5 biggest non-title fights we want to see in ONE in 2022

ONE Championship is home to some of the biggest names in martial arts today, with a plethora of talented fighters showcasing their skills in the promotion. This has led to a countless number of exciting fights over its decade-long existence.

While a world title on the line could raise the stakes in any matchup, all fights in the promotion have the potential to be something special. This means that non-title fights can shine on their own too and there’s more than a handful of salivating propositions on hand for 2022.

Some potential fights on the horizon are a testament to just how deep ONE Championship’s talent pool truly is. These fights look absolutely fantastic on paper and if the promotion can put them together, fans are surely in for a treat. As a matter of fact, we can’t wait to see some of these matchups actually materialize.

Here are some of the biggest non-title fights we want to see happen in 2022.

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#5. A battle of ONE heavyweights styles - Oumar Kane vs. Marcus Almeida

These two superstars in their respective sports joined the promotion in their transition to MMA.

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida is one of the best grapplers in the world. He's won multiple Brazilian jiu-jitsu world championships and at 32 years of age is already part of the IBJJF Hall of Fame.

With not much else to prove in Brazilian jiu-jistu, ‘Buchecha’ made the move to MMA in 2021 to test his skills among the world’s elite fighters. He is currently 2-0 in the Circle, while staying true to his style of fighting.

Almeida is fresh off conquering previously undefeated heavyweight Kang Ji-Won at Winter Warriors in December.

Meanwhile, Oumar ‘Reug Reug’ Kane rose to prominence by dominating a West-African form of wrestling called ‘lutte avec frappe'. After conquering some of the best competitors in the sport, the natural progression for the 29-year-old was to try his hand in MMA.

He last saw action in the Circle at ONE on TNT 4 back in April 2021, where he lost to heavyweight world title contender Kirill Grishenko. Through his first three bouts in the promotion, Kane has shown tremendous hands to pair with his wrestling prowess, which quickly made him a fan favorite in the division.

With both behemoths fairly new to MMA, their matchup could showcase an old-school fight feel where their original styles are pitted against each other to see which martial art prevails.

#4. A ONE super fight - Shinya Aoki vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama

Former ONE lightweight world champion Shinya Aoki has constantly sought to test his skills against the best the world has to offer. In his hunger for competition, he has compiled an astonishing 47 wins against nine losses in a career that has spanned almost two decades now.

Last October, ‘Tobikan Judan’ called out one of the most popular MMA fighters in Japan and Korea, Yoshihiro Akiyama. The 46-year-old is an accomplished martial artist in various disciplines and competed in various promotions around the world, including the UFC. His mainstream fame grew as he starred in movies and TV shows through the years.

After participating in a grappling match at Road to ONE: ‘Sexyama’ Edition in Tokyo, Japan, Aoki took to the microphone to urge Akiyama to “take the fight” against him.

Akiyama claimed that while he was willing to compete, his injuries were preventing him from doing so. Aoki pressed on by telling Akiyama that he 'doesn’t have that much time left'.

Akiyama has shown that he still has some gas left in the tank by earning a first-round knockout victory over Sherif Mohamed back in 2020. However, he’s not getting any younger and Aoki may indeed miss out on the opportunity to stand with him in the Circe if their fight doesn’t happen soon.

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#3. Clash of former ONE middleweight world champions - Aung La NSang vs. Vitaly Bigdash III

The middleweight world championship was contested twice in 2017, with Vitaly Bigdash defending the crown early in the year and Aung La NSang claiming it in a rematch months later.

The two epic battles between these two warriors led many to hope that they would break their tie, but they have since diverged in their career paths.

Bigdash lost to Leandro Ataides in 2018 to push him a bit further from world title contention. Meanwhile, ‘The Burmese Python’ moved up to light heavyweight and became a two-division world champion.

After Bigdash scored a huge win against Fan Rong at Winter Warriors II, however, he called out Aung La to finally complete their trilogy bout. While Aung La wondered why Bigdash did not instead call out the current world champion, Reinier de Ridder, he has no qualms about going up against the Russian.

Will we finally see the culmination of a rivalry that was five years in the making?

#2. ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix rematch - Denice Zamboanga vs. Ham Seo Hee

Denice Zamboanga entered the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix as the next challenger for Angela Lee’s world title. Winning the tournament seemed like the final step toward making that fight happen.

However, Zamboanga was shocked in her first match in the tournament, as she lost to dangerous South Korean veteran Ham Seo Hee. The match was met with a lot of controversy, which led to ONE Championship conducting an official review.

Unfortunately, the result was upheld and Zamboanga was eliminated from the tournament. Ham, for her part, was not able to compete in the semi-final round of the tournament due to an injury. Hence, there was no true winner in their matchup, as they both failed to compete in the later stages of the Grand Prix.

With Stamp Fairtex now earning the world title shot against Angela Lee, Zamboanga can turn her attention to settling the score with Ham.

After a controversial decision that took all the attention from their initial encounter, a rematch with a decisive winner can silence all doubts as to who the better fighter is between the two.

Needless to say, there is unfinished business between Zamboanga and Ham.

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#1. Former ONE lightweight world champion Christian Lee vs. Eddie Alvarez

Christian Lee may still not be convinced that he lost the ONE lightweight world title to Ok Rae Yoon. However, he will have to wait a while for his rematch as Ok is currently sidelined with an injury.

Meanwhile, should Lee feel the need to be active, it may be the perfect time to revisit a feud from the middle of last year: his rivalry with UFC legend Eddie ‘The Underground King’ Alvarez.

‘The Underground King’ joined the promotion with hopes of claiming a world title in a third major combat sports promotion. However, he has yet to make an impact in the rankings, prompting ‘The Warrior’ to claim repeatedly that Alvarez was "not ready" for a title shot.

Misery loves company, as they say, and with both men coming off a loss to Ok, they could pour out their frustrations by facing off against each other. It may seem like Alvarez has more to gain in this match as far as rankings are concerned. However, Lee’s gain from this match goes beyond the rankings.

Lee has a chance to cement his legacy in the sport by defeating one of the best lightweights in history – a chance that the Singaporean-American superstar may find difficult to pass on.