The largest global sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), has just announced the main event of ONE: WARRIOR’S DREAM, set for Saturday, 17 November at the Stadium Istora in Jakarta. Once again, the world’s largest martial arts organization will showcase the absolute best in local and international martial arts talent. In the main event, Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam of Sweden takes on Tyler McGuire of the United States for the vacant ONE Welterweight World Championship. In addition, a series of compelling matchups are scheduled to take place.
Ticket information for ONE: WARRIOR’S DREAM is available at www.onefc.com.
Former PXC Welterweight Champion Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam started training in Muay Thai when he was 12 years old and later embarked on a highly successful professional career in the sport. Soon he explored other disciplines as he trained at the Pancrase Gym in Stockholm, and also traveled to the Philippines to sharpen his skills at the Legacy Gym in Boracay under famed martial artist Ole Laursen. Though he was unsuccessful in a bid for the welterweight title against former champion Ben Askren, Kadestam does own two high-profile victories over top contenders Luis Santos and Agilan Thani. His latest performance against Thani saw Kadestam exhibit his incredible striking skills to finish the young Malaysian by TKO. Up next, Kadestam takes on Tyler McGuire for the vacant ONE Welterweight World Championship.
Undefeated American mixed martial artist Tyler McGuire of Washington, USA, is a submission specialist who trains out of Sik-Jitsu Fighting Systems in Spokane. With an unblemished 11-0 professional record, McGuire owns seven victories by way of submission. Known for his ability to display creative grappling techniques, McGuire finds himself travelling halfway across the globe to Asia, where he plans to showcase his skills on the global stage of martial arts competition. In his most recent outing, McGuire took on the dangerous Luis Santos in a tough three-round battle to win via unanimous decision. The performance was impressive enough to earn McGuire a title shot, as he takes on Zebaztian Kadestam in Jakarta for the vacant ONE Welterweight World Championship.
Multiple-time Kickboxing World Champion Nieky Holzken knew from a very young age that he wanted to become a professional martial artist. He competed extensively, compiling over 100 wins across multiple martial arts disciplines including boxing, kickboxing, and Muay Thai, on his way to Dutch and European championships before claiming several World Titles. A sensational striker, Holzken’s entertaining style has already seen him secure almost 50 knockouts in kickboxing and an additional 11 in the boxing ring. Known around the world as “The Natural,” Holzken is intent on making his mark in ONE Super Series. He makes his debut against Cosmo Alexandre in a kickboxing contest.
A Lion Fight Super Middleweight World Champion and it’s Showtime 77MAX World Champion, Cosmo Alexandre began his athletic career as a footballer but gave it all up at the age of 19 to pursue Muay Thai. Alexandre has since put together a phenomenal professional martial arts career, winning numerous world titles in both Muay Thai and kickboxing. Known as one of the best strikers Brazil has ever produced, Alexandre has faced some of the biggest names in the striking arena, including the likes of John Wayne Parr, Sakmongkol Sithchuchok, Yodsanklai Fairtex, and Giorgio Petrosyan. He returns to ONE Super Series now to face Nieky Holzken in kickboxing.
Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol began training in wushu at the age of 17, after taking up an opportunity to compete for the Indonesian national team. She was highly successful in this regard, capturing both an Indonesian National Wushu Championship and a local boxing title. She even won a bronze medal in wushu at the Southeast Asian Games, with her striking success spurring her towards a career in mixed martial arts. Today, Lumban Gaol has made a name for herself as one of the top female talents in ONE Championship. She is set to face Angelie Sabanal in her next outing.
Solid martial arts prospect Angelie Sabanal of Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines is a Muay Thai practitioner now making the rounds as a professional mixed martial artist in ONE Championship. She made her impressive cage debut in March of 2018, defeating the highly-regarded Rika Ishige by three-round unanimous decision. A national Muay Thai silver medalist, Sabanal looks to climb up the ranks in ONE Championship as she seeks to become a world champion. The Filipina is set to make her next appearance in the promotion when she takes on Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol.
Chiang Mai Muay Thai Champion Pongsiri “The Smiling Assassin” Mitsatit hails from the North East of Thailand and was raised in humble surroundings. After repeated encounters with childhood bullying, Mitsatit decided to pick up Muay Thai to learn how to protect himself. Through his hard work and talent, he soon ran up an impressive 72-17 record, and even won a Muay Thai championship in the process. Mitsatit then made his professional mixed martial arts debut in 2014, and has since rapidly emerged as one of Thailand’s most exciting talents. Mitsatit already holds an impressive professional record, including several TKO wins in ONE Championship. Now training at the prestigious Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, Mitstatit will see action against Hayato Suzuki in Jakarta.
