ONE Fight Night 18 got a last-minute shakeup when Superlek Kiatmoo9 departed to take on Takeru Segawa at ONE 165. However, the nine-bout lineup is still offering plenty of excitement.
With ONE Championship about to embark on a huge 2024 campaign, let’s take a look at the four biggest reasons to check out ONE Fight Night 18, live in U.S. primetime on Prime Video.
Bantamweight Madness
Bantamweight is one of the most exciting divisions in ONE. At ONE Fight Night 18, three bantamweight MMA bouts bring the heat to Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.
The night opens with Mark “Tyson” Abelardo battling Ibragim Dauev. The matchup will set the tone for the evening and be fast-paced from the opening bell.
A few matches later, Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu will try to push his way into the official ONE athlete rankings by continuing his winning streak against Artem Belakh. The Mongolian is a perfect 3-0 in ONE action, and most recently derailed the hype train of Jhanlo Mark Sangiao.
In the third and final bantamweight MMA bout, Kwon Won Il takes on Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg in what could be the Fight of the Night.
However, Muay Thai is not left out of the action as Suablack Tor Pran49 makes his U.S. primetime debut against Stefan Korodi.
All-in-all, bantamweights will shine under the bright lights and fans will absolutely be entertained by the four bouts set for this Friday.
Featherweight Contenders Get Golden Opportunity
While there are a lot of bantamweight scraps, featherweights headline the evening. Shamil Gasanov and Oh Ho Taek will try to close the night with an impressive showcase to jump back into title contention.
Gasanov is coming off a loss to Garry Tonon, but he showed himself well with incredible ground and pound until getting caught in a submission. After suffering his first defeat, the Russian will be extremely motivated to prove he has learned from his lapse in judgment.
The South Korean will have similar motivations. After edging out Ryogo Takahashi in his ONE debut, Oh was quickly beaten by Akbar Abdullaev in 44 seconds. If he can return in style against Gasanov, he will show the aberration will be a small mark on his road to redemption.
Given the athlete’s exciting styles, and both men having their back against the wall, the main event is set for a ferocious firefight.
Liam Nolan’s Opportunity To Shine
Team Mehdi Zatout’s Ali Aliev makes his promotional debut by stepping right into the fire. The Russian striker will square off with Liam Nolan, who has everything to gain with a standout performance in Bangkok.
With the U.K. shining brightly and a recent deal with Sky Sports, Nolan can join his compatriots as one of the stars to help drive Muay Thai’s growth in Europe. As an added bonus, he can put himself in the direct path of ONE Lightweight Kickboxing and Muay Thai World Champion Regian Eersel.
The Knowlesy Academy star has won three of his last four, including a commanding performance against Eddie Abasolo in November 2022. Upon his return, Nolan can lay claim to being one of the best lightweight strikers in the world and call his shot for a title opportunity.
Heavyweight Slugfest
Kang Ji Won and Mikhail Jamal Abdul-Latif are going to throw down. That much is a given in ONE’s exciting heavyweight division.
“Mighty Warrior” exploded on the scene with back-to-back knockouts, but has found consistent success difficult on the global stage ever since. He is hoping another resounding finish will put him back in the mix and inch him closer to a title shot.
But Abdul-Latif arrives with the intent to make one final run toward ultimate glory. The 40-year-old is unbeaten in his professional career, but takes a huge step up in competition. It is a battle of wills that will almost assuredly give fans one of the night’s biggest finishes.
ONE Fight Night 18 airs live at 8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PST on Prime Video. The event is free for all Amazon Prime subscribers based in the U.S. and Canada.