ONE Fight Night 12 is putting ONE Championship back in U.S. primetime on Prime Video when it goes live from Lumpinee Boxing Stadium this Friday, Jul. 14.
The nine-bout lineup may lack in title tilts, but it makes up for it in star power and excitement. Superlek Kiatmoo9 returns to headline, in a flyweight Muay Thai contest against Tagir Khalilov, but there will be so much more to feast your eyes on.
Let’s look at three outstanding reasons to watch ONE Fight Night 12 live this Friday.
Who’s The Best Featherweight Grappler?
The grappler collision between Garry Tonon and Shamil Gasanov will help establish who is the best ground-based athlete in the stacked division, and it will elevate the winner into a prime position to challenge for the ONE Featherweight World Championship at some point in the future.
The clash of styles is intriguing here, largely in part to Gasanov’s aggressive approach. Unlike other Russian wrestlers, who grind it out from top control, the unbeaten athlete is more fluid, and he constantly seeks submissions to finish his opponents.
That will be an interesting proposition against a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend like Tonon.
The stylistic battle in itself would make this a must watch, but when you add in the heightened stakes, it is a no-brainer to be circled on the bout sheet.
Heavyweight Rivalry Reborn?
Amir Aliakbari got off to a rough start in ONE, with back-to-back knockout losses in the promotion. However, the Iranian superstar rebounded with back-to-back TKO wins on the global stage, and if he adds Dustin Joynson to that list on Friday, it could set in motion a massive rematch.
ONE Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight World Champion Anatoly Malykhin served Aliakbari a KO loss when they met in 2021, one the the Iranian star has not forgotten. The two behemoths have been chirping back and forth at each other lately, and that could make for a spicy title tilt later this year.
But Joynson has shown good power and durability thus far in his ONE tenure, so it won’t be an easy task Aliakbari.
But this is his moment to prove he is worthy of another crack at Malykhin, so don’t blink when this one goes down.
Fresh Faces Ready To Breakout
It is always exciting to see fresh faces appear in primetime, and ONE Fight Night 12 will give fans another chance to see some new names compete.
While there are several that will get an opportunity to make a name for themselves, two stand out on the card.
Striking phenom Phetjeeja will step onto the global stage for the first time when she collide with fromer ONE World Title challenger Lara Fernandez in an atomweight Muay Thai tussle on Friday.
The Spanish slugger will be a tough test for the 21-year-old sensation, who scored a contract with ONE after going 2-0 in the ONE Friday Fights series earlier this year. She showed herself well in a losing bid for the ONE Interim Atomweight Muay Thai Title against Janet Todd in Jul. 2022, and she returned with a win over Dangkongfah Banchamek in her second test.
But Phetjeeja is finally where she wants to be, and she won’t waste a second in her quest to impress.
Undefeated Ecuadorian Aaron Canarte will also make his promotional debut on Friday night, taking Akbar Abdullaev in featherweight mixed martial arts action. Canarte, who trains in Mexico, has a chance to invigorate the entire martial arts landscape of his county by putting himself into the thick of things in the stacked division.
With three knockouts and three submissions to his credit, he could be a sleeper on the stacked lineup.
ONE Fight Night 12 airs live on Prime Video on Friday, Jul. 14, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The event will be free for all Amazon Prime members in the U.S. and Canada.