Initial Bouts Announced for One: Legendary Quest on 15 June
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INITIAL BOUTS ANNOUNCED FOR ONE: LEGENDARY QUEST ON 15 JUNE 20 May 2019 – Shanghai, China: The largest global sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), has just announced the main event for ONE: LEGENDARY QUEST which takes place Saturday, 15 June at the Baoshan Arena in Shanghai. Reigning ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Champion Stamp Fairtex of Thailand will defend her title against Alma Juniku of Australia. ONE: LEGENDARY QUEST will be held in cooperation with Great Sports, Tencent, Hugo Boss, Boxing Cat Brewery, Spring Airlines, and more. Ticket information for ONE: LEGENDARY QUEST is available at www.onefc.com. Stamp Fairtex of Thailand is one of the most talented female martial artists in the world today. Stamp began her ONE Championship run as a participant in Rich Franklin’s ONE Warrior Series. She competed in mixed martial arts and won her first professional bout by knockout in just 19 seconds. Leaving a lasting impression with her exceptional striking skills, Stamp was tapped to take part in the prestigious ONE Super Series soon thereafter. She made her debut at ONE: KINGDOM OF HEROES in Bangkok where she defeated “Killer Bee” Kai Ting Chuang to capture the ONE Atomweight Kickboxing World Championship. Last February, Stamp battled American Janet “JT” Todd to become a two-sport World Champion, capturing the ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Championship. Stamp now returns to action in the first defense of her Muay Thai title against Alma Juniku of Australia. Set to make his highly-anticipated ONE Championship debut, Asian mixed martial arts veteran Yoshihiro “Sexyama” Akiyama of Japan will face Agilan “Alligator” Thani of Malaysia in the co-main event of the evening. Akiyama is one of the most iconic Asian mixed martial artists in history. A fourth generation Japanese of Korean descent, he began his martial arts career garnering accolades on the amateur level. Some of those prizes include a gold medal at the 2001 Asian Judo Championships for South Korea and a gold medal at the 2002 Asian Games for Japan. Known as “Sexyama,” he made his mixed martial arts debut in December 2004 and used his world-class judo stylings as his base. That has led to remarkable success, defeating some of the industry’s most respected names including Melvin Manhoef, Alan Belcher, and former IBF Heavyweight Boxing Champion Francois Botha. Former ONE Welterweight World Title challenger, Thani is one of the most remarkable athletes Malaysia has ever produced. Ever since making his debut as an amateur, the man they call “Alligator” has torn through the competition. The top contender trains daily at Monarchy MMA in Kuala Lumpur under well-respected Belgian BJJ coach Samir Mrabet, but also regularly travels to the United States to sharpen his skills at the world-famous Team Quest. 2-time SUPERKOMBAT Heavyweight World Champion Tarik Khbabez of Morocco will go head-to-head with Brazilian National Kickboxing Champion Anderson “Braddock” Silva in a ONE Super Series Kickboxing showdown. Both Khbabez and Silva are known for their knockout power and aggressive styles, which promises non-stop action from start to finish. 2-time European Mixed Martial Arts Champion Reinier De Ridder of The Netherlands will look to keep his unblemished professional record intact when he takes on former Aspera FC Middleweight Champion Gilberto “Giba” Galvao of Brazil. De Ridder made his ONE Championship debut last January at ONE: HERO’S ASCENT, defeating Fan Rong by first-round submission. Galvao, meanwhile, was last in the ONE Circle in March of 2018, defeating American middleweight Jake Butler. Former Top King Muay Thai World Champion and former ONE World Title contender Han Zi Hao of China will make his much- anticipated return to action opposite Scotland’s Andrew “Maddog Fairtex” Miller in a ONE Super Series Muay Thai matchup. Han previously competed for the ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title last January at ONE: CLASH OF LEGENDS, but fell just short of victory to Thai legend Nong-O Gaiyanghadao. He now returns to his homeland of China to jumpstart another