ONE X will not just be a celebration of ONE Championship’s 10th year anniversary. It will also celebrate the history of Asian martial arts.
In a bout that pays homage to PRIDE FC, one of the greatest pound for pound mixed martial artists in Demetrious Johnson will face arguably the top muay thai practitioner in the world today in Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a “mixed special rules fight” on December 5 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
“It’s going to be Pride-style, back to the old days,” ONE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Chatri Sityodtong told the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. “We want to do something special like that, something fun that will commemorate martial arts and its history.”
Johnson, 35, is the second longest reigning champion in Ultimate Fighting Championship history. He was the promotion’s flyweight champion from September 22, 2012 to August 4, 2018, successfully defending his crown 11 times — a UFC record.
Johnson (30-4-1) also won the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix.
Rodtang, on the other hand, is the reigning ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion and owns a record of 267 wins, 42 losses, and 10 draws.
Unique will be the ruleset for this extraordinary bout as it will be contested under four, three-minute rounds with the first and third rounds being under muay thai rules while the second and fourth rounds will follow the global mixed martial arts ruleset.
Also announced for ONE X are two world title bouts.
Bibiano Fernandes (24-4) will put his ONE Bantamweight World Title on the line against heated rival John Lineker (34-9) in a bout already being dubbed as the ‘Battle for Brazil.’
Sityodtong also announced that Thanh Le (12-2) will put his featherweight crown on the line against Brazilian Jiu-jitsu wizard Garry Tonon (6-0).
Also slated in the card is the finale of the ONE Atomweight World Grand Prix which is in its final four stage.
“The 10th anniversary will be the biggest and our most unique show. It is going to be fun for fans all over the world,” said Sityodtong.
