ONE Fight Night 3, which is also known as ONE on Prime Video 3 in North America, will feature three world championship fights across different martial arts. ( ONE Championship)
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NE Championship returns to Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur with a bang. The world’s largest martial arts organization will stage ONE 162: Zhang vs. Di Bella and ONE Fight Night 3: Lineker vs. Andrade this Friday night and Saturday morning, respectively.
It marks the first time for ONE to hold an event in the Malaysian capital since December 2019, and the highly anticipated return features four world title bouts.
At the headline attraction of ONE Fight Night 3, ONE Bantamweight World-Champion John Lineker will defend his title against fellow Brazilian Fabricio Andrade, who has been calling him out for quite some time.
“I’m the guy who has been calling him out. He’s been ducking me. 100 percent, I’m going to put on a show, there’s going to be another knockout and we’ll have a new champion,” said Andrade during a virtual press conference last week.
“He thinks I’m like all the other guys he’s fought. He has no idea what’s coming. He can throw all the punches he wants. I’m still going to knock him out,” he added.
The 25-year-old has been showing impressive performances inside ONE Championship’s Circle. He defeated all five opponents in the past two years, four of which were via finishes.
Lineker, on the other hand, is one of the hardest punchers in MMA. He has recorded 35 wins with 17 knockout victories.
“My heavy hands, my iron fist, that will be the difference. You guys have seen what happens when I strike, I pack a punch. That’s the difference,” said Lineker. “This is like football. You only need one goal to win. Just like I only need one punch to win.”
Read also: 3 of the biggest storylines heading into ONE Fight Night 3In the co-main event, Regian Eersel and Sinsamut Klinmee will be vying for the inaugural ONE Lightweight Muay Thai crown. Eersel is the kickboxing world champion in the division, and he is now eyeing another belt to his collection.
“I’m not going to underestimate him. Every fight in ONE Championship is big. Sinsamut is a new challenge. He KO’d his last two opponents. He’s very dangerous,” said Eersel.
In his first two outings in ONE Championship, Sinsamut has put on star-making performances with two big knockouts wins over Nieky Holzken and Liam Nolan, earning him a total of US$100,000 in performance bonuses during the process.
The Thai star is aiming for another impressive win on Saturday.
“I see the weaknesses [in Regian Eersel], but I don’t want to tell anyone. But during the fight, everyone will see what happens,” Sinsamut told media. “My dad was a fighter. He was a champion. My entire family, all champions. They set an example, and that’s what I’d like to follow.”
The last world championship bout on the card will feature a high-level grappling matchup between multiple-time BJJ world champion Kade Ruotolo and sambo world champion Uali Kurzhev. The winner will take home the coveted ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling Word Title.
“Someone left a comment on my last Instagram post: ‘If sambo was easy, it would be called jiu-jitsu.’ So, these matches [jiu-jitsu vs. sambo] are really cool, we can merge the two styles. Sambo guys have great takedowns and leg locks, so it’ll be fun to figure out his style. But I believe in BJJ, we have a few more moves, more options, so it’ll be an interesting matchup,” Said Ruotolo, who recently made history as the youngest ever ADCC world champion.
“I’ve been in the sport of sambo for 27-years. I’m sure Kade has never experienced an opponent like me, since he’s so specialized. I’ll bring it to him in this match. I understand the pressure and the audience, how big it is. But again, I’ve been doing this for a long time. I have methods to avoid nerves, I’m ready for this,” responded Kurzhev.
Before ONE Fight Night 3, fight fans will witness history as Zhang Peimian takes on Jonathan di Bella for the ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Championship at the main event of ONE 162 on Friday night.
The event will also feature the highly anticipated Indonesian grappler, Eko Roni Saputra, who will face Yodkaikaew Fairtex of Thailand in a flyweight MMA bout.
Catch the lead card of ONE Fight Night 3: Lineker vs. Andrade on Saturday, Oct. 22, on NETVERSE, Vidio.com, Kaskus TV and MAXstream at 7 a.m. WIB. The main card will follow on NETVERSE, Vidio.com, Kaskus TV and MAXstream at 9 a.m. WIB. Also, NET TV will air a same-day delay at 10:30 p.m. WIB.
This article was published in collaboration with ONE Championship.