Johnson (25-4-1) held titles in both ONE Championship and the UFC paving the way for the flyweight divisions to thrive in the biggest MMA promotions in the world.

During his time in the UFC Johnson put together a 15-2 record becoming arguably the greatest martial artist of all time. Johnson scored victories over the likes of Ian McCall, Joseph Benavidez, John Dodson, Kyoji Horiguchi, Henry Cejudo, and Tim Elliot.

In the now infamous “trade” between the UFC and ONE Championship Johnson continued his winning ways with a 6-1 record under the banner. Victories over Yuya Wakamatsu, Tatsumi Wada, Danny Kingad, and Rodtang Jitmuangnon. The staple of his ONE Championship run was the trilogy with Adriano Moraes which he finished at ONE’s US debut in 2023.

Johnson told the crowd in Denver that although he was walking away from MMA he would still be part of the martial arts world. Recently he’s taken to competing in Jiu Jitsu tournament as seen all over social media.

“Thank you to Matt, thank you my wife, thank you to my children,” Johnson said in the cage while tears streamed down his face.

“Thank you to you guys. You guys have made me a better person. I am done. I am done competing in mixed martial arts. Thank you guys so much for giving me the opportunity.”

The post Demetrious Johnson Announces His Retirement From MMA appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I didn’t think it was a thing really, I thought everyone was talking about it,” admitted Haggerty, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press this week. “I went running the first night I got here, I’ve been here for four weeks. But the first day I got here, I went running, it was alright. Then the next afternoon I was hitting the pads, and it was just literally, I went white in the face, couldn’t find my legs. I was like yeah, I need to adjust to this.”

“That’s why I’m grateful I’ve been here for four weeks. So yeah, we’re ready.”

Opponent Superlek did not come to town nearly as early as Haggerty, and has been known for gassing in fights at times. Will that play a factor? “You said it yourself, he does gas out. So imagine what it will be like against me at this altitude,” responded Haggerty. “But as long as I’m ready, 100%, that’s what I’m worried and I’m focused on. I’m sure he’s not underestimating me, I’m sure he’s been training. He says he’s been training with scientists, we’ll have to see how far that scientist gets him.”

Watch the full ONE 168 media scrum with Jonathan Haggerty above.

The post Jonathan Haggerty Overlooked Denver Altitude Until It Hit Him appeared first on Cageside Press.

“The Burmese Python” is in town for ONE 168 on Friday night, and when asked about the air at altitude in Denver, exclaimed “I can breathe so good here!” – which brought about a chuckle from the media members present, who certainly aren’t in fight shape.

Asked if he’d run any marathons, however, Aung La declined. “Marathons? I don’t think I’m built for marathons. I’m built for a fist fight, not a marathon.”

A fist fight is what Aung La N Sang has on his hands this Friday, against Shamil Erdogan. For N Sang (30-13, 1NC), it’s a chance to win his fourth consecutive bout. That’s in his 20th fight for ONE Championship, where he has competed for the past decade.

After all that time, the promotion very much feels like home.

“This is my 20th fight, 10 years in the promotion, and I’ve been fighting top level competition, so I’m thankful to be part of it,” he stated. “This feels like home. Every time we have a press conference, every time I see the staff, I can give them a big hug and it feels like home. I feel at home here and I hope they feel the same way about me.”

Queried about the fight and whether Erdogan, who seemed more focused on triple champ Anatoly Malykhin during this week’s media duties, was overlooking him, Aung La replied by saying “I don’t know and I don’t care. I’m going to break something, that’s the plan.”

“We’re going to fight everywhere. We’re going to fight in the wrestling exchange, we’re going to fight on the cage. I’m going to get back up every time he takes me down. I’m going to make it a war.”

Watch the full ONE 168 media scrum with Aung La N Sang above.

The post Aung La N Sang: ONE Championship “Feels Like Home” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Gone was the Stamp Fairtex vs. Xiong Jing Nan main event that had been so highly anticipated, especially after Stamp had arrived stateside as a star in ONE’s U.S. debut. And gone was the ONE flyweight grappling title that had been attached to Mikey Musumeci, after he failed his hydration test for his match with Bebeto Oliveira.

Still, the event had Jonathan Haggerty facing Superlek for the promotion’s bantamweight Muay Thai title, plus John Lineker trying his hand at Muay Thai as well. On the MMA side, Adrian Lee returned for his second fight as a pro, while former double champ Aung La N Sang was also in action.

ONE 168 had memorable moments from the retirement announcement by MMA legend Demetrious Johnson to Renzo Gracie awarding ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong his black belt in BJJ, it was one to remember.

Where to Watch ONE 168

Friday, September 6, 2024 finds ONE Championship at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. The card airs live on Amazon Prime Video for users in the U.S. and Canada. Full results can be found below.

