Sports

ONE Championship: Age Of Dragons To Feature Title Bouts

ONE Championship: Age of Dragons will take place November 16 from the Cadillac Arena in Beijing, China.

In the main event, reigning ONE flyweight kickboxing champion Ilias Ennahachi of the Netherlands will defend his World Title against challenger “Metal Storm” Wang Wenfeng of China.

Also, in the co-main event, Tarik “The Tank” Khbabez of Morocco and Roman Kryklia of Ukraine will do battle for the inaugural ONE light heavyweight kickboxing championship.

At just 23 years of age, Ennahachi is already a multiple-time Kickboxing world champion. He made his resounding ONE Super Series debut last August at ONE: Dreams of Gold, when he dethroned former World Champion Petchdam “Baby Shark” Petchyindee Academy to capture the ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Championship.

Ilias Ennachahi Vs. Petchdam Academy Fight Replay

Ennahachi’s first title defense won’t come easy, as he is tasked to take on local martial arts hero, Wan Wenfeng, who will no doubt have the full support of his hometown fans in Beijing.

Khbabez, a 2-time SUPERKOMBAT heavyweight champion, is known for his aggressive style, and his fast and powerful combinations. The heavy-handed Moroccan striker has been perfect so far in ONE Super Series, winning all four of his bouts impressively.

Khbabez’ latest conquest came last June, when he toppled Brazil’s Anderson Silva to win by unanimous decision in front of Chinese fans in Shanghai. The victory earned him a spot opposite Kryklia in this World Title matchup.

SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix Featuring Tarik Khbabez

Kryklia, on the other hand, is currently riding an eight-bout winning streak heading into his ONE Super Series debut. He is a former Kunlun Fight champion.

Legendary Thai warrior “The Hero” Yodsanklai IWE Fairtex is back in action in a Muay Thai contest against Ukraine’s Sasha Moisa. Both Yodsanklai and Moisa were participants in the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix, which concluded recently with Italy’s Giorgio Petrosyan being crowned the tournament champion.

In a kickboxing contest with 10-ounce gloves, former K-1 World Champion Enriko “The Hurricane” Kehl of Germany will face Armen Petrosyan of Italy. Both Kehl and Petrosyan joined the stacked featherweight division of ONE Super Series to compete among the best strikers in the world. A victory here for either would no doubt push the winner higher up the rankings.

ONE: Age of Dragons will also see the highly-anticipated ONE Super Series debut of Dutch kickboxing sensation Jorina Baars. Baars takes on DKKO German Champion Christina Breuer.

A native of Den Helder, Netherlands, the 30-year old Baars is easily one of the most sought-after martial artists in the world and has attained success in every stage that she has competed in. Among Baars’ accolades include the ISKA Welterweight World Championship, a National Dutch Muay Thai Championship, the Amazon of K-1 Muay Thai Grand Prix Championship, and the inaugural Lion Fight Muay Thai Women’s Welterweight World Championship.

Baars remains undefeated in 49 Muay Thai contests, owning an impressive 46-0-3 record with 16 of those victories coming by way of knockout. The most notable win in Baars’ stellar resumé is a unanimous decision victory over multiple-time mixed martial arts World Champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino.

Jorina Baars Takes On Cris Cyborg

Speaking of high-profile appearances, Commonwealth Wrestling Gold Medalist and Indian martial arts superstar Ritu Phogat is set to make her professional mixed martial arts debut opposite Malaysia’s Cindy Tiong.

Phogat is a champion wrestler and top women’s mixed martial arts prospect who comes from a family of martial artists. She began training in wrestling at the age of eight under the guidance of her father, Mahavir Singh Phogat. The 2016 blockbuster Indian sports film, Dangal, was loosely based on Phogat and her family.

Over the course of her wrestling career, Phogat has captured a Commonwealth Wrestling Championships gold medal, a World U23 Wrestling World Championships silver medal, an Asian Wrestling Championships bronze medal, and multiple Indian National Wrestling Championship titles.

China will also be well-represented on the ONE Championship global stage for mixed martial arts competition.

Chinese mixed martial arts champion Meng Bo makes her ONE Championship debut against former ONE World Title Challenger Laura “La Gladiadora” Balin of Argentina. Shaolin martial arts star Miao Li Tao takes on the Philippines’ Jeremy “The Jaguar” Miado.

National Freestyle Wrestling Silver Medalist “The Cannon” Ma Jia Wen faces ONE Warrior Series contract winner Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg of Mongolia in an explosive featherweight contest. Tang Kai faces Team Lakay’s Edward “The Ferocious” Kelly, and “Wolf of the Grasslands” Hexigetu goes head-to-head with Ramon “The Bicolano” Gonzales of the Philippines.

Lastly, TFC Featherweight Champion and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Yusup Saadulaev of Russia takes on the dangerous Daichi Takenaka of Japan in a bantamweight contest.

Bout cards and order are subject to change.

ONE: AGE OF DRAGONS

ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Championship
Ilias Ennahachi (C) vs Wang Wenfeng

ONE Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Championship
Tarik Khbabez vs Roman Kryklia

Meng Bo vs Laura Balin

Yodsanklai IWE Fairtex vs Sasha Moisa

Miao Li Tao vs Jeremy Miado

Jorina Baars vs Christina Breuer

Ritu Phogat vs Cindy Tiong

Ma Jia Wen vs Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg

Yusup Saadulaev vs Daichi Takenaka

Enriko Kehl vs Armen Petrosyan

Tang Kai vs Edward Kelly

Hexigetu vs Ramon Gonzales

Dana Becker

The world of MMA is one of the few sports that brings together people from all walks of life. I try my best to tell those stories and also present breaking news to the masses.

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