Japanese stalwart Hayato Suzuki of Ibaraki Prefecture in Japan, is a veteran mixed martial artist with an impressive professional record of 19-1-2. Spending the majority of his career competing in his native Japan, Suzuki is known as a highly-skilled competitor with the ability to finish his foes with heavy knockout power and technical grappling skills. Out of 19 wins, Suzuki has finished 14 of his opponents impressively, including nine by submission and five by knockout. A former Grachan Flyweight Champion, Suzuki will now face Pongsiri Mitsatit in his next contest.
Multiple-time Muay Thai World Champion Lerdsila is originally from a small town in Thailand’s northern Isan region. He first began training in Muay Thai at the age of seven under his father’s tutelage, and had his first bout that same year. Lerdsila has competed countless times at the famed Lumpinee and Rajadamnern Stadiums, and was a Rajadamnern Muay Thai World Champion in three different weight classes. At his peak, he had an incredible streak of 100 consecutive victories. He now steps onto the biggest global stage of competition to face Sok Thy in a ONE Super Series Muay Thai bout.
National Kun Khmer Champion Sok Thy is from the Banteay Meanchey province in Cambodia, an area which shares a border with Thailand and is known for producing top Kun Khmer talent. A phenomenally hard worker, Thy already has hundreds of bouts under his belt despite being just 20 years of age. He even competed for a Muay Thai title in Thailand’s famed Lumpinee Stadium in 2017 and is the first Cambodian to ever do so. Today, Thy trains at Cambodian Top Team under head coach Chan Reach and legendary Kun Khmer competitor San Saoyan. Thy will take on the legendary Lerdsila Phuket Top Team in a ONE Super Series Muay Thai contest.
A Maui Fighting Championships Featherweight Champion, Zach Zane was born into a martial arts family in Indonesia, with his grandfather being a kung fu grandmaster. Soon after his family relocated to Hawaii, he expanded on his kung fu background by training in taekwondo, boxing, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Stepping into the world of mixed martial arts, he competed mostly in the United States, but has travelled as far afield as Northern Ireland to compete. Zane’s exciting style has resulted in all of his wins coming via stoppage to date, and earned him a featherweight title in the process. He makes his ONE Championship debut against Jimmy Yabo.
Jimmy Yabo of Cebu City, Philippines holds a third-degree black belt in taekwondo, and is a veteran of the Philippines martial arts scene, having been one of its early pioneers. Nicknamed “The Silencer” due to his quiet demeanor that hides explosive firepower, all of Yabo’s wins to date have come by way of knockout, which is testament to his fearsome punching power. He is a patient fighter who likes to counterpunch, and is as dangerous at the end of every bout as he is at the beginning, as shown by his performances. He signed for ONE Championship in 2015, and has already put on several thrilling performances. Most famously, Yabo scored a spectacular one-punch knockout of Bashir Ahmad, finishing the Pakistani star in just 21 seconds. Now he finds himself back in action, this time against Zach Zane.
Former Indonesian National Wrestling Champion Elipitua Siregar came from humble beginnings, having been born to a family struggling to make ends meet in Indonesia’s North Sumatra region. His family sent him to live with his uncle in Jakarta in order to learn discipline. That would come in the form of enforced wrestling training, which would not just reform the young Siregar, but change his life forever. The young Indonesian competed in wrestling throughout his academic career, and racked up numerous medals at the national level. After such a long run of domestic success, he turned his attention to international glory in the cage, and joined ONE Championship. Determined to become one of Indonesia’s most elite martial artists, Siregar will now face Muhammad Imran.
Muhammad “The Spider” Imran of Punjab, Pakistan is a mixed martial artist and former PFC Strawweight Champion who specializes in budokai karate and grappling. Imran looked to make a solid impact in ONE Championship when he joined the promotion in early 2018, but a unanimous decision setback to Indonesian star Stefer Rahardian sent him back to the drawing board. Now determined to score one in the win column, Imran returns to action looking to make a statement. This time he faces Elipitua Siregar.
Egi Rozten is a professional mixed martial artist and former regional boxing champion from Jakarta, Indonesia. He made his ONE Championship debut in January 2018 against countryman Riski Umar, in what was an action-packed one round affair that kept fans on the edge of their seats. Displaying incredible toughness and resolve, Rozten proved to the world that he has the willpower to hang with the best talents in Asia. He faces countryman Eddey Kalai in his next assignment.
