ONE Fight Night 13 featured four World Champions in action across the exciting card, with two of them putting their belts on the line. When the smoke cleared, the World Titles were still in the firm grasp of the divisional kings who had brought them to Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, while the other two titleholders set their sights on their next challenges.
Here’s a look at what might be next for the World Champions who were in action this past Friday, August 4.
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Jarred Brooks
Strawweight mixed martial arts king Jarred Brooks may have taken an L in his challenge of Mikey Musumeci’s ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Title at ONE Fight Night 13, but he remains dominant in his own division and sport. “The Monkey God” took out a slew of ranked contenders on his way to claiming the strawweight crown against longtime titleholder Joshua Pacio last December.
Hungry to return to action, the American stepped out of his comfort zone to compete in submission grappling against one of the best in the sport today. While he admits that it was a “humbling experience” being submitted by Musumeci, he made it clear the scrap helped him become even more dangerous on the ground.
A rematch with Pacio could be in the works for Brooks, but he could also take on newly ranked fighters Gustavo Balart or Mansur Malachiev as he looks to cement his status in the strawweight division.
Tawanchai PK Saenchai
ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai is looking to become a two-sport World Champion by taking over the kickboxing ranks, and he showed out in his promotional debut in the sport on Friday night.
The 24-year-old dynamo showed his striking skills are lethal everywhere he goes when he destroyed Davit Kiria’s arm to score a third-round finish over the Georgian kickboxing veteran.
It was the second straight win where Tawanchai’s kick forced an opponent to quit. He will next look to prove that he is the best in his division and sport when he takes on the challenge of Superbon Singha Mawynn in October. But after that, there is a good chance that the featherweight Muay Thai king will look to resume his charge in the kickboxing ranks.
Mikey Musumeci
Flyweight submission grappling king “Darth Rigatoni” completed his fifth straight victory when he submitted ONE Strawweight World Champion Jarred Brooks in Friday’s co-main event. The American star displayed his trademark grappling prowess against his compatriot, and it reminded the world why he is the king of his division.
It’s tough to imagine anyone stopping Musumeci, as he has now taken out a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion, a sambo World Champion, and an MMA World Champion. The variety of opponents and ways he has beaten them all make him a true force to be reckoned with in the flyweight division.
In the past, he has “respectfully” called out ONE Flyweight World Champion Demetrious Johnson, hoping the pair would roll in the world’s largest martial arts organization, and with no clear contenders on the horizon, this may now be the match that Musumeci will be looking to book.
Chingiz Allazov
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The ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion showed why he is the best pound-for-pound kickboxer today with a gutsy performance against a former tormentor in Marat Grigorian in the ONE Fight Night 13 main event. “Chinga” came out like a house on fire, pushing the pace against a game Grigorian early in the match.
Even as the Armenian star was gaining momentum in the late rounds, the divisional king more than held his own, and he was awarded the unanimous decision win in the end.
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Having taken out the top three fighters in his division, Allazov is left with a showdown against kickboxing legend and #4-ranked contender Giorgio Petrosyan if he wants to complete a cleanout in the most competitive weight class in all of combat sports today.
