Are you ready for a quadruple-header weekend for MMASucka staff picks?
Kicking off a thrilling weekend of fights sees ONE Fight Night 9 set for action on later tonight, April 21st for North and South American viewers from the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. All fights will be available to watch at 8:00pm ET (5:00pm PT) on Amazon Prime Video.
ONE Fight Night 9 live results will be available here at MMASucka.
Stay tuned later today for our Bellator 294: Carmouche vs. Bennett 2 picks from Honolulu, Hawaii. Also, be on the lookout for our additional two fight cards on Saturday with UFC Vegas 71: Pavlovich vs. Blaydes from Las Vegas, Nevada and Bellator 295: Stots vs. Mix also from Honolulu.
The Fights
Two rising, undefeated talents with 100% finishing rates are set to clash in the featured mixed martial arts fight of the night between Turkey’s Halil Amir and Switzerland’s Maurice Abevi in the lightweight division (170 pounds). 28-year-old Amir will make his second promotional appearance after his September of 2022 knockout in the second round over former lightweight title challenger Timofey Nastyukhin. His opponent, Abevi, debuts in the ONE cage as he represents Tiger Muay Thai while returning to professional combat for the first time in 16 months. Abevi and Amir will faceoff in the co-main event.
Preceding their fight sees a strawweight (125 pounds) meeting with Bokang Masunyane taking on Hiroba Minowa. The two both look for successful returns after both suffering defeats last year in their respected fights to Jarred Brooks which ended Masunyane’s undefeated run and Minowa’s six-fight victory stretch.
Four additional MMA fights will be included in our staff picks including names like top-ranked atomweight (115 pounds) Denice Zamboanga and seasoned veteran Bo Meng against their respected opponents.
Although not counted for our picks, ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai champion Nong-O Gaiyanghadao will look for his eighth title defense in the main event against former 135-pound championship holder Jonathan Haggerty.
Find our picks for ONE Fight Night 9 further below.
Your final ONE Fight Night 9 bout card, headlined by the ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title showdown between reigning champ Nong-O and British star Jonathan Haggerty 🤩 Who you got?
Jacob Smith’s matchup with Denis Puric has been postponed due to an injury suffered by Smith.… pic.twitter.com/6VVInGoYXk
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) April 21, 2023
2023 Staff Picks
MMASucka staff picks are composed of five promotions: the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellator MMA, ONE Championship, the Professional Fighters League (PFL), and Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS). UFC and Bellator events feature picks from only main cards. PFL will feature select fights from the main and preliminary card while DWCS sees all fights counted from the event. ONE Championship returns to picks for the first time since 2020 and will feature only mixed martial arts (MMA) fights selected from cards with a minimum three matchups.
The WINNER of staff picks at the end of 2023, who picked the most victorious fighters, will have a choice between receiving a custom-made championship belt from ProAmBelts or a chain from Championship Chains. Staff picks in 2022 was won by Wesley Riddle with a record of 264-135.
Check out our ONE Fight Night 9 picks for the night ahead.
Staff Records after UFC on ESPN 44:
1. Ben Jamieson: 73-39
2T. Nate Freeman: 72-40
2T. Tim Wheaton: 72-40
4. Michael DeSantis: 70-42
5T. Wesley Riddle: 68-44
5T. Frazer Krohn: 68-44
7. Jeremy Brand: 66-46
8. Roemello Reyes: 62-34
9. Julio Monteros Jr.: 61-43
10. Jack Goodwillie: 57-38
11. Brian Knight: 54-34
12. Andrew Benjamin: 53-54
13. Jonathan Andrade: 16-14
14. Brandon Joint: 12-9
15. Andrew Harbaugh: 10-7
16. Joshua Yule: 7-6
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
Jhanlo Mark Sangiao (5-0), -700
vs.
Matias Farinelli (5-0), +510
Catchweight Fight
– 149.8 LBS. ~ 67.9 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Mark Sangiao via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Mark Sangiao via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Mark Sangiao via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Mark Sangiao via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Mark Sangiao via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Mark Sangiao via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Mark Sangiao via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Mark Sangiao via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Mark Sangiao via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Mark Sangiao via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Mark Sangiao: 10
Staff picking Farinelli: 0
Bo Meng (20-6), +150
vs.
Dayane Cardoso (9-1-1), -175
Strawweight Division
– 125 LBS. ~ 56.7 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Meng via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Cardoso via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Cardoso via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Cardoso via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Meng via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Cardoso via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Meng via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Cardoso via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Cardoso via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Cardoso via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Meng: 3
Staff picking Cardoso: 7
Isi Fitikefu (7-1), -315
vs.
Valmir da Silva (9-2), +260
Welterweight Division
– 185 LBS. ~ 83.9 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Fitikefu via Round 2 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Fitikefu via Round 2 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Fitikefu via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Fitikefu via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: da Silva via Round 1 TKO
Nate Freeman: Fitikefu via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Fitikefu via Round 3 SUB
Julio Monteros Jr.: Fitikefu via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Fitikefu via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Fitikefu via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Fitikefu: 9
Staff picking da Silva: 1
Denice Zamboanga (9-2), -265
vs.
Julie Mezabarba (9-4-1), +225
Atomweight Division
– 115 LBS. ~ 52.2 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Zamboanga via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Zamboanga via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Zamboanga via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Zamboanga via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Zamboanga via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Zamboanga via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Zamboanga via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Zamboanga via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Zamboanga via Split Decision
Ben Jamieson: Zamboanga via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Zamboanga: 10
Staff picking Mezabarba: 0
Bokang Masunyane (8-1), -215
vs.
Hiroba Minowa (13-3), +185
Strawweight Division
– 125 LBS. ~ 56.7 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Masunyane via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Minowa via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Masunyane via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Minowa via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Minowa via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Masunyane via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Minowa via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Minowa via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Masunyane via Round 1 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Masunyane via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Masunyane: 5
Staff picking Minowa: 5
Halil Amir (8-0), -230
vs.
Maurice Abevi (6-0), +195
Lightweight Division
– Co-Main Event –
– 170 LBS. ~ 77.1 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Amir via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Amir via Round 2 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Amir via Round 1 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Amir via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Amir via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Amir via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Amir via Round 1 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Amir via Round 1 TKO
Brian Knight: Amir via Round 3 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Amir via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Amir: 10
Staff picking Abevi: 0
ONE FIGHT NIGHT 9 FEATURED IMAGE:
ONE Fight Night 9 poster featuring ONE’s Bantamweight Muay Thai Championship fight between Nong-O Gaiyanghadao and Jonathan Haggerty on Friday, April 21st from the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand (credits to ONE Championship).