ONE 168: Haggerty vs. Superlek Results

Superlek Kiatmoo9 def. Jonathan Haggerty via R1 KO, 0:49 – for the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai championship
Mikey Musumeci vs. Bebeto Oliveira – submission grappling
Seksan Or Kwanmuang def. Liam Harrison via R2 TKO, 1:49 – Muay Thai
Shamil Erdogan def. Aung La N Sang via R2 TKO, 2:48 – MMA
John Lineker def. Asa Ten Pow via R2 KO, 2:50 – Muay Thai
Isi Fitikefu def. Hiroyuki Tetsuka via Unanimous Decision – MMA
Victoria Souza def. Alyse Anderson via Unanimous Decision – MMA
Adrian Lee def. Nico Cornejo via R1 SUB (RNC), 2:37 – MMA
Johan Ghazali def. Josue Cruz via R1 KO, 3:00 – Muay Thai
Johan Estupinan def. Sean Climaco via R2 TKO, 1:28 – Muay Thai

The post ONE 168: Haggerty vs. Superlek Full Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Cornejo and Lee have quite a bit in common: both are early on in their pro careers (to be fair, Cornejo had a solid amateur run dating back to 2019). Both are undefeated. And then there’s the age factor: Adrian Lee is still just a teenager. As for Cornejo, he’s perfectly familiar with those teenage years: his son is just two years younger than Adrian Lee, at 16.

Okay, so maybe not that much in common. Still, that’s one of those weird quirks of the fight business, as the 35-year old enters the highest-profile bout of his career.

“We joked around a lot in our gym, because believe it or not, I have a sixteen year old son,” Cornejo (2-0) told media outlets including Cageside Press in a pre-fight scrum on Wednesday. “So him being two years older than my son, we joke around a lot and my son is like, ‘dad I think I can take you.'” To which the elder Cornejo’s answer was “‘You can try, but we’ll see.'”

All joking aside, Nico Cornejo isn’t reading too much into the tender age of Lee, who comes from what amounts to ONE Championship royalty in a fighting family with Christian, Angela, and the late Victoria Lee.

“His age has nothing to do with it. He’s got years and years of experience in his background, fighting I’m pretty sure from the moment he could walk. His age, I don’t take into consideration at all, and I don’t want people to take my age into consideration,” stated Cornejo. “I just turned 35 and a lot of you know that in the fight world, that’s getting up there in age. But I feel like I’m in my prime, I feel like I’ve still got many many years ahead of me, and I’m in the best shape of my life compared to my 20s. So I’m just ready to show the world what I can do here in Colorado.”

If all goes well, Cornejo hopes to turn a solid performance into a continuing engagement.

“I don’t want this to be one and done at all. I want to be able to show ONE Championship and executives and everybody that I’m here to compete, I’m here to fight, and continue my fight journey.”

Watch the full media scrum with ONE 168’s Nico Cornejo above.

The post Nico Cornejo’s Son Is Just Two Years Younger Than ONE 168 Opponent Adrian Lee appeared first on Cageside Press.

Lee will face Nicholas Cornejo at ONE 168 in Denver, Colorado on September 6, 2024. ONE Championship officials recently announced the booking.

In June, “The Phenom” made his promotional and professional MMA debut, defeating Antonio Mammarella via rear-naked choke in the second round of a dominant performance. Just 18, Adrian Lee had sizeable shoes to fill, and at least in his debut, lived up to the hype against an older, more experienced opponent.

Nico Cornejo, a.k.a. “The Steel City Kid,” is 2-0 as a pro after going undefeated as an amateur from 2019 to 2022. The 34-year old will be fighting at home in Colorado, and will no doubt be looking to steal some of fellow prospect Lee’s shine.

Most recently, Cornejo earned a third-round TKO over Juston Campos in December 2023.

ONE 168 takes place at the Ball Arena in Denver on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, with the card airing on Amazon Prime Video. The event had been expected to be headlined by a champ versus champ fight with atomweight title holder Stamp Fairtex pursuing a second belt at strawweight opposite Xiong Jing Nan— however a knee injury suffered by Stamp appears to have put that fight on ice for the time being.

The post Adrian Lee Books Second Fight, Meets Nico Cornejo At ONE 168: Denver appeared first on Cageside Press.

ONE announced on Wednesday that ONE 168 in Denver, Colorado on Sept 6 will be headlined by two world title fights. ONE atomweight MMA champion Stamp will move up to strawweight to challenge for Xiong Jing Nan for her title.

The co-main event sets ONE bantamweight Muay Thai champion Haggerty defending his title against Superlek Kiatmoo9.

Xiong will be defending her strawweight title for the 8th time since winning gold in 2018. She’s coming off a win over Nat Jaroonsak in a special rules MMA bout last September.

Stamp (11-2) returns to Denver for the first time since last May where she finished Alyse Anderson in an MMA bout.

Since then she’s also collected a victory over Seo Hee Ham that earned her the ONE atomweight championship in late 2023.

Haggerty looks to defend his ONE bantamweight Muay Thai title and get a win back against Superlek who defeated him in 2018.

The champ is coming off a knockout victory over Felipe Lobo in February. That was following a kickboxing win over Fabricio de Andrade last November.

ONE 168 takes place at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Sept 6 and broadcast on Prime Video.

The post ONE 168 Headlined By Stamp Fairtex, Jonathan Haggerty, In Denver appeared first on Cageside Press.