run at the World Title. Miller, on the other hand, is a WKA British Champion who most recently competed in Jakarta at ONE: FOR HONOR, where he defeated Malaysia’s Mohammed Bin Mahmoud by unanimous decision. Kyokushin Karate Black Belt Koyomi “Moushigo” Matsushima of Japan will take on South Korea’s “Pretty Boy” Kwon Won Il in a featherweight mixed martial arts contest. The 26-year-old Matsushima is one of the fastest rising martial artists from Japan. Hailing from Kanagawa prefecture located in the Kant? region of Japan, Matsushima has put together a handful of solid performances while competing in local Japanese martial arts promotions Pancrase and Shooto. In his ONE Championship debut last September, Matsushima scored a stunning first-round technical knockout victory over former ONE World Champion Marat Gafurov, announcing his arrival on the global stage of martial arts competition. Meanwhile, Korean mixed martial arts prospect Kwon has also made waves during his time so far in the promotion. With highlight-reel knockouts of Anthony Engelen and Eric Kelly, Kwon now faces his toughest test to date in Matsushima. CH7 Muay Thai World Champion Rodlek PK.Saenchaimuaythaigym of Thailand will face the United Kingdom’s Liam “Hitman” Harrison in a ONE Super Series Muay Thai bout. Rodlek is one of Thailand’s fastest-rising Muay Thai stars, while Harrison is an 8-time Muay Thai World Champion and veteran. Former WMMAA Champion Fan Rong of China is set to perform in front of his countrymen when he takes on Sherif “The Shark” Mohamed of Egypt in a middleweight mixed martial arts contest. Fan made his ONE Championship debut last January, and is eager to tally his first victory with the promotion. Mohamed is looking to do the same as both warriors lock horns at the center of the ONE Championship ring. Shanghai Open Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champion “Rock Man” Chen Lei of China makes his highly-anticipated return to the ONE Championship stage when he takes on Dutch-Indonesian top contender Anthony “The Archangel” Engelen. Training out of Equilibrium Beijing, Chen has shown incredible potential during his time so far in ONE Championship. This includes an impressive run with four scintillating finishes since his promotional debut in May of 2017. Engelen, on the other hand, is one of the most talented featherweights in the promotion. The majority of Engelen’s victories have ended in exciting finishes. He will look to return to the winner’s circle with a victory over Chen Lei. Former IBC Featherweight Champion Victorio “Indra” Senduk of Indonesia battles Phoe “Bushido” Thaw of Myanmar in a featherweight mixed martial arts contest. South Korea’s “The Big Heart” Yoon Chang Min takes on the Philippines’ Trestle “Jun Minion” Tan. And kicking off the action at ONE: LEGENDARY QUEST is Japanese women’s mixed martial arts prospect Itsuki Hirata who faces former Philippine National Muay Thai Silver Medalist Angelie “D’ Explorer” Sabanal. For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship. About ONE Championship™ ONE Championship (ONE) is the largest global sports media property in Asian history, and the largest producer of millennial live sports content in Asia. Headquartered in Singapore, ONE is the Home of Martial Arts, and is the world’s largest martial arts organization, hosting bouts across all styles of martial arts such as Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Karate, Kung Fu, Silat, Sanda, Lethwei, Mixed Martial Arts, Tae Kwon Do, Submission Grappling, and more. ONE hosts the biggest sports entertainment events across Asia, featuring some of the world’s best martial artists and world champions on the largest global media broadcast in Asia. ONE eSports, a subsidiary of ONE Championship, runs Asia’s largest global eSports Championship Series with some of the biggest blockbuster game titles in the world. In addition to its digital platforms, ONE Championship broadcasts to over 2.6 billion potential viewers across 140+ countries with some of the largest global broadcasters, including Fox Sports, ABS- CBN, Astro, ClaroSports, Startimes, Thairath TV, Skynet, Mediacorp, Great Sports, Tencent, Star TV, Mediaset Italia, ProSiebenSat.1, Dubai Sports, Turner Sports, and more..