ONE Championship was back for its second event in the United States this week, and MMA News has you covered with all the action!
In May 2023, the organization presented ONE Fight Night 10 from the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. The event marked its on-site debut in the United States, and ONE Championship brought a stacked card worthy of the occasion that was topped by American legend Demetrious Johnson.
This year, a new set of prominent names are looking to make a splash on US soil, starting at ONE 168 inside the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Friday night.
A championship was once again on the line in the closing act. Rather than MMA, however, ONE’s sophomore card in “The Centennial State” saw Muay Thai gold at stake in the main event as two-sport titleholder Jonathan Haggerty defended his bantamweight belt against flyweight kickboxing kingpin Superlek Kiatmoo9.
The Thai star continued his streak of dominance, following victories over Rodtang Jitmuangnon and Takeru Segawa with a 49-second knockout of Haggerty to become a two-sport kingpin.
One of the United States’ top submission grapplers was expected to compete until early on fight day. Mikey Musumeci was originally set to challenge ONE lightweight submission grappling king Kade Ruotolo weeks on from the Hawaiian’s $1 million triumph at the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational. However, an injury stemming from that event forced his late withdrawal this week.
Musumeci initially remained on the card, but that decision came at a cost. While initially scheduled to challenge for the 170-pound gold, “Darth Rigatoni” was instead booked to defend his 135-pound belt opposite Bebeto Oliveira. But after missing weight and hydration on Thursday, Musumeci was stripped of the title and, due to the effects of his unsuccessful weight cut, has subsequently decided not to compete.
Nevertheless, the lineup still saw British brawler Liam Harrison make his return from injury opposite the always exciting Seksan, former UFC fighter and ex-ONE MMA titleholder John Lineker debut in Muay Thai, Kill Cliff FC standout Aung La N Sang in next assignment, and the highly touted Adrian Lee make his second ONE appearance.
With that said, see below for the full results followed by all the highlights!
ONE 168: Denver Results & Highlights
Full Card:
- Bantamweight Muay Thai Championship: Superlek Kiatmoo9 def. Jonathan Haggerty via KO (elbow): R1, 0:49
Flyweight Submission Grappling Championship: Mikey Musumeci vs. Bebeto Oliveira- Catchweight (140lbs) Muay Thai: Seksan Or. Kwanmuang def. Liam Harrison via TKO: R2, 1:49
- Catchweight (213.75lbs) MMA: Shamil Erdogan def. Aung La N Sang via TKO (ground strikes): R2, 2:48
- Bantamweight Muay Thai: John Lineker def. Asa Ten Pow via KO (punch): R2, 2:50
Lightweight MMA: Maurice Abevi vs. Samat Mamedov- Atomweight MMA: Victoria Souza def. Alyse Anderson via unanimous decision
- Welterweight MMA: Isi Fitikefu def. Hiroyuki Tetsuka via unanimous decision
- Lightweight MMA: Adrian Lee def. Nico Cornejo via submission (rear-naked choke): R1, 2:37
- Flyweight Muay Thai: Johan Ghazali def. Josue Cruz via KO (punch): R1, 3:00
- Flyweight Muay Thai: Johan Estupinan def. Sean Climaco via TKO: R2, 1:28
