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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 Sage Northcutt wanting to compete in kickboxing and submission grappling, Roberto Soldic expecting a dominant win over Zebaztian Kadestam, and Anatoly Malykhin’s coach hinting at Francis Ngannou’s potential arrival in ONE Championship.
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#3. Sage Northcutt wants to compete in kickboxing and submission grappling in ONE
Sage Northcutt is one of the most versatile mixed martial artists of the current era, and he wants to translate his multitude of skills into specific martial arts.
The American star admitted in an interview with The MMA Superfan that he wants to take advantage of ONE Championship’s emphasis on multiple disciplines and dabble in kickboxing and submission grappling.
‘Super’ said that he already sees himself getting into a submission grappling match against Japanese legend Shinya Aoki.
“Definitely, you know I know this fight’s an MMA fight but that’s what’s so cool about ONE Championship is that you got kickboxing, Muay Thai, submission grappling. I would like to do them all actually. Maybe after this fight, maybe I’ll have a submission grappling match, maybe that’s against Shinya Aoki. Or I go and have a kickboxing match so I would definitely like that for sure.”
Northcutt is a certified finisher in his career with five knockouts and three submissions under his name.
He can add to that total when he faces Pakistani fighter Ahmed Mujtaba at ONE Fight Night 10 on May 5 at the 1stBank Center. The entire card will be broadcast live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.
Catch Northcutt's interview below:
#2. Roberto Soldic envisions total victory over Zebaztian Kadestam
Roberto Soldic holds a reputation as one of the most lethal MMA fighters on the feet, and he wants to prove that on the global stage when he faces Zebaztian Kadestam.
The two knockout artists are set for a welterweight bout at ONE Fight Night 10 on May 5 in Colorado.
‘Robocop’ was the most sought-after free agent in 2022 and he wants to prove his hype when ONE Championship stages its first live event in the United States.
In an interview with MMA Sucka, Soldic said that he wants to beat Kadestam in any way possible:
“Doesn’t matter how [I win]. I’ll try to win the fight and that’s it.”
Soldic, a two-division KSW champion, has 20 wins in his career including 17 knockouts and one submission finish.
Kadestam, though, is also as lethal on the feet as Soldic. ‘The Bandit’ is a former ONE welterweight world champion and has a 100 percent finish rate in his six victories in ONE Championship.
Check out Soldic's interview below:
#1. Anatoly Malykhin’s coach hints at Francis Ngannou signing with ONE
ONE Championship got its hands on 2022’s most sought-after free agent, and the promotion might just repeat that feat in 2023.
Legendary boxing coach John Hutchinson, who coaches double world champion Anatoly Malykhin, fanned the rumor flames when he alluded to Francis Ngannou already having an agreement with ONE Championship.
Hutchinson, the head boxing coach at Tiger Muay Thai, recently had an interesting Instagram post wherein he predicted his student Anatoly Malykhin will make quick work of Arjan Bhullar in their unification bout for the undisputed ONE heavyweight world title.
He then said that Malykhin, the ONE light heavyweight and interim heavyweight world champion, will next beat Ngannou.
“When that little soft bum Arjan comes out of hiding. We promise it will be over very fast in a powerful blink of a eye. Making room faster than ever for the real fight to happen. @francisngannou you should of stayed where your at when you had the chance. Your about to face the biggest challenge @anmalykhin ... Contract pending let’s see who’s the undisputed king is ✍️ 📑 🥇…”
There’s no official word yet on whether Ngannou has indeed signed on the dotted line with ONE Championship, but Hutchinson’s post certainly had the rumor mill going haywire.
Ngannou vacated the UFC heavyweight title earlier this year and decided to become a free agent over a long-standing contract dispute with his former employer. Among the organizations he is seriously considering joining is ONE Championship.
Before any matchup involving Ngannou happens, though, Malykhin will face Bhullar at ONE Fight Night 12 on July 14, US primetime, in Bangkok. ONE Fight Night 12, like all of ONE’s Amazon cards, is available live and for free on North American television via Prime Video.
