Fighting in the world’s largest martial arts organization means huge stakes for every competitor. A few of the winners from its latest event are potentially in line for blockbuster matchups in their next promotional outing. ONE Fight Night 15, which took place on Friday, October 6, in Bangkok, Thailand, produced another exciting night of action, with six of the 10 fights on the card not reaching the judges’ scorecards.
While some fighters took a significant step toward the top of their respective divisional rankings at the star-studded show, three may have earned their chance to run it back with their World Champion rivals. Here are the World Title rematches we could see based on the results of ONE Fight Night 15.
Thanh Le vs. Tang Kai – ONE Featherweight MMA World Championship
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Thanh Le claimed the ONE Interim Featherweight MMA World Championship by submitting the #3-ranked contender Ilya Freymanov just over a minute into last Friday’s main event battle. Le had been scheduled to rematch the current titleholder, Tang Kai, earlier this year, but an injury prevented the divisional king from competing. The Vietnamese-American star wanted to get back to business after his World Title loss to Tang last August, though, so he accepted a fight for the interim crown with Freymanov and came away with gold after a brilliant performance.
The newly minted interim king faced off with Tang in the middle of the ring after the battle, challenging the Chinese fighter’s claims that he would win the rematch by knockout and daring him to stand and bang when they run it back. Le takes pride in his high finishing rate, and he didn’t appreciate Tang’s performance in their first encounter, which saw him snatch the strap from him by unanimous decision. This rematch has the makings of a classic battle of finishers, and fans should keep an eye out for when it gets confirmed.
Jonathan Di Bella vs. Zhang Peimian – ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Championship
Jonathan Di Bella put on a dominant performance against Thai-Aussie spitfire Danial Williams in the ONE Fight Night 15 co-main event. The Canadian-Italian star successfully defended his ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Title for the first time as a result. The ever-resilient Williams was motivated to claim a World Title in his first opportunity at his natural weight, but Di Bella methodically broke him down over five action-packed rounds to gain a unanimous decision from the judges.
Read More: Joshua Pacio Ready To Take On Jarred Brooks After Snapping Mansur Malachiev’s Undefeated Streak
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It was arguably a more impressive showing from the World Champion than in his ONE debut against Zhang Peimian, whom he met for the vacant strap at ONE 162 in October last year. While critics have said that his final-round knockdown on Zhang was the only reason he won the prestigious strap, Di Bella showed he is levels above in his sophomore outing. The undefeated striker expressed a desire to run it back with his Chinese rival after defeating ‘Mini T’ last Friday, and if their first fight is any indication, we’d be in for a treat if they were to share the stage again.
Joshua Pacio vs. Jarred Brooks – ONE Strawweight MMA World Championship
Joshua Pacio cemented his spot at the top of the strawweight MMA rankings by putting an end to Mansur Malachiev’s unbeaten streak in their showdown at ONE Fight Night 15. A rematch against Jarred Brooks for the ONE Strawweight MMA World Title is certainly now on the horizon for ‘The Passion,’ as they are the clear-cut top dogs of the division. The buildup to their first match was as fiery as it could be, with Brooks throwing shade at his Filipino foe every chance he got. Not to be outdone, the usually reserved Pacio responded with bold proclamations of his own.
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They didn’t disappoint when they finally got their hands on each other last December, with their battle going five rounds. Brooks claimed the coveted strap by unanimous decision, but both men revealed their mutual respect for one another when the dust had settled, and they’ve maintained a competitive but friendly rivalry since. Pacio and Brooks have been eager to run it back for some time, and they were hoping to do it at ONE’s U.S. debut show this past May. The much-anticipated showdown didn’t make the cut on that occasion, but with ‘The Passion’ now confirmed as the #1-ranked contender, the pair may push to square off on the upcoming card in Qatar.
