In Tokyo, Japan on Sunday, March 31, ONE Championship looks to usher in the dawn of a new era, with four title fights, and the debuts of ex-UFC champions Eddie Alvarez and Demetrious Johnson.
ONE Championship really was ushering in the dawn of a new era in Tokyo on Sunday. With that in mind, the name of the event was, fittingly, A New Era. Featuring four title fights plus the debuts of Eddie Alvarez and Demetrious Johnson, both former UFC champions, the event would have a lot of eyes on it. That, even with the early Sunday start time for viewers in the west.
But the west, as MMA fans should know (Pride, Dream, Heros) isn’t everything. Asia has long been a hotbed of MMA, and while RIZIN FF is currently the standout in Japan, overall, ONE Championship dominates Asia as a whole. With A New Era in Tokyo, they were looking to make inroads into one of the few Asian markets they weren’t already entrenched in.
U.S. viewers can watch the preliminary card below. The main card stateside will air on B/R Live.
ONE Championship: A New Era Results:
Main Card
Shinya Aoki def. Eduard Folayang (c) by Submission (Arm-Triangle) in Round 1 (2:34) – For the ONE Lightweight Championship
Xiong Jingnan (c) def. Angela Lee by TKO (Body Kick and Punches) in Round 5 (1:37) – For the ONE Women’s Strawweight Championship
Aung La Nsang (c) def. Ken Hasegawa by TKO (Punches) in Round 2 (4:41) – For the ONE Middleweight Championship
Bibiano Fernandes def. Kevin Belingon (c) by DQ (Elbows to Back of Head) in Round 3 – For the ONE Bantamweight Championship
Demetrious Johnson def. Yuya Wakamatsu by Submission (Guillotine) in Round 2 (2:40) – Flyweight Grand-Prix Quarter-Finals
Timofey Nastyukhin def. Eddie Alvarez by TKO (Punches) in Round 1 (4:05) – Lightweight Grand-Prix Quarter-Finals
Yodsanklai Fairtex def. Andy Souwer by KO (Punch) in Round 2 (0:51) –ONE Super Series Kickboxing
Preliminary Card
Danny Kingad def. Senzo Ikeda by Unanimous Decision – Flyweight Grand-Prix Quarter-Finals
Kairat Akhmetov def. Reece McLaren by Unanimous Decision – Flyweight Grand-Prix Quarter-Finals
Rodtang Jitmuangnon def. Hakim Hamech by Split Decision – ONE Super Series Muay Thai
Joseph Lasiri def. Hiroki Akimoto by Majority Decision – ONE Super Series Kickboxing
Mei Yamaguchi def. Kseniya Lachkova by Submission (Armbar) in Round 3 (3:18)
Garry Tonon def. Anthony Engelen by TKO (Ground-and-Pound) in Round 1 (4:12)
Panicos Yusuf def. Mohammed Bin Mahmoud by Unanimous Decision- ONE Super Series Muay Thai
Yoon Chang Min def. Bala Shetty by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) in Round 1 (4:16)
