"I just hope that my journey isn’t over" - Troy Worthen questions ONE Championship future after third straight loss

ONE Championship's Troy Worthen suffered his third straight career loss after Shuya Kamikubo forced him to tap with a rear-naked choke at ONE: Heavy Hitters on Friday, January 14.

Worthen, who was once undefeated at 7-0, took to social media to express his disappointment shortly after another losing effort:

"I have no answers. Felt like my body shut down on me tonight. Not sure what is in my future, but I just hope that my journey isn’t over."

Multiple fighters quickly flocked to his post to show their support, including renowned kickboxing coach Henri Hooft:

"Our journey is FAR from over! Fighting isn’t easy…maybe for people that don’t fight, but you're a FIGHTER and we got many fights to go!"

Fellow ONE Championship fighter Amir Khan also gave words of encouragement:

"Journey is only over when you say so! We believe in you, heal up and on to the next!"

Featured in the opening match of the lead card, both Worthen and Kamikubo spent the first two rounds gaging each other's grappling strengths. However, Kamikubo turned up the heat in the final minute of the third and threw a smattering of punches to Worthen's face from a back mount.

Kamikubo then finally saw the opening he needed and forced Worthen to tap to a rear-naked choke at the 4:36 mark.

After the loss, Worthen admitted that he was "bent, but not broken":

"I was not the man that my loved ones see me as tonight and that is the only pain I feel right now. Don’t feel sorry for me though, this is the life I chose."

---

ONE Championship's Troy Worthen freefalls after five-year undefeated start

Worthen had a great five-year run from 2015 to 2020 to start his MMA career.

Splitting his time between US-based Combat Night and ONE, 'Pretty Boy' alternated between stoppage finishes and favorable decisions before Yusup Saadulaev handed him his first loss in December 2020.

Since then, he has failed to bounce back. Worthen suffered his first career knockout loss to John Lineker in April 2021 which was followed by his first career tapout last Friday.