Two-time SEA Games Boxing Bronze Medalist Eddey Kalai comes from a long line of boxers. After several years spent on the regional boxing circuit, Kalai became intrigued at the prospect of competing in mixed martial arts. He first took part in a national amateur tournament in 2013, and although he lost, he was instantly hooked. Kalai then decided to dedicate himself to training in all disciplines, and is constantly adding new tools to his strong boxing base. After 10 wins as an amateur with eight stoppages, Kalai turned professional, and now finds himself among the world’s best martial artists in ONE Championship. He is set to face Egi Rozten in his next appearance.
Chinese Sanda Champion Zhao Zhi Kang is from the desert region of Inner Mongolia, where he began training in martial arts at the age of 15, inspired by heroes such as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li. Zhao later made his professional debut in 2012, amassing an excellent record by competing all across China, which brought him to the bright lights of ONE Championship. Driven by the competitive spirit of martial arts, Zhao aims to achieve glory on the global stage. In his next outing, Zhao returns to action to face Dae Hwan Kim.
South Korean martial arts star and former KAMMA Bantamweight Champion, Dae Hwan Kim is one of the top talents to emerge at bantamweight. He joined the promotion in 2013, posting victories over Thanh Vu and Kevin Belingon in his first two bouts in ONE Championship. In 2014, Kim challenged Bibiano Fernandes for the ONE Bantamweight World Championship. With incredible striking prowess and solid grappling ability, Kim is one of the top contenders in his division, and will look for victory in his next bout against Zhao Zhi Kang.
Flyweight standout Eugene Toquero is a former celebrity martial arts and fitness coach from Manila, Philippines. He offers solid striking skills combined with sufficient grappling knowledge to put together a unique style that can end bouts instantly. The Filipino stalwart has a knack for executing highlight-reel stoppages and is highly unpredictable, operating at a pace opponents find difficult to keep up with. Toquero is looking to get back to his winning ways, and he will get the opportunity to do so when he meets Tatsumitsu Wada in Jakarta.
A DEEP Flyweight Champion, Tatsumitsu Wada is originally from the Yamanashi prefecture of Japan, but moved to Tokyo after high school to further his martial arts career. He originally started his training with karate, and later added judo to his growing skill set. Nicknamed “The Sweeper,” Wada has gone on an incredible run in his career thus far, and twice captured the flyweight belt in DEEP. He is set to face the exciting Eugene Toquero in his next appearance in ONE Championship.
Two-time European Kickboxing Champion Brown Pinas has come a long way from his early days getting into trouble on the streets of Rotterdam. After a neighbor introduced him to kickboxing at the age of 19, he fell in love with the sport immediately, and matured quickly through training and competing. He has since become a Dutch National Champion and two-time European Champion, with his sights set on even loftier goals. He comes into his next assignment looking for victory against Yohann Fairtex Drai in a ONE Super Series Muay Thai contest.
Yohann Fairtex Drai grew up near the ocean, spending much of his time windsurfing and diving. At 15 years old, Drai took up sambo, and began entering local competitions. He then took up boxing at the age of 19. Drai went on to compete in boxing, kickboxing, and Muay Thai, compiling an impressive winning record. Driven by the desire to experience real Muay Thai training and competition, he relocated to Thailand when he was 22 years old, and has lived there ever since, training out of the world-famous Fairtex camp in Pattaya. Today, Drai is one of the top talents in ONE Super Series, and will take on Brown Pinas next in a Muay Thai bout.
Top Chinese featherweight Xie Chao is originally from Qingzhou, in the Shandong province north of Shanghai. At the age of 20, he started training in Jeet Kune Do — a famed martial arts discipline developed and founded by the legendary Bruce Lee — and began preparing to compete in mixed martial arts just four years later. He showcased his burgeoning grappling skills in his very first professional bout, which he won via first-round armbar. Xie made sure to leave a lasting impression in his first appearance in ONE CHAMPIONSHIP: SHANGHAI, where he submitted a game Marc Marcellinus via kimura armlock in just 90 seconds. Next up, he takes on Bruno Pucci.
Two-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu No Gi World Champion Bruno Pucci of Brazil was 13 years old when he took his first BJJ lesson, and from then on, he would train every single day. In 2009, he reached the pinnacle of his grappling career when he won gold at the No Gi Grappling World Championship, and defended his crown the very next year. Pucci went on to earn a black belt in BJJ, and in 2011, he made his professional cage debut. With an inherent ability to source high-level submission maneuvers from any position in the cage, Pucci is looking for victory in his next outing. This time he faces Xie Chao.
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