ONE Championship will hit U.S. primetime for the first time in 2024 with ONE Fight Night 18. The action comes your way on Friday, January 12, and another exciting mixed martial arts bout has been added. On Wednesday, it was revealed Mark Abelardo will welcome Ibragim Dauev to the promotion.
Big Fight Added to ONE Fight Night 18 Card
The event, free for all U.S. and Canadian Amazon Prime members, emanates from Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The bout joins two other bantamweight scraps on the card, Shamil Gasanov vs. Oh Ho Taek and Kwon Won Il vs. Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg. It will either be the vet or the rookie who gets started with a bang on January 12.
Albelardo has had an up-and-down career on the global stage, but in 2023, he began to find his form on a consistent basis. He has been known for his power and chin, but his technical skills have been improving consistently. In his two outings, “Tyson” picked up two TKO victories.
The first win came at ONE Friday Fights 15 over Taron Grigoryan in the first round. Abelardo followed it up against Georgy Shakhruramazanov at ONE Friday Fights 38. If he can officially make it a streak against the young Dagestani, he could begin to threaten the division’s upper echelon.
But Dauev is looking to get his ONE career off to a hot start against the ever-tough Filipino-Kiwi. The U.S. primetime debut is a great opportunity to announce himself as a major player in the division. Getting a stern test in his debut will help prove his mettle in a jam-packed division.
The 22-year-old has been tearing up the scene in Russian with a perfect 8-0 start to his professional career. The well-versed athlete has finished seven of those bouts and has done so with both strikes and submissions. His momentum has carried him to this moment, where he can make an impact statement in his first ONE match.
ONE Fight Night 18 airs live on Prime Video on Friday, January 12. The action begins at 8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PST. The event is free for all Amazon Prime subscribers in the U.S. and Canada.
