A double-header kicks off the new month for MMASucka staff picks.
ONE Fight Night 22 will take place later tonight, May 3rd for North American viewers or Saturday, May 4th for those in attendance from the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Viewers in the United States and Canada can watch the entire event at 8:00pm ET (5:00pm PT) on Amazon Prime Video. See ONE Championship’s website here for how to watch the event in your country.
Stay tuned here at MMASucka for ONE Fight Night 22 results. Also, look out Saturday morning for our staff picks and betting predictions from UFC 301: Pantoja vs. Erceg.
MMA Fights
Undefeated featherweights (155 pounds) Akbar Abdullaev and Halil Amir will clash in the night’s highly-anticipated, co-main event. 26-year-old Kyrgyzstani Abdullaev (-190) has finished all but one of his ten professional victories inside the first round including his two sensational ONE Championship knockouts last year over Oh Ho Taek and Aaron Canarte. Turkey’s Amir (+145) also brings a finishing resume with nine of ten ending inside the distance as he rides a three-fight promotional streak over notables Timofey Nastyukhin, Maurice Abevi, and, most recently, Ahmed Mujtaba.
The aforementioned Maurice Abevi will battle Zhang Lipeng at a catchweight of 174 pounds. Abevi failed his hydration test for a third consecutive time, and as a result, the pairing renegotiated from its originally-scheduled lightweight (170 pounds) fight. With the fight still on, Abevi (-125) will target a second straight win after returning to the win column last September by stopping Blake Cooper inside the first round. The Ultimate Fighter: China winner and former Kunlun Fight Champion Lipeng (-105) bounced back in October with a first-round knockout of Timofey Nastyukhin; his sixth win in his last eight MMA fights (excluding a July of 2019 draw and a September of 2022 decision defeat).
Two additional pairings will take part in our MMASucka staff picks. Former 145-pound Title challenger Reece McLaren (-180) faces off against the three-fight win streak of China’s Hu Yong (+140) in the flyweight division (135 pounds). Former freestyle wrestler and former Shooto Champion Chihiro Sawada (-400) returns for her second ONE Championship fight of 2024 against Phuket Fight Club’s Noelle Grandjean (+275) at atomweight (115 pounds).
Remaining Card
A wild turn of events has impacted the card’s headliner. 19-year-old rising star Smilla Sundlell was stripped of the ONE Women’s Strawweight Muay Thai Title after failing to make the the 125-pound weight by a pound and-a-quarter. She will remain eligible for the belt as she meets multi-time IFMAC Championship medalist Natalya Dyachkova.
Three Muay Thai, two Kickboxing, and one Submission Grappling bouts compose the rest of the event. See all the fights part of today’s card here.
Find our ONE Fight Night 22 staff picks and betting predictions for these fights further below.
INCOMING 🚨 Your first look at the full card for ONE Fight Night 22 on @primevideo featuring ONE Strawweight Muay Thai World Champion and Swedish striking phenom Smilla Sundell defending her throne against Russian KO artist Natalia Diachkova 🤩🏆#ONEFightNight22 | Fri May 3 at… pic.twitter.com/1wG2EyPxTM
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) April 12, 2024
Staff Picks
MMASucka staff picks are composed of four of the world’s leading mixed martial arts organizations: the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the Professional Fighters League (PFL) with Bellator MMA, ONE Championship (ONE FC), and Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS).
- UFC picks will include main card fights ranging from four to six matchups per event.
- PFL and Bellator MMA see picks from main cards for pay-per-views and from tournament fights in the Regular Season, Playoffs, and Finals.
- ONE FC and DWCS picks will feature all MMA fights from the event with a minimum of three matchups.
The individual who picks the most victorious fighters by the end of 2024 will have a choice between receiving a custom-made championship belt from ProAmBelts or a detailed chain from Championship Chains. Staff picks in 2023 were won by Ben Jamieson with a record of 300-148.
Who have the MMASucka staff picked to win at ONE Fight Night 22?
RECORDS AFTER UFC ON ESPN 55:
1. Nate Freeman: 97-49
2. Wesley Riddle: 92-54
3. Jeremy Brand: 89-57
4. Michael DeSantis: 86-52
5. Frazer Krohn: 83-63
6. Andrew Benjamin: 62-67
7. Lukas DeWitt: 48-32
8. Julio Monteros Jr.: 28-11
9. Michael Kachan: 19-9
10. Casey Cooper: 4-5
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
Chihiro Sawada (7-0-1), -400
vs.
Noelle Grandjean (5-1), +275
ATOMWEIGHT DIVISION
– 115 LBS. ~ 56.7 K.G. –
Jeremy Brand: Sawada via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Sawada via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: N/A
Andrew Benjamin: Sawada via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Sawada via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Sawada via Round 3 TKO
Staff picking Sawada: 5
Staff picking Grandjean: 0
Reece McLaren (16-9), -180
vs.
Hu Yong (12-4), +140
FLYWEIGHT DIVISION
– 135 LBS. ~ 61.2 K.G. –
Jeremy Brand: McLaren via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Yong via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: N/A
Andrew Benjamin: McLaren via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: McLaren via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: McLaren via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking McLaren: 4
Staff picking Yong: 1
Maurice Abevi (7-1), -125
vs.
Zhang Lipeng (34-12-2), -105
CATCHWEIGHT FIGHT
– 174 LBS. ~ 78.9 K.G. –
Jeremy Brand: Lipeng via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Lipeng via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: N/A
Andrew Benjamin: Abevi via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Lipeng via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Abevi via Split Decision
Staff picking Abevi: 2
Staff picking Lipeng: 3
Akbar Abdullaev (10-0), -190
vs.
Halil Amir (10-0), +145
FEATHERWEIGHT DIVISION
– CO-MAIN EVENT –
– 155 LBS. ~ 70.3 K.G. –
Jeremy Brand: Abdullaev via Round 2 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Abdullaev via Round 2 TKO
Michael DeSantis: N/A
Andrew Benjamin: Amir via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Amir via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Abdullaev via Split Decision
Staff picking Abdullaev: 3
Staff picking Amir: 2
ONE FIGHT NIGHT 22 FEATURED IMAGE:
A promotional poster for ONE Fight Night 22 taking place Saturday, May 4th from the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand (photo credits to ONE Championship).
