colin
Regardless of some difficult occasions, 2021 delivered unbelievable combined martial arts battles on the worldwide stage – and followers ought to anticipate much more explosive motion within the new 12 months.
A pair of World Title fights are already scheduled for 14 January, however there are a lot extra epic matchups to be remodeled the following 12 months.
With that in thoughts, listed here are 5 intriguing MMA showdowns we need to see contained in the ONE Championship Circle in 2022.
#1 Joshua Pacio Vs. Jarred Brooks
A bout between strawweight king Joshua “The Ardour” Pacio and #3-contender Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks would have all of the makings of a basic.
There has already been a heated disagreement between the Filipino titleholder and the brash American. Including gasoline to the hearth, Brooks not too long ago scored a dominant submission victory over Lito “Thunder Child” Adiwang, who trains with Pacio at Group Lakay.
This backstory alone makes their potential combat intriguing, and that’s earlier than you contemplate the various ability units of each athletes.
Pacio is a concussive striker with wonderful scrambles and harmful submissions. In the meantime, “The Monkey God” is an elite wrestler who racks up loads of air miles for his opponents earlier than aggressively attacking them on the bottom.
There’s no likelihood {that a} assembly between these two males could be something lower than fireworks. Throw the status of World Title gold into the combination, and you’ve got a matchup that might spotlight any card.
#2 Ham Web optimization Hee Vs. Denice Zamboanga
Ham Web optimization Hee and Denice “Lycan Queen” Zamboanga duked it out within the ONE Ladies’s Atomweight World Grand Prix quarterfinals in September, and the South Korean’s split-decision victory left followers wanting extra.
In that assembly, Ham blasted her rival with fists, particularly her arrow-like straight lefts that repeatedly discovered their mark. In reply, Zamboanga fired off heavy leather-based and closed the space, trying to dominate within the clinch and on the bottom.
All three rounds have been riveting, however 5 would have been even higher, because the motion began to achieve a crescendo late within the ultimate body when “Lycan Queen” received on high and went wild along with her ground-and-pound.
In the end, it was too little, too late, as two of three judges favored the South Korean. Nevertheless, Zamboanga and her followers have been adamant that she deserved to win, and a rematch appears inevitable.
In the event that they do sq. off once more, each athletes will likely be extra conscious of their rival’s strengths and weaknesses, they usually’ll have further motivation to finish issues extra conclusively.
#3 Reinier De Ridder Vs. Arjan Bhullar
In one other rivalry that’s featured no scarcity of selection phrases, Reinier “The Dutch Knight” de Ridder and Arjan “Singh” Bhullar seem set to collide in some unspecified time in the future.
De Ridder is the ONE Middleweight and Gentle Heavyweight World Champion, whereas Bhullar holds the ONE Heavyweight World Title, so each males are on the high of their respective bushes.
Subsequent, “The Dutch Knight” hopes to turn into the primary three-division World Champion in ONE historical past, whereas his Canadian-Indian rival want to transfer down and declare the sunshine heavyweight gold for himself.
Ought to they handle to guide a date – regardless of the weight – the combat could be an actual chess match between two expert warriors.
De Ridder’s judo and BJJ expertise have seen him crush opponents and put collectively a flawless 14-0 slate. Nevertheless, Bhullar’s wrestling is world-class, and if he can preserve the combat standing, his boxing could be an actual risk.
As at all times, speak is barely price one thing if it will get backed up within the Circle, and each stars have rather a lot to dwell as much as in that regard.
#4 Dagi Arslanaliev Vs. Christian Lee
One other rematch makes this listing, as we’d like to see a second battle between Christian “The Warrior” Lee and Dagi Arslanaliev.
Earlier than shedding his ONE Light-weight World Title in September, Lee loved a dominant reign over the division, which included a monumental choice victory over Arslanaliev within the 2019 ONE Light-weight World Grand Prix Championship Last.
“The Warrior” used his wrestling to regulate that contest, though it was later revealed that his Dagestan-born foe was coping with a severe sickness simply weeks earlier than the match – maybe explaining his uncharacteristic lack of explosiveness.
Arslanaliev is now again on observe after dispatching robust Russian Timofey Nastyukhin in a wild three-rounder at ONE: WINTER WARRIORS earlier this month, changing into the #2-ranked contender within the course of.
For his half, Lee earned TKO wins over Nastyukhin and Iuri Lapicus earlier than shedding his World Title belt to Okay Rae Yoon within the fall.
Nevertheless, the previous champ nonetheless holds the #1 contender spot, and his loss has solely fueled a starvation to bounce again stronger. If Lee doesn’t get a right away rematch with Okay, a World Title eliminator in opposition to Dagi could be simply as entertaining.
#5 Okay Rae Yoon Vs. Thanh Le
Whereas Thanh Le’s subsequent project seems to be more likely to come in opposition to featherweight contender Garry “The Lion Killer” Tonon, he’s expressed an curiosity in switching divisions to face newly topped light-weight king Okay.
The ONE Featherweight World Champion needs to affix the small group of athletes who’ve stepped as much as declare gold in two divisions, and if he defends his belt early in 2022, there’s a great likelihood we’ll see him face the South Korean later within the 12 months.
Each males are impeccable strikers who’ve energy in each limb, and to this point of their ONE tenures, neither has met their match on the toes.
It’d be attention-grabbing to see how Le’s energy transfers in opposition to an enormous light-weight like Okay, and whether or not the velocity and motion of the smaller man could be a handful for the South Korean.
This matchup could be technically stunning – on high of being thrilling – and followers can solely hope the celebs align so Le and Okay can share the Circle in some unspecified time in the future in 2022.
Learn extra: 5 Epic Knockouts From The Stars Of ONE: HEAVY HITTERS
