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This Friday, January 28, ONE Championship returns with an action-packed event that will surely make headlines long after it's done.
Happening at the Singapore Stadium, ONE: Only The Brave will feature 11 bouts contested under kickboxing and MMA rules.
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Headlining and co-headlining the event are four of the world's best kickboxers. As part of the ONE featherweight kickboxing world Grand Prix, Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong fights Davit Kiria in the main event, while Jo Nattawut faces Chingiz Allazov in the co-main event.
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Both bouts are semi-final matches of the Grand Prix tournament.
Plus, two featherweight MMA knockout artists are set to clash on the main card. No.1-ranked contender Kim Jae Woong will look to settle the score with outspoken Chinese dynamo Tang Kai in a grudge match. This bout has the potential to steal the show.
From top to bottom, Only The Brave features bouts that showcase some of the best warriors ONE has to offer. Today we list down five exciting fighters to look out for once the event officially commences.
#5. ONE Championship featherweight Muay Thai kickboxer 'Smokin' Jo Nattawut
Speaking of the featherweight world Grand Prix, one of the major things that happened leading up to the event was the reshuffling of the card. A few fights were removed from the event due to COVD-19 health and safety protocols. The Grand Prix saw a major change.
Former two-division Lion Fight champion 'Smokin' Jo Nattawut was supposed to face Dovydas Rimkus in the lead card. When former co-headliner and semifinalist Marat Grigorian had to pull out, Nattawut offered to step in and take his place.
It's a huge bump to the co-main event spot, considering that Nattawut was not even in the tournament. Nattawut's inclusion in the semifinals is a compelling tale of bouncing back from adversity.
After getting knocked out by Giorgio 'The Doctor' Petrosyan in 2019, Nattawut regained some momentum with a KO win over Yurik Davtyan. The decorated Thai is now just two wins away from claiming the ONE Championship featherweight Grand Prix belt and vying for the title.
Nattawut is one intense kickboxer who is gifted with thunderous power in both hands. He has a highly unusual brand of Muay Thai, where he loves to throw hands as much as he loves to kick. Every punch in his lethal combinations is thrown with fight-ending intentions.
Look for him to bring this intensity come Friday night.
#4. ONE Championship featherweight Muay Thai kickboxer Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong
Heavily favored to win the Grand Prix tournament is ONE Championship Muay Thai phenom Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong. The highly technical savant from Buriram, Thailand, is the perfect fighter to watch if you want to learn the fundamentals of the sport. He's so technical and precise and it's such a beauty to watch him go to work.
Sitthichai's razor-close contest with fellow Muay Thai stalwart Tawanchai is a solid example of a Muay Thai chess match. Every exchange was done with such a high level of technique, precision and timing that you'd think it's rehearsed. Not one competitor got the upper hand as both master tacticians seemed to cancel each other out.
Come January 28, however, Sitthichai will face a different kind of beast in Davit Kiria in the main event. Though he has already beaten the Georgian twice in the past, it doesn't mean he cannot get caught by Kiria's deadly punches.
Kiria, who is very different from the highly technical Tawanchai, loves to swing hard with furious strikes while using his trademark toughness to push forward.
Fighting under ONE Championship kickboxing rules, Sitthichai will not be able to use his elbows nor be allowed to catch kicks as per usual in Muay Thai bouts. It would be interesting to see Sitthichai adjust to this change, while dealing with the onslaught from Kiria. Nonetheless, it would be an entertaining clash of styles to watch.
#3. ONE Championship featherweight knockout artist Tang Kai
The main card clash between featherweight knockout artists Tang Kai and 'The Fighting God' Kim Jae Woong is one of our most anticipated bouts on the card. Though Kim is the current No.1 featherweight contender at the moment, we'd like to put a spotlight on the surging Chinese dynamo Tang Kai.
The ONE Championship star is not the kind of man to be trifled with. The Chinese slugger has an 85% finish rate and all are by way of knockout. That's serious power.
Though Tang is at No.4 in the rankings right now, he's on an eight-fight winning streak. The powerhouse's winning streak is longer than anybody in the top five, including ONE Championship's featherweight champion and title challenger.
Though Kim looks at Tang as someone to keep him busy while waiting for his title shot, he might want to think twice. Tang's power is so innate that almost everything he throws, even the ones that don't look like much, are utterly concussive. He wovs to knock Kim out and "make him cry" come January 28.
Simply put, Tang is not the kind of fighter you underestimate under any circumstance. Period.
#2. ONE Championship featherweight kickboxer Dovydas 'Rimkenzo' Rimkus
ONE Championship featherweight sensation Dovydas Rimkus wears leopard-print shorts and sports an awesome bowler cut. If those two things don't get you at least interested in watching him, wait till you see him fight.
The Lithuanian oddball is a highly entertaining fighter to watch, both in and out of the ring. His Instagram page is filled with antics and over-the-top training methods that would make the guys from Jackass proud.
Not only is Rimkus a genuine oddball outside the ring, he's also a straight savage inside of it. His showmanship, coupled with his lethal kickboxing skills, reminds us of boxing legend 'Prince' Naseem Hamed. He even has the trademark Leopard shorts to earn that comparison.
We can't wait to see this fighter as he headlines the lead card of ONE: Only The Brave.
#1. ONE Championship strawweight star Jarred 'The Monkey God' Brooks
Without a doubt, our most anticipated fighter to watch at Only The Brave is former UFC and Bellator and now-ONE Championship fighter Jarred Brooks. 'The Monkey God' is one of the fighters we've pegged to win the title this year and he's surely living up to his potential.
His utter dismantling of Lito 'Thunder Kid' Adiwang last year tells us that the talented wrestler is a force at 125 pounds. His combination of unstoppable wrestling pressure can stifle even the most explosive of fighters.
Even before entering ONE, Brooks had already proven that he could use his wrestling to own even the most dangerous of strikers in the world. His close 2017 bout with UFC flyweight champion Deiveson 'Deus Da Guerra' Figueiredo showed how Brooks is a problem not easily solved.
Opening the main card for Only The Brave, Brooks will face Shooto veteran Hiroba Minowa. The 22-year old Japanese warrior is on a six-fight winning streak and will look to test his might against 'The Monkey God'. It will surely be an entertaining bout to watch.
