ONE: ‘Pursuit of Power’ preview

ONE: “Pursuit of Power” is set for the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur on Friday night (local time). It is the fourth time in four weeks that the promotion has put on a card and this one will be headlined by a welterweight bout between Agilan Thani and Zebaztian Kadestam.

As is now standard with ONE Championship the card will feature several different styles. There will be two Muay Thai matches and one kickboxing bout with Petdam Gaiyanghadao set to compete on the undercard.

135lbs.: Petdam Gaiyanghadao vs Josh Tonna (Muay Thai)

Petdam Gaiyanghadao is a major star at Lumpinee and Rajadamnern who is still very much in his prime. Under these circumstances it would be a massive surprise if an unranked opponent could beat him in boxing gloves.

If the fighters are wearing MMA gloves then Josh Tonna might have an outside chance of pulling off an upset, three time fighter of the year Panpayak Jitmuangnon was recently knocked out by a Brazilian under similar circumstances.

115lbs.: Jihin Radzuan vs. Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol

Jihin Radzuan (2-0) has emerged as one of the most exciting Malaysian prospects. Fighting out of Ultimate MMA in Johor Bahru, she’s a MIMMA champion and has extensive amateur experience.

Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol (3-0) is riding a three fight ONE Championship winning streak. With Angela Lee rumoured to be moving up a division this matchup could see a new atomweight title challenger crowned.

155lbs.: Emilio Uruttia vs Li Kai Wen

Emilio Uruttia (11-5) came up short against Marat Gafurov but he remains a very -well rounded fighter. He showcased his striking by knocking out Bruno Pucci but the Tiger Muay Thai representative also has four submission wins on his record.

Li Kai Wen (8-4) has been very active of late, fighting four times for ONE Championship in eight months. He’s won three of those contests and was DQd in the other, the Chinese fighter will want to keep this on standing.

170lbs.: Ariel Sexton vs Kota Shimoishi

Ariel Sexton (11-4-0-1) is a BJJ black belt with some unorthodox yet extremely effective striking. He holds his hands low which allows him to throw uppercuts from unconventional angles.

Kota Shimoishi (21-5) is part of the recent influx of Japanese fighters to the ONE Championship roster. He’s very small for a lightweight and likes to shoot for takedowns from a low base, striking isn’t his strong point but he’s a southpaw and will throw the odd overhand left.

155lbs.: Keanu Subba vs Xie Chao

Keanu Subba (5-3) hasn’t fought in almost a year but his team at Bali MMA will doubtless have come up with a specific strategy for this fight. The Malaysian can strike and grapple although we haven’t seen him score the sort of one punch KOs his brother used to specialize in.

Xie Chao (9-3) is tall for a featherweight, but so is Subba which will negate that advantage. He does not look like a confident striker and will look to get this fight to the ground at every opportunity.

205lbs.: Florent Kaouachi vs Sergej Maslobojev (kickboxing)

Sergej Maslobojev has a very fluent kickboxing style and can attack with punches, knees and low kicks. Flying knees were a feature of his win over Antonio Plazibat in a ONE Super Series fight earlier this year.

Florent Kaouachi is a Glory veteran who has a similar style to Maslobojev, although he looks to be a little taller. The Frenchman likes to use straight punches and low kicks and will also attack with long knees.

155lbs.: Narantungalag Jadambaa vs Kazuki Tokudome

At the age of 42 Narantungalag Jadambaa (13-5) represents anything but an easy fight. The Mongolian has a background in BJJ, Karate and Judo and is just extremely tough, he’s 5-2 since signing with ONE and both the losses have been against Marat Gafurov.

UFC veteran Kazuki Tokudome (18-8-1) will be well aware of his opponent’s reputation and the fact he’s beaten the likes of Akihiro Gono and Kazunori Yokota. The Japanese fighter is a southpaw with several TKO wins to his name.

185lbs.: Luis Santos vs Tyler McGuire

Tyler McGuire (10-0) has compiled a very impressive record at the expense of very mediocre opposition. But that’s a career strategy that will only get you so far, and the question is: how he will cope with his first real test as a professional?

Luis Santos (64-10-0-1) is not short of experience. The Brazilian has some devastating kicks and knees as well as being a BJJ black belt and will be very confident of handing McGuire the first defeat of his career.

155lbs.: Jo Nattawut vs Yohann Drai (Muay Thai)

Jo Nattawut was outmatched against Giorgio Petrosyan and seemed to realize it, he was in retreat mode right from the opening bell. Hopefully we will see the former Lion Fight champion open up a bit more in this bout.

However it’s another tough matchup for Nattawut. While the Thai fighter lives and trains in the US his opponent Yohann Drai is competing regularly in Thailand and has beaten the likes of Jomthong Chuwuttana and Iquezang Kor Rungthanakeat.

185lbs.: Agilan Thani vs Zebaztian Kadestam

Zebaztian Kadestam (9-4) was last seen getting absolutely dominated by Ben Askren. But before he signed with ONE the Swedish welterweight earned a reputation as a Muay Thai wrecking machine, knocking out a series of good level opponents under the PXC banner.

If you look at who he has beaten and how he beat them then you would think Kadestam might have too much for Agilan Thani (9-1). However wrestling is not the former PXC champion’s strong point and it’s a potential weakness that the Malaysian can exploit.

Thani’s strength is his wrestling and grappling but he won’t survive long in a striking match with Kadestam. The Malaysian will need to secure early takedowns in every round if he wants to win this, and avoid ending up on the receiving end of a barrage of kicks.

The entire ONE: “Pursuit of Power” card will be available to view live and free using the newly launched app which you can download here. The first three fights will also be live on twitter and facebook.

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