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Tag: ONE 168

  • Demetrious Johnson Announces MMA Retirement, Inducted Into ONE Championship Hall Of Fame

    Demetrious Johnson Announces MMA Retirement, Inducted Into ONE Championship Hall Of Fame

    The mixed martial arts career of UFC and ONE Championship legend Demetrious Johnson has reached its conclusion.

    Johnson officially announced his retirement from the sport of MMA following 15 months of uncertainty. His final appearance was a headline victory at ONE Fight Night 10, the Asian promotion’s United States debut in May 2023.

    After outpointing Adriano Moraes in their trilogy to keep hold of the ONE flyweight title, “Mighty Mouse” hinted that the victory may have marked his farewell.

    That has ultimately turned out to be the case, with Johnson confirming his decision to hang up the gloves by delivering an emotional speech in front of his family and adoring fans at Friday’s ONE 168 event at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.

    ONE chairman Chatri Sityodtong also entered the Circle to announce Johnson as the first inductee into the organization’s Hall of Fame.

    Before finding success in ONE Championship, where he secured Grand Prix and title glory, Johnson established himself as one of the greatest of all time during a record-breaking reign in the UFC.

    While competing on MMA’s biggest stage, “Mighty Mouse” ruled over the 125-pound division for six years, making 11 consecutive successful defenses after becoming the inaugural UFC flyweight champ in 2012.

    From his so-far unmatched streak of defenses to individual moments such as the suplex armbar he used to submit Ray Borg and flying knee that exacted revenge on Moraes, not many will depart the sport with a legacy as illustrious as Johnson’s.

  • ONE 168 Results & Highlights: Superlek KOs Jonathan Haggerty In 49 Seconds, Becomes Two-Sport Champ

    ONE 168 Results & Highlights: Superlek KOs Jonathan Haggerty In 49 Seconds, Becomes Two-Sport Champ

    ONE Championship was back for its second event in the United States this week, and MMA News has you covered with all the action!

    In May 2023, the organization presented ONE Fight Night 10 from the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. The event marked its on-site debut in the United States, and ONE Championship brought a stacked card worthy of the occasion that was topped by American legend Demetrious Johnson.

    This year, a new set of prominent names are looking to make a splash on US soil, starting at ONE 168 inside the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Friday night.

    A championship was once again on the line in the closing act. Rather than MMA, however, ONE’s sophomore card in “The Centennial State” saw Muay Thai gold at stake in the main event as two-sport titleholder Jonathan Haggerty defended his bantamweight belt against flyweight kickboxing kingpin Superlek Kiatmoo9.

    The Thai star continued his streak of dominance, following victories over Rodtang Jitmuangnon and Takeru Segawa with a 49-second knockout of Haggerty to become a two-sport kingpin.

    https://twitter.com/Haduuuucken/status/1832273221225173415

    One of the United States’ top submission grapplers was expected to compete until early on fight day. Mikey Musumeci was originally set to challenge ONE lightweight submission grappling king Kade Ruotolo weeks on from the Hawaiian’s $1 million triumph at the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational. However, an injury stemming from that event forced his late withdrawal this week.

    Musumeci initially remained on the card, but that decision came at a cost. While initially scheduled to challenge for the 170-pound gold, “Darth Rigatoni” was instead booked to defend his 135-pound belt opposite Bebeto Oliveira. But after missing weight and hydration on Thursday, Musumeci was stripped of the title and, due to the effects of his unsuccessful weight cut, has subsequently decided not to compete.

    Nevertheless, the lineup still saw British brawler Liam Harrison make his return from injury opposite the always exciting Seksan, former UFC fighter and ex-ONE MMA titleholder John Lineker debut in Muay Thai, Kill Cliff FC standout Aung La N Sang in next assignment, and the highly touted Adrian Lee make his second ONE appearance.

    With that said, see below for the full results followed by all the highlights!

    ONE 168: Denver Results & Highlights

    Full Card:

    • Bantamweight Muay Thai Championship: Superlek Kiatmoo9 def. Jonathan Haggerty via KO (elbow): R1, 0:49
    • Flyweight Submission Grappling Championship: Mikey Musumeci vs. Bebeto Oliveira
    • Catchweight (140lbs) Muay Thai: Seksan Or. Kwanmuang def. Liam Harrison via TKO: R2, 1:49
    • Catchweight (213.75lbs) MMA: Shamil Erdogan def. Aung La N Sang via TKO (ground strikes): R2, 2:48
    • Bantamweight Muay Thai: John Lineker def. Asa Ten Pow via KO (punch): R2, 2:50
    • Lightweight MMA: Maurice Abevi vs. Samat Mamedov
    • Atomweight MMA: Victoria Souza def. Alyse Anderson via unanimous decision
    • Welterweight MMA: Isi Fitikefu def. Hiroyuki Tetsuka via unanimous decision
    • Lightweight MMA: Adrian Lee def. Nico Cornejo via submission (rear-naked choke): R1, 2:37
    • Flyweight Muay Thai: Johan Ghazali def. Josue Cruz via KO (punch): R1, 3:00
    • Flyweight Muay Thai: Johan Estupinan def. Sean Climaco via TKO: R2, 1:28

    Johan Estupinan Def. Sean Climaco

    Johan Ghazali Def. Josue Cruz

    Adrian Lee Def. Nico Cornejo

    Isi Fitikefu Def. Hiroyuki Tetsuka

    Victoria Souza Def. Alyse Anderson

    John Lineker Def. Asa Ten Pow

    Shamil Erdogan Def. Aung La N Sang

    Seksan Or. Kwanmuang Def. Liam Harrison

    Superlek Kiatmoo9 Def. Jonathan Haggerty

  • ONE’s Mikey Musumeci Stripped Of Title After Failing Three-Day, 35-Pound Weight Cut

    ONE’s Mikey Musumeci Stripped Of Title After Failing Three-Day, 35-Pound Weight Cut

    ONE Championship flyweight submission grappling titleholder Mikey Musumeci recently became embroiled in controversy after being stripped of his belt for missing weight ahead of his upcoming bout.

