ONE Infinity 1, which already featured a champ vs. champ fight between Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson and Adriano Moraes, now includes Aung La N Sang vs. Vitaly Bigdash for the middleweight title, and Roman Kryklia vs. Andrei Stoica.

The Bigdash fight is an interesting one. Earlier this month at Warrior’s Code, Reinier de Ridder defeated Leandro Ataides in what was billed as a title eliminator at middleweight — with Aung La N Sang (26–10, 1NC) holding both the ONE middleweight and light heavyweight titles. de Ridder will have to wait, however, as it’s Bigdash (10-2), a former middleweight champion himself, who is next in line.

‘The Burmese Python’ split a pair of fights with then-champ Bigdash in 2017, winning the belt in the rematch. He has not lost since, and is on a seven-fight win streak currently. Bigdash, meanwhile, has not competed since a 2018 win over Yuki Niimura.

ONE Infinity 2, which is headlined by a heavyweight title fight between champ Brandon Vera and former UFC heavyweight Arjan Bhullar, has also had two additional fights added. Lightweight champ Christian Lee will defend his title against Iuri Lapicus, while Eddie Alvarez vs. Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev has also been added.

Lee (13-3) is the winner of four straight fights. Just two fights ago, he captured the title from Shinya Aoki at ONE: Enter the Dragon. He then stepped into the finale of the lightweight grand prix on short notice, defending the title against Arslanaliev. Now, he gets undefeated Moldovan Lapicus (14-0).

Alvarez (30-7-1) was also a grand prix participant but was eliminated in the opening round. A win over ex-champ Eduard Folayang saw him return as an alternate, but he was forced out due to injury. He now gets Arslanaliev (8-2) in what is a deceptively dangerous fight.

ONE Infinity Series 1 takes place on April 10 in Jakarta, Indonesia. ONE Infinity Series 2 goes down on May 29 in Manila, Philippines.

The post ONE Championship’s First Two Infinity Cards Get More Big Names, Including Eddie Alvarez and Aung La N Sang appeared first on Cageside Press.

In a press release Thursday, ONE officials revealed that “Mighty Mouse” will launch the promotion’s new ONE Infinity Series by challenging for a second major title. The Infinity Series was described by Chatri Sityodtong, Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship as being “a cut above anything available anywhere on the planet. Comprising the biggest events of the year, these blockbusters represent the very best ONE Championship has to offer in terms of world championship talent, star power, martial arts skill, entertainment value, and historical importance.”

Per Thursday’s release, “A typical ONE Infinity Series event features the very best the world has to offer in terms of global sports and entertainment: three World Championship bouts, a minimum of 12 World Champions in action, Super Fights, A-list celebrities, and much more.”

Infinity Series 1 will take place in Jakarta, Indonesia on April 10. That’s the card that was originally scheduled for Chongqing, China — but was forced to move due to the Novel Coronavirus outbreak.

ONE also released its second-half 2020 event schedule, which you can find below along with previously announced dates.

Singapore
Friday, 28 February

Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
Friday, 20 March

Jakarta, Indonesia
Friday, 10 April

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Friday, 17 April

Manila, Philippines
Friday, 29 May

Jakarta, Indonesia
Friday, 5 June

Shanghai, China
Saturday, 20 June

Singapore
Friday, 3 July

Bangkok, Thailand
Friday, 10 July

Manila, Philippines
Friday, 14 August

Singapore
Friday, 4 September

Jakarta, Indonesia
Friday, 11 September

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Friday, 18 September

Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
Friday, 2 October

Bangkok, Thailand
Friday, 9 October

Tokyo, Japan
Sunday, 25 October

Beijing, China
Saturday, 31 October

Singapore
Friday, 20 November

Jakarta, Indonesia
Friday, 4 December

Manila, Philippines
Friday, 11 December

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Friday, 18 December

The post ONE Infinity Series to be Kicked Off by Demetrious Johnson vs. Adriano Moraes appeared first on Cageside Press.

The event, Infinity Series 1, will now take place on April 10. Demetrious Johnson headlines the card against Adriano Moraes.

ONE Championship was the first major MMA promotion to visit mainland China, beating the UFC to the punch with ONE: Shanghai in September 2017. It has continued to make return visits to the nation, most recently hosting Age of Dragons in November 2019.

ONE’s strawweight champion, Xiong Jing Nan, hails from Shandong, China and has been part of several cards in the country.

A June 20 date in Singapore, China is remaining in place for the time being.

The Novel Coronavirus has infected over 60,000 people globally, with the majority of infections occurring in mainland China. The outbreak originated in the Chinese province of Hubei and its capital Wuhan. The area has been hardest hit, with over 1,300 deaths.

To date, there have only been two confirmed deaths linked to the virus outside of China.

Last week, UFC President Dana White confirmed his promotion’s strawweight champion, Weili Zhang, had left the country ahead of her title defense at UFC 248 in March. Zhang originally headed to Thailand for training, but due to a number of coronavirus cases there, relocated to Abu Dhabi.

Update: Added event name, as this will be ONE Infinity Series 1.

The post ONE Championship Moves China Event to Indonesia Over Coronavirus Fears appeared first on Cageside Press.