After a short break, MMASucka staff picks returns for a double-header weekend.
Kicking off the first of two fight cards over the next two days sees ONE Fight Night 16 set to take place tonight, November 3rd, from the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, the promotion’s second-to-last “Fight Night” event of 2023. Viewers in the United States and Canada can catch the entire event beginning at 8:00pm ET (5:00pm PT) on Amazon Prime Video with a membership. See here how to watch the event in your country.
ONE Fight Night 16 results will be available here at MMASucka.
Also, stay tuned to MMASucka tomorrow for our staff picks from UFC Fight Night 231: Almeida vs. Lewis from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The Fights
In the night’s featured mixed martial arts fight, Halil Amir and Ahmed Mujtaba will clash in the lightweight division (170 pounds). Undefeated Turkish talent Amir, who has won in all nine of his professional bouts since April of 2016, makes only his third appearance with the promotion after impressive victories over Timofey Nastyukhin and then-undefeated Maurice Abevi. His opponent, Pakistan’s Mujtaba, represents American Kickboxing Academy returning for the second time of the year after his two-fight, first-round win streak was snapped to Sage Northcutt in May.
Paired up in the women’s strawweight division (125 pounds) sees notable competitors Meng Bo and Ayaka Miura. Bo targets a third-straight victory since November of last year after a 24-second knockout of Jenelyn Olsim and a unanimous decision over Dayane Cardoso as Miura looks for the opposite losing to Xiong Jing Nan for the strawweight title and to the aforementioned Cardoso in her last two ONE appearances.
Two additional MMA fights compose the card ahead including the return of top-Canada prospect Ben Tynan and Philippines talent Jeremy Miado against their opponents of knockout artist Kang Ji Won and Lakay Central Gym’s Lito Adiwang, respectively.
Although not counted towards our yearly records, two championship matchups will take place at the event. Headlining the night sees current Bantamweight Muay Thai Champion and former Flyweight title holder Jonathan Haggerty take on MMA Bantamweight Champion Fabricio Andrade as the two 26-year-olds battle for ONE’s vacant Bantamweight Kickboxing Championship (145 pounds). Additionally, in the co-main event, ONE Championship sees the inaugural Welterweight Submission Grappling Championship (185 pounds) fight between Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialists and former ADCC competitors Tye Ruotolo and Magomed Abdulkadirov.
See further below for our ONE Fight Night 16 staff picks and predictions.
🔥 IT’S FIGHT WEEK 🔥 ONE Fight Night 16 on Prime Video goes down this Friday at 8PM ET, headlined by two World Title bouts and the highly anticipated U.S. primetime debut of Seksan 🤩 Which fight are you most excited for?#ONEFightNight16 | Friday at 8PM ET
🇺🇸🇨🇦 Watch live on… pic.twitter.com/pfmuUDyHcU— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) October 31, 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/or 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.
Who have the MMASucka staff picked to win at ONE Fight Night 16?
Staff Records after UFC 294:
1. Ben Jamieson: 267-134
2. Michael DeSantis: 259-138
3T. Jeremy Brand: 255-146
3T. Nate Freeman: 255-146
5. Wesley Riddle: 252-149
6. Frazer Krohn: 237-158
7. Julio Monteros Jr.: 217-123
8. Andrew Benjamin: 188-163
9. Jack Goodwillie: 148-83
10. Brian Knight: 140-84
11. Tim Wheaton: 105-60
12. Roemello Reyes: 62-34
13. Jonathan Andrade: 31-24
14. Brandon Joint: 12-9
15. Andrew Harbaugh: 10-7
16. Joshua Yule: 7-6
17. Chris De Santiago: 6-6
18. Antwyn Jackson: 5-6
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
Jeremy Miado (10-5), +130
vs.
Lito Adiwang (14-5), -160
Strawweight Division
– 125 LBS. ~ 56.7 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Adiwang via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Miado via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Miado via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Miado via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Miado via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Miado via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Miado via Round 3 TKO
Staff picking Miado: 6
Staff picking Adiwang: 1
Kang Ji Won (6-1), +110
vs.
Ben Tynan (4-0), -150
Heavyweight Division
– 265 LBS. ~ 120.2 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Ji Won via Round 2 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Ji Won via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Tynan via Round 2 SUB
Andrew Benjamin: Ji Won via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Ji Won via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Ji Won via Split Decision
Ben Jamieson: Tynan via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Ji Won: 5
Staff picking Tynan: 2
Meng Bo (21-6), -280
vs.
Ayaka Miura (11-5, 1 NC) +220
Women’s Strawweight Division
– 125 LBS. ~ 56.7 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Bo via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Bo via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Bo via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Miura via Round 1 SUB
Frazer Krohn: Bo via Round 2 SUB
Nate Freeman: Bo via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Bo via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Bo: 6
Staff picking Miura: 1
Halil Amir (9-0), -500
vs.
Ahmed Mujtaba (10-3), +375
Lightweight Division
– 170 LBS. ~ 77.1 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Mujtaba via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Amir via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Amir via Round 1 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Amir via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Amir via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Amir via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Amir via Round 1 TKO
Staff picking Amir: 6
Staff picking Mujtaba: 1