ONE Championship arrives in Qatar for the first time on Friday, March 1, for ONE 166. Two title tilts have been postponed from the event, per South China Morning Post. However, two bouts were named in their place, and three incredible World Title rematches will still headline the evening.
ONE Atomweight MMA World Champion Stamp Fairtex was slated to defend the gold against Denice Zamboanga. That match will still happen, but it has been postponed until June. Participation in an upcoming docuseries product was cited as the reason for the delay.
Also off the card will be the defense of Tye Ruotolo’s ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Championship. The American star’s meeting with Izaak Michell has been postponed until April. No official date has been released.
Remaining at the top of the card will be Reinier De Ridder, defending the ONE Middleweight MMA World Championship against Anatoly Malykhin. The Russian is seeking his third piece of gold to become the first-ever concurrent three-division titleholder. De Ridder will seek redemption following their meeting for the light heavyweight crown.
The other two title tilts are high-stakes rematches with motivated rivals wanting to steal the show. ONE Featherweight MMA World Champion Tang Kai returns to unify the belt with interim champion Thanh Le in the co-main event. Meanwhile, Joshua Pacio tries to reclaim his throne against ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Jarred Brooks.
While ONE 166 lost two title tilts, more martial arts fun was added to the docket. Zakaria El Jamari and Ali Saldoev will throw down in a flyweight Muay Thai contest. Vladimir Kuzmin, originally slated to meet Nong-O Hama, will now meet Zafer Sayik in a 147.75-pound catchweight Muay Thai affair.
ONE 166: Qatar is set up to be a huge night with outstanding title tilts and a sensational undercard. ONE 166 airs live on Friday, March 1. The action gets underway at 7:30 a.m. EST/4:30 a.m. PST.
