ONE Championship presents its 13th live show in Manila later this month, carrying more “punch” as it debuts the highly anticipated ONE Super Series.
The Super Series is a unique martial arts league that will feature other Asian martial art forms like Muay Thai, Lethwei, Silat, Karate, Taekwondo, Sambo, Kung Fu, Sanda and Wushu.
It is hoped that through it martial artists will have another pathway to showcase what they can do on a professional level.
ONE, Asia’s largest sports media property, is angling to get added dimension from the Super Series to complement the world-class mixed martial arts offerings it has become known for since setting up shop in 2011.
The various-styled bouts of the Super Series unveils its maiden offering at “ONE: Heroes of Honor” on April 20 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
It will feature the battle between international kickboxing superstar Giorgio Petrosyan of Italy and 25-year-old “Smokin’” Jo Nattawut of Thailand.
The bout will be part of the card to be headlined by the bantamweight battle of Filipino Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon against American Andrew Leone.
Mr. Petrosyan, 32, is known as one of the finest kickboxing talents in the world. He began his professional Muay Thai career at the age of 16 competing between bantamweight and middleweight, winning multiple titles across each division.
Carrying a kickboxing record of 85-2-2, with two no contests, Mr. Petrosyan has punctuated his illustrious career with an incredible six-year, 42-bout win streak which is considered one of the most dominant reigns in middleweight history.
On the other hand, Mr. Nattawut is a kickboxing star from Atlanta, Georgia, with a professional kickboxing record of 60-11-2. Originally from Korat, Thailand, he is a former Lion Fight Super Welterweight Champion and World Muaythai Council Champion, known for his powerful elbow and knee strikes.
“In the same way that Starbucks offers many flavors of coffee and tea, we offer all martial arts. ONE Championship is the home of martial arts. We have earned that reputation over the last couple of years, and so instead of mixed martial arts, as a fight fan and as a martial arts lover, you now get to see all forms of martial arts for the very first time in history,” said Chatri Sityodtong, ONE chairman and CEO, in a recent conference call with global media whose transcript was shared to BusinessWorld.
“So you will see matches of, you know, Muay Thai versus Taekwondo, or Taekwondo versus Kung Fu, and the list goes on and on. This is a massive game-changing moment, not just for ONE Championship but also for the world of martial arts,” he added.
Also at Heroes of Honor, all bouts are expected to be held inside the new ring, including those that are officiated under ONE’s Global Rule Set.
This means that, for the first time in ONE Championship history, MMA contests will be held in the ring instead of in the cage.
Details and specifications of the new ring have yet to be released by ONE but it said it would do so in the lead-up to the April 20 event. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
