As the world has begun opening back up, 2022 has sailed by in a flash. Six months have already gone, and ONE Championship has already had an entire year’s worth of action inside of its Circle walls.
New champions have been crowned, fresh faces have staked their claim for title shots, young guns have shown their bright futures on the global stage, and the company has inked a landmark media rights deal.
So, what comes next? That is what we will explore right now.
Here are three storylines to keep tabs on in the final six months of 2022.
Prime Video Is Here
One of the biggest stories of the year is ONE signing their North American distribution deal with Amazon Prime Video. And it is set to begin later this year.
ONE has already been on in U.S. primetime, but Prime Video is a streaming giant that is dedicating significant resources to live sports programming. ONE being a piece of that puzzle for Amazon is significant.
With millions of subscribers having access to the events and the influx of promotion ready to begin, ONE is set to make a huge impact on the North American martial arts scene. And fans who have not been paying attention are in for a treat.
ONE does not only bring exciting mixed martial arts bouts to the scene, but they will also include kickboxing, Muay Thai (in four-ounce gloves), and submission grappling. Fans will get to see a full slate of martial arts during these events and be introduced to some of the pound-for-pound best athletes from around the globe.
This could be the single most important story to watch in the final six months of the year.
Heavyweight Supremacy
ONE Heavyweight World Champion Arjan Bhullar is set to return to action later this year, and in his absence, Anatoly Malykhin secured the interim title. A unification bout seems the logical choice, but even still, there are other heavyweights making noise.
One of the most notable is Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida. A true Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend who is putting the other pieces to the MMA puzzle together. Almeida has been absolutely dominant thus far in his mixed martial arts career, and he is only getting more dangerous by the day.
And what about another American Top Team talent? American Odie Delaney has a Division-1 All-American wrestling background that has brought him to the global stage. With two impressive performances already, Delaney could be a force atop the division by year’s end.
The heavyweight ranks are growing, and Bhullar’s return to the Circle will help bring clarity to the title picture. Challengers are beginning to line up, and now they just need a single champion to wear the bullseye.
Budding Rivalries
The second half of 2022 will be filled with budding rivalries. While all may not compete against one another, there will still be plenty of chatter along the way.
ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua Pacio and Jarred Brooks have been on a collision course since the American arrived in ONE. That bout is all but inevitable. Brazilians Fabricio Andrade and ONE Bantamweight World Champion John Lineker are also beginning to chirp back and forth.
Pound-for-pound great Anissa Meksen has been calling for a match with ONE Atomweight Kickboxing World Champion Janet Todd since she arrived. The American goes for interim Muay Thai gold at ONE 159 on Friday, July 22. That surely won’t sit well with Meksen and add more fuel to that fire.
And those are just a few that are competing for gold. There are plenty more flames to be stoked throughout the roster.
The final six months should be exhilarating with high-stakes matchups featuring elite talent who have paired off with rivals seeking to topple their reigns.
