ONE Championship returned to U.S. primetime on February 24 with ONE Fight Night 7. The event concluded with two knockout performances in title bouts but also saw many other exceptional performances throughout the card. Lumpinee Stadium was rocking, and ONE continues to awe crowds with exciting events.
But with the event in the rearview mirror, it is time to look forward. After all of the action concluded, more questions arose as to what comes next and what it all meant. With that said, here are three big things we learned from ONE Fight Night 7.
Andrade Has A Chance To Be A Legend
The empty bantamweight throne got its king at ONE Fight Night 10. Fabricio Andrade moved into his seat and looked the part of a longtime champion after his TKO stoppage over John Lineker. Andrade has seen his stock soar over the past two years and is now an unquestioned superstar in the sport.
If anybody thought the Brazilian’s performance against Lineker in the first match was a fluke, “Wonder Boy” proved them wrong in the rematch. He is quick, powerful, and diverse with his attacks. The 25-year-old has been brilliant since joining ONE and dispatched the fan-favorite with relative ease. That should not be lost in the shuffle.
The newly crowned ONE Bantamweight World Champion has everything in front of him to build an enduring legacy. Ultimately, the results will determine if he can achieve lasting greatness. But everything is set out in front of him to do so, and his title-winning victory has set him up to be a top star for many years to come.
Kingad’s Improved Wrestling Was Fantastic
Fighting out of Team Lakay with a wushu background, Danny Kingad is known as a striker first. Following defeats to Demetrious Johnson and Kairat Akhmetov, the known flaw in his game was his grappling. Thus, a matchup against multiple-time Indonesian National Wrestling Champion Eko Roni Saputra seemed to be a good litmus test for where he was after a year-long layoff.
“The King” sent an emphatic message to the rest of the flyweight division with a dominant unanimous decision victory. From the outset of the match, Kingad outwrestled his grappling-heavy opponent with ease and asserted himself as the better man. It is clear he has been addressing his grappling in the hopes of getting to the title.
After defeating the surging Saputra and defending his #3 ranking in the flyweight division, Kingad may not be far off from a title shot. Johnson defends the gold against Adriano Moraes at ONE Fight Night 10, and Akhmetov is also on the card against Reece McLaren. With what Kingad showed inside Lumpinee Stadium, his name is in the mix, and he could pose a significant threat to whoever wears the gold.
Langaker Should Get His Title Shot
Tommy Langaker made quick work of Uali Kurzhev in their lightweight submission grappling contest. Norway’s finest utilized an inside heel hook to get the tap and picked up his second impressive victory in ONE. After the match, he made the expected call-out for a title shot against Kade Ruotolo.
And it is the match we should see next. The ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Champion has been incredible over the last year by taking ONE gold and winning an ADCC World Championship. But Langaker is making his own waves in the sport. It will be a phenomenal matchup against two aggressive submission artists.
And that is what the sport of submission grappling needs. ONE’s global rule set rewards athletes who attack and does not promote stalling. Ruotolo and Langaker will get after it from the opening bell and showcase how exciting the sport can be at its highest levels. It is a title tilt that needs to be signed.
