ONE Championship rings in your Christmas morning (or evening, depending on where you’re at) with Collision Course II. The promotion’s final 2020 event airs via tape delay, after going down earlier this month at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Plenty of great fighters are trying to make a statement at ONE Championship: Collision Course II. First, Hui Liang (5-5-1) will take on Senzo Ikeda (12-8-1). Then the undefeated Edson Marques (9-0) knuckles up against the heavy-pressure Raimond Magomedaliev (6-1). Next, young guns go at it as Amir Khan (13-7) and Dae Sung Park (10-2-1) handle business. Finally, the night will culminate into a high octane battle between two bantamweight athletes. The ultra experienced Kairat Akhmetov (26-2) makes his return against a game opponent in Dae Hwan Kim (15-6-1).
ONE Championship: Collision Course II – MMA Bouts Preview
Hui Liang vs. Senzo Ikeda
With age comes wisdom, and given how long Ikeda has been around indicates he has seen a lot. However, in his last two bouts at ONE Championship, the Tokyo-born fighter has endured some setbacks. First, Ikeda came up short in his promotional debut. The second setback was worse because Ikeda not only lost the fight but injured his arm after succumbing to Lito Adiwang in the first round. After a brief hiatus from the Singaporean promotion, Ikeda hopes to notch his first win at ONE Championship: Collision Course II. On the other hand, while Liang’s record appears lackluster the newcomer will certainly be looking to push the pace against the older athlete.
Edson Marques vs. Raimond Magomedaliev
Riding a nine-fight unbeaten streak, Marques has looked flawless thus far. In addition, the Brazilian is often seen using a blitzkrieg technique to get his opponents out of there. Out of his nine wins, six are by knockout and one by submission, many coming in the first round. Aside from two of his first fights, Marques almost never goes to a decision. Conversely, Magomedaliev has only lost once, and it happened to be in his ONE Championship debut. Since then, the 6-1 Russian got back on track when he plowed through Joey Pierotti with a first-round guillotine choke.
Amir Khan vs. Dae Sung Park
ONE mainstay Amir Khan fights out of Evolve MMA. With the help of veterans like Shinya Aoki and Christian Lee, Khan is receiving quality training. It’s no secret that Khan does some of his best work on the ground. Specifically, he’s shown his ground acumen in his most recent submission win at ONE Championship against Rahul Raju. However, he has been sharpening his hands this camp. Also, Khan has the unique ability to stay on top after he’s secured the position. If the fight remains on the feet, Khan won’t have the same type of advantage as he does grappling. Therefore, the heavy-handed Park has a real shot against Khan as long as he controls the distance. Essentially, if Park can maintain good shot selection from the outside, closing the distance will indeed be a challenge for Khan.
Amir Khan is on the hunt for another KO THIS FRIDAY at ONE: COLLISION COURSE II! 🐊 @amirkhanmma #ONECollisionCourse2 #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship
How to watch ONE: COLLISION COURSE II on 25 December 👉 https://t.co/X2djTVGPHP pic.twitter.com/iaUVdM1Twt
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) December 23, 2020
ONE Championship: Collision Course 2 Final MMA Bout:
Kairat Akhmetov vs. Dae Hwan Kim
Fighting out of Evolve MMA, Kairat Akhmetov continues to look outstanding inside the ONE Championship cage. With two dominant decision victories over tough opponents like Hao Bin Ma and Reece McLaren, he looks to remain a definite threat to the division. Although a worrying aspect of his game is that he has been so inactive. In fact, his last fight took place in early 2019. In Akhemtov’s defense, he did have two fights booked that simply didn’t materialize and were canceled.
For his part, Daw Hwan Kim needs to keep this fight away from the judges. The South Korean born fighter will need to start fast, though most of his big victories come in the first round anyway. The longer the fight plays out, Kim enters into Akhmetov’s realm, where grinding victories are all too common.
ONE Championship: Collision Course II takes place Friday, December 25 kicking off at 7:30AM ET.
