ONE Championship’s long-awaited Atomweight World Grand Prix is finally taking shape.
ONE Founder and CEO Chatri Sityodtong took to social media recently to announce the tournament’s participants, and they include some familiar faces — including one former UFC talent.
BREAKING NEWS: The ONE Atomweight World Grand Prix kicks off May 28! The ultimate winner will earn the right to face off against current ONE Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee in November of this year for all of the marbles. Stay tuned for the tournament brackets! pic.twitter.com/PqJIHsj4l0
— Chatri Sityodtong (@yodchatri) February 24, 2021
The eight tournament participants are:
Top Chinese contender Meng Bo (17-5), former UFC fighter and ROAD FC champ Seo Hee Ham (23-8), multi-sport champion Stamp Fairtex (5-1), Ukraine’s Alyona Rassohyna (13-4), who became the first woman to defeat Fairtex in MMA, American Alyse Anderson (5-1), a veteran of Invicta FC, undefeated Japanese prospect Itsuki Hirata (4-0), Indian wrestling standout Ritu Phogat (4-0), and undefeated Filipino standout Denice Zamboanga (8-0).
Ham, with the most experience of the group, will be making her promotional debut.
No backup fighters or brackets for the grand prix have been announced. However, the festivities will kick off on May 28 — which puts it outside the date range for ONE Championship’s upcoming debut run on American network TNT. The ONE on TNT series runs through April.
The winner of the ONE Championship World Atomweight Grand Prix will earn a shot at atomweight champ Angela Lee. One of the promotion’s biggest stars, Lee is currently on the sidelines awaiting the birth of her first child. No return date has been set for the champ, but she’ll have plenty of time as the tournament plays out.
