ONE 165: Danny Kingad returns in a rematch against hometown favorite Yuya Wakamatsu in Tokyo

Top ONE Championship flyweights ‘The King’ Danny Kingad and ‘Little Piranha’ Yuya Wakamatsu will run it back in a highly anticipated showdown early next year.

The two flyweight firecrackers are set to lock horns at the recently announced ONE 165 in Tokyo, Japan, ONE Championship’s epic return to the land of the rising sun and its first numbered flagpole event since ONE 164 in Manila in December of 2022.

Kingad, the no.2-ranked flyweight MMA contender in ONE Championship will take on Wakamatsu, who is ranked no.4. Both men are former world title challengers and considered the cream of the crop of the division.

ONE 165 will take place at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo on January 28, 2024.

The event will be headlined by a highly anticipated kickboxing super-fight between ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion ‘The Iron Man’ Rodtang Jitmuangnon and Japanese kickboxing icon Takeru Segawa.

Stay tuned to Sportskeeda MMA for updates on how you can watch the event live from your location.

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Danny Kingad and Yuya Wakamatsu vie for a potential shot at ONE flyweight gold

Filipino superstar ‘The King’ Danny Kingad and ‘Little Piranha’ Yuya Wakamatsu have crossed paths before. The elite flyweight contenders met in September of 2018 at ONE: Conquest of Heroes, which took place at the Jakarta Convention Center in Indonesia.

Kingad took home a three-round unanimous decision and continued his winning streak until an eventual showdown with now reigning ONE flyweight MMA world champion Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson.

Meanwhile, following Wakamatsu’s defeat to Kingad, ‘Little Piranha’ also lost to Johnson in his next fight.

The two have defeats to the MMA goat in common, so they have that going for them.

Since their meeting, Kingad has gone 5-2 in ONE Championship, while Wakamatsu posted a similar 6-2 slate. Now, the two are at the crossroads once again and ready to take each other out to advance in a stacked division.