Jo Nattawut steps in for Marat Grigorian in the co-main event of ONE: Only the Brave

With just days to go before the event, ONE Championship announced a slew of changes to its upcoming card, ONE: Only the Brave. The event will broadcast live on Friday, January 28 from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Jo Nattawut has stepped in for headliner Marat Grigorian. The top-ranked contender was forced out of the tournament semifinals against No.4-ranked Chingiz Allazov because of COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

Nattawut was originally scheduled to fight undefeated Lithuanian sensation Dovydas Rimkus in a ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix alternate bout. With Nattawut's move to the now-co-main event, Rimkus will be facing a brand new opponent in Ivan Kondratev of Russia.

Kondratev is coming off a valiant performance against Grigorian back in December 2020’s ONE: Big Bang. He will look for his maiden win in the promotion in his return to action.

Meanwhile, the change of opponent will not affect Rimkus’ aim to extend his unbeaten run to nine wins.

Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong and Davit Kiria are also featured on the card as the other Grand Prix pairing. Their match has now been bumped to the main event of ONE: Only the Brave.

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Zebaztian Kadestam out, new match kicks off ONE: Only the Brave

Former ONE welterweight king Zebaztian Kadestam has also been forced to withdraw from his match against Hiroyuki Tetsuka due to a non-COVID related illness.

Tetsuka will now get an equally dangerous opponent in Edson Marques of Brazil. The 33-year-old is known as a knockout artist and has won his last six fights by stopping his opponents with his fists.

However, they don't call Tetsuka the 'Japanese Beast' for nothing, as evidenced in his feats of strength over at his Instagram page. Their pairing will be something to watch out for on the lead card of ONE: Only the Brave.

Additionally, the event will now also feature 11 bouts instead of 10 as a new match has been added to kick off the ONE: Only the Brave lead card.

Rising Mongolian bantamweight Purev Otgonjargal will look to extend his professional MMA win streak to eight wins. He takes on promotional newcomer Micael De Jesus to kick off the lead card.

Otgonjargal stopped six of his last seven opponents by submission. However, at October 2021’s ONE: Battleground III, the 30-year-old showed the world that his hands are something to watch out for as well. He finished Ben Royle in just 49 seconds of action in his promotional debut.

Meanwhile, De Jesus will look to make an impression in his arrival to the global stage by stopping his opponent’s streak.