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Welcome to today's edition of the daily Sportskeeda ONE Championship news roundup, where we present the promotion's most important stories.
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Today, we’ll discuss Nong-O Hama's willingness to stake his ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title against Rodtang Jitmuangnon, Roberto Soldic’s dream of fighting under ONE Championship’s banner, and Reinier de Ridder looking to put on a better showing in a potential rematch against Anatoly Malykhin.
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#3. Nong-O willing to give Rodtang a chance for bantamweight belt: “I’ll be waiting for you here”
For nearly four years, there were two names that have stood out atop ONE Championship’s incredible Muay Thai roster.
ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Nong-O Hama and ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon were striking royalty in the promotion, with the two Thai megastars having held their respective world titles since 2019.
Though they’ve held separate air spaces throughout their lengthy world championship reigns, Rodtang and Nong-O could be set for a seismic collision.
Nong-O said in a recent interview with ONE Championship that he’d gladly stake his world title in a potential dream match against Rodtang:
“I still have the belt around my waist. If you want to move up to bantamweight, I’ll be waiting for you here. Rodtang would still be my best bro, but in the ring, we do our duty and fight our best.”
While a potential match against Rodtang is still outside the realm of possibility, Nong-O’s next world title defense is firmly set in reality.
Nong-O will defend his belt against Jonathan Haggerty, the former ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion, in the main event of ONE Fight Night 9 on Prime Video on April 21 at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.
The entire ONE Fight Night 9 card will be broadcast live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.
#2. Roberto Soldic’s dream was to fight on ONE Championship’s ‘world stage’
Roberto Soldic was the most sought-after mixed martial arts free agent in 2022, and his decision to join ONE Championship was the first step in realizing his dream.
The Croatian sensation ran through the European scene and captured both the welterweight and middleweight titles in KSW. Having swept the competition in Europe, Soldic decided that it was time to step into the big leagues and join ONE.
In an interview with the promotion, Soldic said ONE Championship presented him with every possibility he wanted in his career.
It also helped that ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong flew to the Croatian capital city of Zagreb to personally join Soldic for a press conference:
"I feel really excited because this was also my dream to fight on the world stage. And ONE Championship gave me everything that I needed. And everybody knows that. Mr. Chatri, the CEO, flew to Zagreb to have a press conference with me. I signed with ONE, and we made a deal.”
Soldic could take the next step into his journey of global MMA domination when he faces Zebaztian Kadestam at ONE Fight Night 10 on May 5 at 1stBank Center in Colorado.
ONE Fight Night 10 is ONE Championship’s first on-site event in the United States and will be broadcast live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.
#1. Reinier de Ridder still has Anatoly Malykhin KO in his mind, wants to ‘do better next time’
Dutch superstar Reinier de Ridder hadn’t tasted defeat in his professional career, that was until he faced Russian juggernaut Anatoly Malykhin.
De Ridder put his ONE light heavyweight world title on the line at ONE on Prime Video 5, but it proved to be the last time that he held the gold. Malykhin decimated ‘The Dutch Knight’ to preserve his own perfect record and capture the world championship.
A few months after losing the belt, De Ridder addressed the disappointing loss and vowed to do a better job in case he meets Malykhin in the future.
He told The MMA Superfan:
“There’s some stuff that slipped out of my hands before the fight, some stuff that I didn’t do like I normally do. I think I can do a lot better than I did that night. I’m working hard to prove that the next time around.”
De Ridder, though, still holds the ONE middleweight world title and he’s set to jump into his second submission grappling match in the promotion at ONE Fight Night 10.
The 32-year-old is set to face Tye Ruotolo in a middleweight submission grappling match in ONE Championship’s first live event on US soil.
Watch de Ridder's entire interview below:
