ONE Friday Fights 92 is set for Friday, Dec. 20, inside Lumpinee Stadium, and the card is stacked to the brim with striking madness.
While ONE Friday Fights typically shines a light on the promotion’s up-and-coming talent, this Friday’s event has a who’s who of upper-echelon strikers ready to stake their claim in their respective divisions.
With that in mind, here are four reasons to lock into ONE’s official YouTube channel before the holidays get underway.
Casting A Shadow
Shadow Singha Mawynn is enjoying a three-bout winning streak that has brought him to the precipice of the official ONE athlete rankings.
However, #3-ranked Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong is hoping to turn him away and move another step closer to a title shot.
The stylistic clash between the pair is intriguing enough, but what is more compelling is the possibility of a changing of the guard.
Sitthichai is still in his athletic prime at 33 years of age, but Shadow is hoping to usher in a new era with youth and vigor. The 24-year-old has the tools to get the job done, and he has all the motivation to steal his Thai counterpart’s spot in the ranking.
It is an old tale of the young gun facing off against the old guard, but it comes with the added stakes of chasing featherweight contendership. This main event is sure to be electric.
Can Marat Grigorian Rebound?
Marat Grigorian has competed against the elite strikers of the world for years. But the cost of doing so has been inconsistency.
Grigorian has exchanged wins and losses in his last five matches in ONE Championship, with the latest coming when he contested the interim featherweight kickboxing crown against Superbon this past April.
The Armenian is still very much alive for a shot at the title, but he needs to get back in the win column and begin a winning streak.
On the opposite side of the ring, Abdelali Zahidi will get a prime chance to make his name against one of the world’s best. The Moroccan got a huge knockout victory in his ONE debut at ONE Friday Fights 88, but Grigorian will undoubtedly be a step up in competition for him.
There is major potential for an upset in this kickboxing clash, which makes it all the more interesting.
Liu vs. Noiri Is Pivotal
China’s Liu Mengyang will make his ONE debut at ONE Friday Fights 92, and he gets a difficult task in taking on a determined Masaaki Noiri in featherweight kickboxing.
Noiri is hoping to erase the taste of defeat from his own debut against Sitthichai at ONE 167 earlier this year. The Japanese striker showed himself well, but he couldn’t find enough offense to overcome the Thai’s pressure.
In a jam-packed featherweight division, every match is important. Every match is a chance to show out in a major way and leapfrog someone and move into possible title consideration.
With ONE 172 recently announced for Japan, Noiri will be even more motivated to shine under the bright lights to secure a spot at the event inside Saitama’s Super Arena in March. Liu will be facing a stern test, but one that could allow him to jump the line and insert himself among the elite if he passes.
Anissa Meksen vs. KANA Deseres Attention
The atomweight kickboxing collision between Anissa Meksen and Kana Morimoto is almost criminally underrated.
Although Meksen failed to nab the strawweight kickboxing crown against Jackie Buntan last month, she showed she is still very much one of the pound-for-pound best strikers in the world.
That moniker will once again be put to the test against KANA, who is a former K-1 Flyweight World Champion.
This is a true battle of pound-for-pound greats that deserves more recognition from all combat sports fans. Tune in early as it has fight-of-the-night potential.
ONE Friday Fights 92 airs live and free on ONE’s official YouTube channel at 7:30 a.m. EST/4:30 a.m. PST on Friday, Dec. 20.