Matches to Make After ONE on Prime Video 16

Lev PisarskyNov 04, 2023

ONE Championship's most recent Amazon offering featured a unique champion vs. champion headliner. On one side was England's Jonathan Haggerty, a superb striker and the reigning ONE 145-pound muay thai world champion. Facing him was Brazil's Fabricio de Andrade, who had scored a sensational fourth-round knockout of the great John Lineker to become the ONE 145-pound mixed martial arts king. However, the two weren't competing in either MMA or muay thai, but in kickboxing, with ONE's vacant 145-pound crown on the line. Which man would become a champ-champ across two different combat sports?

The answer soon became apparent. Haggerty was too fast, skilled and good for de Andrade, pelting him with one gorgeous combination after another. The Brazilian was tough enough to stay on his feet in the opening round, despite absorbing a lot of damage. But it was too much in the second stanza, as he was unable to beat the count after being felled by an endless barrage of punches. Haggerty is now champion in two different combat sports and has proven himself one of the best pound-for-pound strikers in the world.

In other major contender bouts, No. 4 ranked and undefeated Halil Amir faced a game foe in Ahmed Mujtaba, who almost locked in an early submission. However, Amir escaped and pounded his foe from the top, decimating him with ground-and-pound at the end of the first round. The bell sounded, seemingly saving Mujtaba, but referee Herb Dean called off the contest between frames.

Here are a couple of exciting fights that suggest themselves following ONE Fight Night 16:

Jonathan Haggerty-Hiroki Akimoto

Akimoto is the No. 1 contender for Haggerty's new ONE kickboxing crown, and an obvious challenger. He was the former champion until losing his throne by a razor-thin split decision in late 2022 against Petchtanong Banchamek. However, Banchamek tested positive for performance enhancers, vacating the crown. Akimoto has a claim to the title, narrowly losing to a tainted fighter. Thus, it would make sense for him to face Haggerty. Akimoto isn't a big power puncher, but he is highly skilled, and at 31, may well be in the prime of his career, potentially frustrating the aggressive Haggerty with his defensive prowess. It would be a fine title fight and possibly the co-main or headliner of the card on which it appears.

Halil Amir-Rae Yoon Ok

At 10-0 and 29 years old, Amir is ready for a big step up in competition. So why not No.1 contender and former champion Rae Yoon Ok, who lost his title to current champion Christian Lee? To some extent, this would be a striker vs. grappler matchup, with the powerful Amir looking to take it to the ground with his devastating ground-and-pound and Ok looking to keep it standing. However, Ok is a good grappler in his own right and Amir has shown solid stand-up skills. Regardless, with Ok holding a victory over Lee as well as his loss in a rematch, the victor in this bout would be in prime position to challenge Lee for the world title.