In addition to the interim heavyweight world championship clash between Anatoly Malykhin and Kirill Grishenko that will headline the card, ONE Championship has a loaded ONE Championship: Only The Brave card, which airs on Friday, Jan. 28, with 11 exhilarating bouts.
In the co-main event, featherweight contenders Tang Kai and Kim Jae Woong meet in the ONE Circle for a high-stakes clash that could send the winner to the doorstep of ONE featherweight world champion Thanh Le. Tang is unbeaten on the global stage and is coming off back-to-back knockout performances. His South Korean counterpart is coming off a knockout showcase of his own, after shocking the world with a quick knockout of former featherweight king Martin Nguyen.
Helping to bolster the main card will be the semifinals of the ONE featherweight kickboxing grand prix.
Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong and Davit Kiria will collide in the first semifinal bout, which will mark the third time the two men have competed against each other. In both of their previous outings, Sitthichai proved to be the better over his Georgian foe. A third victory for the Thai star will send him to the final of the prestigious tournament.
In the other grand prix semifinal, top-ranked featherweight kickboxing contender Marat Grigorian will try to hold his position against fourth-ranked Chingiz Allazov, who crushed Samy Sana in 39 seconds in the quarterfinals.
Rounding out the main card will be a lightweight mixed martial arts clash between Ruslan Emilbek Uulu and Zhang Lipeng, and a heavyweight kickboxing encounter between Rade Opacic and Francesko Xhaja.
In addition to the six main card bouts, ONE has put together a stacked lead card that features a possible title eliminator in the strawweight division.
The featured lead card matchup will see third-ranked strawweight contender Jarred Brooks meet fourth-ranked Hiroba Minowa. Both men have their eyes set on Joshua Pacio’s gold, but will need another impressive showing to claim their spot against the Filipino.
Smokin’ Jo Nattawut and Dovydas Rimkus will also compete on the lead card in a ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix alternate bout. If something should cause one of the semifinal winners to drop out before the final, the winner here would be called upon, making this a battle with some very high stakes.
January gets underway with a bang, and ONE Championship: Only The Brave could be an early contender for “Event of the Year”.
ONE Championship: Only The Brave will air on YouTube on Friday, Jan. 28.
Main Card
Anatoly Malykhin vs. Kirill Grishenko – for the interim heavyweight title
Tang Kai vs. Kim Jae Woong
Kickboxing bout: Marat Grigorian vs. Chingiz Allazov – featherweight grand prix semifinal
Kickboxing bout: Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong vs. Davit Kiria – featherweight grand prix semifinal
Ruslan Emilbek Uulu vs. Zhang Lipeng
Kickboxing bout: Rade Opacic vs. Françesko Xhaja
Lead Card
Hiroba Minowa vs. Jarred Brooks
Kickboxing bout: Smokin’ Jo Nattawut vs. Dovydas Rimkus – featherweight grand prix semifinal alternate
Tatsumitsu Wada vs. Wang Shuo
Hiroyuki Tetsuka vs. Zebaztian Kadestam
Anderson Silva vs. Paul Elliott
Muay Thai bout: Diandra Martin vs. Smilla Sundell