ONE Championship head Chatri Sityodtong has announced the premiere dates for the promotion’s upcoming lightweight and flyweight world grand prix tournaments.
The premiere dates are set for ONE Championship’s upcoming lightweight and welterweight grand prix tournaments. On Thursday, ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced via social media that the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix would commence on February 22 in Singapore. The ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix, meanwhile, would kick off on March 31 in Tokyo, Japan. Both grand prix tournaments were announced earlier this year as ONE introduced recent signees Eddie Alvarez and Demetrious Johnson.
SAVE THE DATE: The ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix kicks off on February 22 in Singapore, and the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix commences on March 31 in Tokyo!
— Chatri Sityodtong (@YODCHATRI) December 13, 2018
Since Alvarez and Johnson joined the fold, ONE has continued to expand, adding Yoshihiro Akiyama and Sage Northcutt to their roster. While Akiyama has fought sporadically over the years, Northcutt was seen as a key part of the UFC’s future, and represented a potential star.
Reading between the lines of Sityodtong’s announcement, you can expect to see at least Alvarez and Johnson turn up for the grand prix debuts. Johnson was already linked to the March date in Tokyo, while Alvarez was also expected to debut at the Singapore show, which had previously been announced. Northcutt is also rumored to be a part of that card. The polite, soft-spoken prospect fought at both lightweight and welterweight in the UFC, and given ONE’s strict weight cutting rules, he may have an edge in the lightweight grand prix, were he to take part.
