ONE Fight Night 9: Nong-O vs. Haggerty may be seen as the appetizer for ONE Championship’s U.S. debut on May 5, but the star-studded event has enough to feed the whole table.
The event goes down live from the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, April 21, and it will feature 10 sensational matches across two sports.
There is a whole list of reasons why fans should be locked into ONE Fight Night 9 from the opening bell, but here are three that we think are the most important.
Nong-O’s Greatness
Nong-O Hama has long been renowned as one of the all-time greats in Muay Thai. But he isn’t done yet. The striking icon has been on a run of stunning victories in ONE that is only furthering his legend.
He is 10-0 in the promotion, with eight of those wins being ONE Bantamweight World title defenses and the last five of which ended in a highlight-reel finish.
Nong-O’s prowess is reason enough to tune in on Friday. But his opponent, former flyweight Muay Thai king Jonathan Haggerty, makes this main event battle even more unmissable.
Haggerty has youth and speed in his favor. He is hungry to gain the gold and become the first man to put a dent in Nong-O’s perfect slate, and the tools to do so are at his feet. But it is still a treacherous mountain to climb, and that is why every martial arts fan should witness it.
Strawweight Contenders
Bokang Masunyane and Hiroba Minowa were both within grasping distance of a World Title shot before they fell to Jarred Brooks as he made his charge toward the strawweight strap.
ONE Fight Night 9 will see them return to the global stage to face other, and there could be World Title implications and a chance to earn some redemption against the new divisional king for the winner.
But they aren’t the only strawweights looking to enter the title picture. Chinese powerhouse Meng Bo meets Dayane Cardoso in an explosive women’s strawweight matchup that could set the victor up for a meeting with Xiong Jing Nan.
Four exciting strawweights take to the ring inside Lumpinee Boxing Stadium with title dreams in their heads, and both matchups are exciting, fast-paced bouts featuring incredible athletes. So, fans should circle both as ones to watch.
Team Lakay’s Next World Champion?
Undefeated Jhanlo Mark Sangiao will get another chance to prove himself when he welcomes Matias Farinelli to ONE in the evening’s opener.
Following an exodus of top talents like Eduard Folayang, Joshua Pacio, and others from Team Lakay, Sangiao is now the shining beacon of the famed Filipino gym.
Their goal is to show the world that they are strong in this new era, and Sangiao is now the face of those hopes.
The young MMA star is unbeaten across his two outings in the promotion, and he has the raw talent needed to become the next World Champion for Team Lakay.
Sangiao needs to continue his ascent through the bantamweight division to do so, however, and his matchup against Argentinian star Farinelli is his next opportunity to show out.
ONE Fight Night 9: Nong-O vs. Haggerty airs live on Prime Video on Friday, Apr. 21. The event is free for all Amazon Prime subscribers based in the U.S. and Canada and begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.