements yet for the US cards, but ONE Championship announced that its numbered events are making a comeback with the first two in Japan and Qatar.

ONE 165: Rodtang vs. Takeru will be the first show in Japan since ONE: Century in October 2019. The Tokyo card goes down at Ariake Arena on January 28.

The promotion is also heading to the Middle East for the first time with ONE 166: Qatar on March 1 at Lusail Arena.