Pancrase champ Senzo Ikeda signs with ONE, joins Flyweight Grand-Prix
The flyweight King of Pancrase is set to join the ONE Championship ranks in a big way as 36-year-old Senzo Ikeda joins the upcoming Flyweight Grand-Prix line-up.
He replaces an injured Andrew Leone to take on Danny Kingad in one of four flyweight tournament quarter-final bouts taking place on March 31 in Tokyo.
Senzo Ikeda (12-6-1) has spent the vast majority of his career competing under the Pancrase banner. He has won four-straight, this includes avenging his most recent loss to Mamoru Yamaguchi.
Last February, Ikeda pulled off an incredible title defence against Yuya Wakamatsu, knocking him out in the fifth round of a wild fight of the year contender. If that name sounds familiar to you, it is because Wakamatsu is competing in this grand-prix alongside Ikeda. He has the unfortunate job of welcoming Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson to ONE in the quarter-finals.
His opponent, Danny Kingad (11-1) fights out of the stellar Team Lakay in the Philippines and is currently riding a four-fight win streak. This includes wins over Tatsumitsu Wada and Wakamatsu. The former title-challenger is no walk in the park for a promotional debut.
Ikeda’s signing gets announced on the heels of ONE Championship’s partnership with both Shooto and Pancrase.
