ONE 166: Qatar – What fans need to know ahead of ONE Championships’ historic dirt debut – News

The show will feature three big fights for the MMA world title.

For the first time in a decade, ONE Championship returns to the Middle East, bringing with it the largest combat sports event in Qatar’s history. On March 1, ONE 166: Qatar will take over the Lusail Sports Arena and to mark the occasion, three major MMA world title fights will be featured at the show.

In the main card, ONE MMA Middleweight World Champion Reinier de Ridder defends his crown against two-weight king Anatoly Malykhin in a grudge match 15 months in the making.

The pair met at ONE on Prime Video 5, where Malykhin destroyed De Ridder in the first round, ending the Dutchman’s 16-fight unbeaten streak and claiming the ONE MMA Light Heavyweight World Title.

While de Ridder recovered, Malykhin’s dominance continued. He returned to the heavyweight draw to take the crown from Arjan Bhullar at ONE Friday Fights 22.

Now, as ONE makes history in Qatar, Malykhin will look to cement his name in the record books as the first three-weight king in MMA. “I’m ready for this Friday. I’m going to go get my third belt. I’m going to knock him out the same way I did before,” Malykhin said at Tuesday’s pre-fight press conference.

Fans can bet that ‘The Dutch Knight’ will do everything in his power to stop Malykhin. In his speech at the ONE 166 press conference, De Ridder refuted the Russian’s claims.

“[This fight] It’s about one thing: the last time he hit me, he hurt me. “I’ve had a year to prepare for this, I pushed myself every day and this time I’m ready to show my skills,” De Ridder said.

The co-main event is a clash for the undisputed MMA featherweight world title between divisional kingpin Tang Kai and interim champion Thanh Le.

The match serves as Tang’s return after winning the MMA featherweight crown from Le at ONE 160. The Chinese phenom has been plagued by injuries since then, but is eager to defeat the Vietnamese-American in his first fight in 18 months.

Le is back to his best after submitting Ilya Freymanov for the interim crown at ONE Fight Night 15. Both Tang and Le are known finishers, so expect fireworks when the pair meet for the undisputed title.

The first of three world title fights this Friday features ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Jarred Brooks defending his crown against former king Joshua Pacio in one of the most heated rivalries in recent memory.

In their first meeting at ONE 164, Brooks used his trash talk to intimidate Pacio, and many thought it hindered the Filipino’s performance.

The American defeated ‘The Passion’ in his own backyard, earning the unanimous decision to take the gold back to the United States.

Since then, Pacio has made big changes to his skill set, leading him to beat Mansur Malachiev last October to secure his spot as the number one contender.

ONE 166: Qatar also has some notable athletes from the Middle East. MMA heavyweight star Amir Aliakbari looks to earn a world title shot with a victory over former divisional king Bhullar.

Saudi Arabia’s decorated submission wrestling star Osamah Almarwai returns to the fold to take on Brazil’s Cleber Sousa. The winner could earn his ticket to a second matchup with ONE Flyweight Submission Wrestling World Champion Mikey Musumeci.

The star-studded card also includes Saudi Arabia’s most successful boxer, Zuhayr Al-Qahtani. He fights veteran kickboxer Mehdi Zatout in a 147-pound bout.

Still undefeated, Al-Qahtani looks to earn the 10th professional victory of his boxing career against the decorated Zatout. The Franco-Algerian returns after a brief period of retirement, looking to leave a mark on Al-Qahtani’s immaculate CV.

*Tickets for ONE 166: Qatar are now on sale at the Virgin Megastore and Q Tickets.