ONE Championship will be pushing hard to win over U.S. viewers this April. In a press release Wednesday, ONE officials revealed their upcoming ONE on TNT event series, which will see the promotion host weekly live events on U.S. cable network TNT, in prime time.
The series will kick off with ONE on TNT I on April 7, with a preliminary card airing on the Bleacher Report App and B/R Live from 9PM to 10PM ET. Following the prelims will be three main card fights televised exclusively on TNT in the U.S. at 10PM ET. The series will run every Wednesday from April 7 to 28 — and some big names are involved.
ONE on TNT I will feature the promotion’s previously announced flyweight title fight between Demetrious Johnson and champ Adriano Moraes. Plus, former UFC lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez faces Iuri Lapicus, and a non-title fight between flyweight Muay Thai champ Rodtang “The Iron Man” Jitmuangnon and the UK’s Jacob Smith rounds out the affair.
Future cards will feature other big names. On April 14, at ONE on TNT II, lightweight champ Christian Lee, brother of atomwieght champ and promotional darling Angela, will put his title on the line against Timofey Nastyukhin. The following week at ONE on TNT III, light heavyweight champ Aung La N Sang completes his trilogy with former middleweight champ Vitaly Bigdash. That fight, at middleweight, is being billed as a number one contender’s bout. “The Burmese Python” recently dropped that title to Reinier de Ridder.
The final card of the series, ONE on TNT IV, does not have any bouts currently announced.
“We are absolutely thrilled to kick off 2021 with the announcement of our first season of ‘ONE on TNT’,” Chatri Sityodtong, Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship, was quoted as saying in Wednesday’s press release. “We look forward to introducing our unique brand of martial arts to the U.S. on prime time. American fans can expect something fresh, new and completely different from anything that is currently available in the U.S. As always, we will feature some of the greatest World Champions across various martial arts alongside a few familiar, legendary names.”
