MMASucka staff picks have an eventful weekend in store.
Kicking off the first of two events sees ONE Fight Night 8 set for action tonight, March 25th from the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. For viewers in North and South America, the event will begin at 7:00pm ET (4:00pm PT) on ONE Championship’s website and their various social media platforms. Seven bouts composing the main card will begin at 8:00pm ET (5:00pm PT) on Amazon Prime Video for Amazon Prime members.
ONE Fight Night 8 results will be available here at MMASucka.
Also, be sure to stay tuned to MMASucka tomorrow morning for the second part of our double-header weekend with UFC on ESPN 43: Vera vs. Sandhagen from San Antonio, Texas.
The Fights
Three mixed martial arts fights will be counted to our 2023 staff records from tonight’s ONE Fight Night 8 event. A main event unification fight between ONE Heavyweight World Champion Arjan Bhullar and interim title holder Anatoly Malykhin was cancelled last week due to broadcaster commitment changes and will take place at a later date.
In turn, the featured MMA pairing comes in the atomweight division on the main card between rivals Ham Seo Hee and Itsuki Hirata. Seo Hee and Hirata were expected to meet in November of last year at ONE 163 before Hirata was removed after missing weight. Former Jewels, Road FC, and RIZIN champion Seo Hee looks for a ninth straight victory since losing two in-a-row under the UFC banner. Hirata hopes to avoid a third-straight weight limit miss after additionally failing to meet the atomweight mark in her catchweight meeting and decision victory last August over Heqin Lin.
Featherweights Ho Taek Oh and Akbar Abdullaev look to put on a show as they attempt elongating their current win streaks. Taek Oh steps into the ONE Championship cage for the second time after his seventh straight win and September of 2022 split decision over Ryogo Takahashi. Promotional newcomer and undefeated Abdullaev rides a 100% finishing streak with seven of his eight fights thus far ending inside the very first round.
Opening the Amazon Prime Video main card sees 20-fight ONE veteran Alex Silva set against debutant and recent Pancrase Strawweight Champion victor Keito Yamakita in the strawweight division.
Although not counted towards our picks, two promotional championship fights will take place at the event. Stepping in for an injured Rodtang Jitmuangnon sees Danial Williams set to battle for the ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Championship in the main event against current king Superlek Kiatmoo9. In the co-main event, ONE’s Atomweight Muay Thai title will be settled between current holder Allycia Rodrigues and interim champion Janet Todd. Rodrigues and Todd’s first scheduled fight in December was cancelled after a positive COVID-19 test from Todd.
Find out who the MMASucka staff is picking to win at ONE Fight Night 8 further below.
Let’s get this show STARTED 💪🔥 ONE Fight Night 8 on Prime Video is less than a DAY away! 💥 Which matchup are YOU most excited for? 👀#ONEFightNight8 | Mar 24 at 8PM ET
🇺🇸🇨🇦 FREE on @PrimeVideo
🌍 Live TV broadcast in 170+ countries pic.twitter.com/AEyEaa8XHR— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 24, 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 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.
See our ONE Fight Night 8 picks below.
Staff Records after UFC 286:
1. Ben Jamieson: 41-20
2. Nate Freeman: 40-21
3T. Jeremy Brand: 38-23
3T. Tim Wheaton: 38-23
5. Frazer Krohn: 37-24
6T. Wesley Riddle: 36-25
6T. Michael DeSantis: 36-25
6T. Roemello Reyes: 36-22
9. Jack Goodwillie: 35-21
10. Julio Monteros Jr.: 32-21
11. Brian Knight: 29-23
12. Andrew Benjamin: 27-29
13. Brandon Joint: 12-9
14. Andrew Harbaugh: 10-7
15. Joshua Yule: 7-6
16. Jonathan Andrade: 2-3
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
Alex Silva (12-8), +145
vs.
Keito Yamakita (7-0), -170
– Strawweight Division –
– 125 LBS. ~ 56.7 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Yamakita via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Yamakita via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Yamakita via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Yamakita via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Yamakita via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Yamakita via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Yamakita via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Yamakita via Unanimous Decision
Roemello Reyes: Yamakita via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Yamakita via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Silva: 0
Staff picking Yamakita: 10
Ho Taek Oh (9-2-1), +190
vs.
Akbar Abdullaev (8-0), -225
– Featherweight Division –
– 155 LBS. ~ 70.3 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Abdullaev via Round 1 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Abdullaev via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Abdullaev via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Abdullaev via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Abdullaev via Round 1 TKO
Nate Freeman: Abdullaev via Round 2 TKO
Tim Wheaton: Abdullaev via Round 2 SUB
Julio Monteros Jr.: Abdullaev via Round 2 TKO
Roemello Reyes: Abdullaev via Round 1 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Abdullaev via Round 2 SUB
Staff picking Taek Oh: 0
Staff picking Abdullaev: 10
Ham Seo Hee (25-8), -240
vs.
Itsuki Hirata (6-1), +200
– Atomweight Division –
– 115 LBS. ~ 52.2 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Seo Hee via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Seo Hee via Round 3 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Seo Hee via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Seo Hee via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Seo Hee via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Seo Hee via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Seo Hee via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Seo Hee via Unanimous Decision
Roemello Reyes: Hirata via Split Decision
Ben Jamieson: Seo Hee via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Seo Hee: 9
Staff picking Hirata: 1
We at MMASucka would like to express our condolences following the tragic passing of Iuri Lapicus on Monday, March 20th.
ONE FIGHT NIGHT 8 FEATURED IMAGE:
