3 Fights That Could Steal the Show at ONE Fight Night 23

In a little over a week, ONE Championship will return to U.S. primetime with another action-filled card, featuring some of the planet’s most elite athletes across multiple martial arts disciplines. 

ONE Fight Night 23 on Prime Video will be headlined by a battle for the ONE Interim Lightweight MMA World Championship between former titleholder Ok Rae Yoon and the undefeated Alibeg Rasulov when it goes down inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, July 5 – but there’s a lot more on the card.

Nine more fights will light up the Thai capital alongside that fight for gold, and there are high-stakes battles peppered throughout the night.

With that said, here are three matchups at ONE Fight Night 23 that could steal the show.

Nico Carrillo vs. Saemapetch

A bantamweight Muay Thai clash between two ranked opponents is arguably the most explosive fight on the card, given the sheer amount of power both possess.

Top-ranked Nico “King of the North” Carrillo wants his shot at the division’s top prize, but he won’t turn down a fight that’ll help him solidify his position along the way. The Scotsman has knocked out all three opponents in ONE so far, including former longtime divisional king Nong-O Hama in his latest outing at ONE Friday Fights 46 last December.

He’s looking to leave no question as to who should challenge for the ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Championship at ONE Fight Night 23, but his legendary opponent will make that difficult. 

Saemapetch Fairtex is currently ranked fourth in the division and is hungry to string together wins in order to earn his first crack at ONE gold by emerging victorious in his 15th appearance in ONE. In his most recent outing, at ONE Fight Night 19 last February, he avenged a controversial loss to Mohamed Younes Rabeh in their first meeting by knocking out the Algerian in the first round, and he’ll be hoping to ride that momentum to a win against Carrillo. 

The knockout potential in this matchup guarantees it will be a barnburner. 

Luke Lessei vs. Bampara Kouyate 

In featherweight Muay Thai action, Amercian striker Luke “The Chef” Lessei will be back in action as he takes on Bampara Kouyate of France.

Through two fights in the world’s largest martial arts organization, Lessei has proven that he can put on an exciting show – no matter the outcome. In his promotional debut at ONE Fight Night 17 last December, he went through an absolute war with two-time ONE World Title challenger Jo Nattawut. He came up short that evening but won the hearts of fans all over the world.

Two months later, “The Chef” put himself into the winners’ column with another exciting performance against compatriot Eddie “Silky Smooth” Abasolo at ONE Fight Night 19. At ONE Fight Night 23, he’ll be up against a fighter hungry to prove he belongs among the world’s most elite striking roster. 

Kouyate trains with the famed Team Mehdi Zatout and is coming down to featherweight after failing to win his ONE debut against Shakir Al-Tekreeti at ONE Fight Night 15 last October. The long and lanky Frenchman recently won the WMC Muay Thai World Title, and he’ll be looking to start a run towards gold against Lessei.

Expect bell-to-bell action from both of these fighters.

Kirill Grishenko vs. Kang Ji Won

Two colossal heavyweights are set to collide in an MMA battle that could see a new contender emerge at ONE Fight Night 23. 

Former ONE World Title challenger Kirill Grishenko will be looking to redeem himself after taking a brief hiatus from MMA. 

The Belarusian powerhouse last appeared at ONE on Prime Video 1  in August 2022, where he fell to a quick submission loss against BJJ legend Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida. The defeat was Grishenko’s second in a row, so he decided to take a step back to focus on honing his skills. 

Now, he’s ready to climb the ladder again. But to do that, he’ll need to get passed the always-dangerous Kang Ji Won.

“Mighty Warrior” is a certified finisher who goes down on his shield every time he steps into battle. All four of his victories in ONE have come by way of knockout, including in his latest promotional appearance against American fighter Mikhail Jamal Abdul-Latif at ONE Fight Night 18 this past January. 

It will be a classic grappler-against-striker affair when these two meet and the winner will be decided by whoever can assert their dominance fastest.