For the second consecutive week, ONE Championship is bringing its non-stop martial action to U.S. primetime on Prime Video.
ONE Fight Night 15: Le vs. Freymanov goes out live from Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, Oct. 6, with two world title tilts leading the way on an exciting card. But what should be catching your eye to kickstart the weekend?
Here are five reasons to check out ONE Fight Night 15 on Prime Video.
Feisty Featherweights
In the main event, Ilya Freymanov will get the matchup he wanted against former featherweight MMA king Thanh Le, and it will be for interim gold.
Following the Russian star’s latest victory, he called for a match against Le. And with Tang Kai out of commission due to injury, the bout for the interim belt made sense to keep things moving in the stacked division.
But the cherry on top is the stylistic matchup itself. Both Le and Freymanov are finishers, with the former building his run to the top on five highlight-reel knockouts in a row and the latter scoring first-round finishes in his two outings in ONE so far.
Both men have power and well-rounded arsenals. The result may come down to who can dictate the pace and where the match takes place. It will be the smallest of details that’ll determine the victor here.
Can “Smokin” Jo Pull Off The Upset?
Tawanchai PK Saenchai was initially slated to defend his ONE featherweight Muay Thai world championship against Superbon Singha Mawynn in the event’s main event, but an injury to his fellow Thai star meant that exciting match would have to wait.
Instead, a kickboxing bout has been booked against “Smokin” Jo Nattawut.
Nattawut has been a star in the striking world for years, but recent results have him on the outside looking in. This is his chance to get back in the win column in a major way. If he can stun Tawanchai, he can once again eye gold.
But Tawanchai is a generational talent who is looking for two-sport gold. If he can shine at ONE Fight Night 15, expect the call for a title shot to be not too far behind.
Role Reversal For Musumeci
In his last outing, Mikey Musumeci defended the ONE flyweight submission grappling world championship against Jarred Brooks. The strawweight MMA king was moving up in weight for a challenge, but Musumeci was simply too good.
Now the script has flipped on the American grappling star.
Musumeci will move up in weight for a special openweight meeting with MMA submission ace Shinya Aoki. Although many may see “Darth Rigatoni” as the favorite, there will be significant intrigue focused on how he handles the size and strength differential from the Japanese star.
It will also be a chance for Aoki to prove his submission skills against a pound-for-pound king, and a win would be a massive notch on his belt.
Strawweight Contendership On The Line
Jarred Brooks ran through the strawweight MMA division en route to claiming the division’s crown against Joshua Pacio last December. Because of his dominance, the weight bracket needed a little extra time to reset to determine the rightful top contender.
We will all find out who that man is when Pacio returns against rising star Mansur Malachiev on Friday.
The #1 ranking in the division is unquestionably up for grabs, and the winner will have the chance of a title shot. But on top of the stakes, both men are extremely exciting to watch.
Pacio’s defensive wrestling abilities will be put to the test against Malachiev, while the undefeated Russian will get his chance to prove himself against the true elite of the division. This one is must-see TV.
Will Saputra Rebound?
Eko Roni Saputra was on an incredible seven-bout winning streak and eyeing world title contention in the flyweight division until his dreams came crashing down at the hands of Danny Kingad this past February.
The Indonesian phenom has a chance to get back in the winner’s column at ONE Fight Night 15, though, when he meets Hu Yong in the second bout of the evening.
If Saputra returns in style with another excellent finish, he will once again warrant a shot at someone inside the official ONE rankings. But his Chinese foe wants to make his own run.
Hu has won back-to-back matches in ONE and is looking to push his way into that same title picture.
With both men motivated to make noise, fans should expect the action to be high-octane when the bell rings.
ONE Fight Night 15: Le vs. Freymanov airs live on Prime Video on Friday, Oct. 6, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The event is free for all Amazon Prime members based in the U.S. and Canada.