On Friday, Mar. 8, at ONE Fight Night 20, French-Thai Judo black belt and national champion Noelle “Lil’ Monkey” Grandjean will be making her third walk to the ONE Championship Circle. Grandjean, who trains out of Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, Thailand, is a lifelong Judoka, who has fared well with her striking in MMA. Sources inside the promotion confirmed with Combat Press that she will be facing Brazil’s Victoria “Vick” Souza in an atomweight MMA affair. The International Women’s Day event takes place at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Grandjean first fought for ONE back in Oct. 2022 as a 3-0 MMA professional. She was able to dispose of American Lea Bivins using her striking in four minutes of the first round. However, in her next fight in Aug. 2023, she submitted to a triangle choke courtesy of South Korea’s Sol Yul Kim, who was also making her sophomore appearance for the promotion. Looking to get above .500 under the ONE banner, Grandjean will have a tough test ahead, as she faces her first Brazilian opponent.
Souza, who trains out of Ataque Duplo in Florianópolis, Brazil, found MMA on accident several years ago. Now 26-years-old, she was looking for a Zumba class at the time, when she stumbled upon Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu instead. Transitioning to a career in MMA, she is now 7-1 as a pro, and her sole loss was to the late Victoria Lee, who was undefeated in her short pro career. Five of Souza’s seven wins were by first-round finish, with three knockouts and two submissions. This will be a big step-up in competition for Grandjean.
The Grandjean vs. Souza battle could be one of the sleeper matches on the ONE Fight Night 20, and fans will not want to miss it. Both of these young ladies are super talented and can finish the fight anywhere. And, both are looking to build their careers to an eventual title shot.
ONE Fight Night 20 airs live and free to Amazon Prime subscribers on Prime Video starting at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, Mar. 8.