ONE Championship is bringing another action-packed card of mixed martial arts action to the fans this week, and it's headlined by Muay Thai superstar Jonathan Haggerty meeting MMA powerhouse Fabricio de Andrade in a kickboxing match. I gave my pick for that matchup and the rest of the main card, so let's get into it.
The headliner sees a clash of Muay Thai and MMA in a kickboxing setting as these two superstar strikers go head to head. Jonathan Haggerty has become a star in the Muay Thai scene with his recent first-round knockout win over Nong-O Gaiyanghadao, where he was a massive underdog entering the bout; he is as experienced as they come, having compared with Rodtang twice in the past as well. Fabricio de Andrade takes on this challenge after his impressive win over the heavy-handed John Lineker in their rematch earlier this year, where he showed his durability and pressure.
This should be a fun fight, but I see Haggerty as the much more seasoned striker, which I believe will lead him to a dominant decision win here.
Pick: Haggerty
An intriguing grappling match takes place here. Tye Ruotolo enters this contest at just twenty years old, having already competed with a long list of big names in the grappling scene, including Garry Tonon and Craig Jones. Magomed Abdulkadirov is a very experienced grappler, having competed in ADCC against the likes of Gilbert Burns as far back as 2015; he does good work from the back with nasty cranks and chokes.
I'll go with Ruotolo here as his experience competing against the best in the world at his young age will serve him very well here.
Pick: Ruotolo
This is a Welterweight clash in MMA between two exciting names to watch. Halil Amir enters this fight undefeated, with a number of stoppages coming both early and late in the fight, showing finishing ability and cardio. Ahmed Mujtaba comes into this one off his early submission loss to fan favorite Sage Northcutt, which was the third submission loss of his career; he also does not have much experience going deep into fights.
I like Amir here as he has the edge wherever the fight goes and will score a stoppage in the mid to late stages of this one.
Pick: Amir
Muay Thai rematch here. Sinsamut Klinmee got the win in the first matchup between these two by staying patient, and when he got in range, he landed a beautiful hook that put Nolan clean out. Liam Nolan will need to maintain kicking range this time around if he wants to have more success, as he was able to land some decent shots at range early in their first meeting.
I see little reason to believe the result will be any different this time around, so I will pick Klinmee to get another knockout here.
Pick: Klinmee
Kickboxing action goes down here between two men with solid experience in the ONE cage. Zhang Peimian enters this one at just twenty years old. Rui Botelho comes into this one, losing five of his last six in ONE, meaning he is in desperate need of a win here to turn things around, although he has only been finished in one of those losses.
I like the young Peimian to get a decision here as Botelho has struggled of late, although he is still durable, and this feels like an excellent development fight for Peimian.
Pick: Peimian