    Musumeci was originally set to challenge lightweight grappling champion Kade Ruotolo in the co-main event of ONE 168: Denver on Friday night. However, in a dramatic twist during fight week, Ruotolo was forced to withdraw due to injury. Consequently, the promotion quickly arranged for reigning IBJJF world champion Carlos Oliveira to step in as a last-minute replacement, facing Musumeci for his flyweight title.

    With just three days’ notice, “Darth Rigatoni” was tasked with dropping to 135 pounds, a significant cut from the originally planned 170-pound limit. Despite the extreme difficulty of such a rapid weight loss, Musumeci gave it his all. However, at Thursday’s official weigh-in, the 28-year-old New Jersey native came in at 142 pounds, missing the mark by seven pounds.

    To make matters worse, he also failed the hydration test, resulting in Musumeci being stripped of his ONE Championship title. The fight will still proceed as a catchweight bout, but now only Oliveira has a chance to win the belt if he secures the victory.

    Musumeci Labels Title Stripping The ‘Worst Day’ of His Jiu Jitsu Career

    After failing to meet the required weight and hydration benchmarks, which resulted in the loss of his title, Musumeci took to Instagram to share his emotional response to the situation. In a heartfelt message, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ expressed his sincere apologies to both his supporters and Oliveira for missing weight.

    “Probably one of the worst days of my life in jiu jitsu,” Musumeci wrote. “I wanted so bad to compete in ONE 168 in Denver. I felt horrible for the fans who were coming to see me, and I felt I was letting them down. I tried to make the championship 135 pounds weight in about 72 hours, but it was too much on short notice after preparing for the Kade match. My body and hydration shut down when I got to 136 [pounds] earlier today.”

    “Today I lost my belt, today I let down the fans, and I want to apologize to my opponent Bebeto, someone I respect greatly, for not being able to make the weight. I’m so sorry to everyone, but I gave it my all. But God has everything happen for a reason. I’m so sorry again, everyone.”

    Musumeci is fresh off a dominant first-round submission victory over Gabriel Sousa at ONE 167 this past June. Boasting an undefeated 7-0 record in the promotion, he’s proven himself a force to be reckoned with, maintaining an impressive 71% submission win rate.

  • Injured Kade Ruotolo Out Of ONE 168: Denver Title Fight Following Craig Jones Invitational Win

    Injured Kade Ruotolo Out Of ONE 168: Denver Title Fight Following Craig Jones Invitational Win

    ONE Championship’s upcoming return to the United States has taken a major hit.

    After fortifying its status among combat promotions in Asia, ONE began its pursuit of further prominence on US soil by debuting in the region last year. The successful ONE Fight Night 10 card took place at the 1stBankCenter in Broomfield, where Demetrious Johnson, Rodtang Jitmuangnon, and Stamp Fairtex were among the major winners.

    The organization is back in Colorado almost 16 months later, with Denver’s Ball Arena playing host to ONE’s sophomore US event. But when it comes to putting on a stacked lineup for the American audience, not everything has gone to plan this time around.

    ONE 168, set for this Friday, September 6, first lost its strawweight MMA title headliner between champion Xiong Jing Nan and atomweight queen Stamp after the latter tore her meniscus in May.

    And just as fight week gets underway, the upcoming card has taken another huge blow…

    Ruotolo Out Of Musumeci Super Fight, ‘Dealing With Injuries’ After CJI Triumph

    In the absence of Xiong vs. Stamp, another champ vs. champ showdown was cemented as the main event in Jonathan Haggerty vs. Superlek Kiatmoo9. Co-headlining, meanwhile, was slated to be a submission grappling title fight.

    Among those raising the prominence of submission grappling in ONE are Kade Ruotolo and Mikey Musumeci. The pair were scheduled to do battle for the former’s lightweight title at ONE 168, with “Darth Rigatoni” moving up three weight classes to take on the challenge.

    But after emerging $1 million richer from the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational last month, Ruotolo is carrying injuries and has been left unable to share the Circle with Musumeci in Denver.

    “Just going to start by saying this year has been a hectic one,” Ruotolo wrote on Facebook. “I am proud for accomplishing my goals this year of competing in gi, nogi and mma. I’m unfortunately dealing with injuries. I know a lot of people, including myself and Mikey were looking forward to the One match in Denver but unfortunately it’s off.

    “Im going to be recovering alongside my brother and hope to get back to the mats asap. Massive thank you to @onechampionships for being the best martial arts platform @yodchatri,” he concluded.

    It’s unclear whether Musumeci will remain on the lineup and receive a replacement opponent. But should he and Ruotolo be off the card, ONE 168 will have lost one of its biggest matchups and both of its big-name US athletes.