ONE Championship news roundup (April 23, 2023)

Welcome to today's edition of the daily Sportskeeda ONE Championship News Roundup, where we present the promotion's most important stories.

Today’s issue talks about newly-crowned ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Jonathan Haggerty’s winning performance, Reinier de Ridder’s excitement about the battle for the undisputed ONE heavyweight world title, and Roberto Soldic’s motivation to become an inspiration.

#3. Jonathan Haggerty envisioned wearing ONE gold around his waist again

No one could have predicted Jonathan Haggerty beating Nong-O Hama for the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world championship, but ‘The General’ certainly believed in his abilities well enough

In the main event of ONE Fight Night 9 this past weekend, the British striker pulled off the impossible feat of knocking out the legendary Nong-O to win a world title in a second weight class in ONE Championship.

While he understands what it means to defeat a Thai superstar in such a revered venue as the Lumpinee Stadium, Haggerty claimed he was “destined” to win the match.

Following the match, Haggerty said this to Mitch Chilson in the ring:

“To beat Nong-O, that is a legend, growing up, watching him since a young age, I just realized it's been written all over again, Sam-A all over again. I was destined for this, and I worked so, so hard.”

#2. Reinier de Ridder is ‘curious’ to see how the Anatoly Malykhin and Arjan Bhullar fight goes

Former ONE light heavyweight world champion Reinier de Ridder is one of the millions eagerly awaiting the heated rivalry between Anatoly Malykhin and Arjan Bhullar to culminate inside the Circle.

After multiple delays, the two powerhouses are set to headline ONE Fight Night 12 in July to unify the ONE heavyweight world championship. As we get ready for the highly anticipated matchup, De Ridder joined The MMA Superfan to share his excitement for the heavyweight clash. ‘The Dutch Knight’ said:

“I think he’s still developing and he might even be a lot better than in our fight. I’m very interested. I’m very curious to see what happens in that fight.”

Reinier de Ridder, the reigning ONE middleweight world champion, once had ambitions to take over three weight divisions before getting derailed by Malykhin last December. After seeing firsthand what ‘Sladkiy’ can do, De Ridder wants to know how the Russian juggernaut can use his skills against Bhullar.

#1. Roberto Soldic motivated to inspire the next generation of fighters

Roberto Soldic wants to inspire the next generation of fighters, and he believes continuing his winning ways will help more young athletes look up to him.

‘Robocop’ was inspired by some notable combat sports stars like Alistair Overeem, so he knows how much a good role model can help motivate young athletes to train hard in their chosen sport.

In an interview with MMA Sucka, Roberto Soldic shared what it meant for him to continue winning in MMA.

“It means I’m successful in my life. It’s also part of what I want to be. I want people to say that ‘I started training because I saw Soldic 'Robocop'.’ It also motivates me.”

The Croatian superstar will get another chance to add to his win count when he faces the dangerous Zebaztian Kadestam at ONE Fight Night 10 on May 5th.