Ever since ONE Championship announced they would be holding a show in Qatar for the very first time, we knew they would pull out all the stops to make it something special.
With a card loaded with Middle East talent, along with pivotal divisional fights across the lineup there is a lot to look forward to in the early stages of ONE 166:Qatar.
But once we get to the top end of the bill we are given three matchups that all have the potential to be fight of the night contenders.
Here are the three title fights going down at the Lusail Sports Arena this Friday.
Reiner de Ridder vs. Anatoly Malykhin for the ONE middleweight MMA title
The very thought of this fight is somewhat preposterous. Analtoly Malykhin is looking to do something never been done before and hold world titles across three different weight classes simultaneously. For the heavyweight and light-heavyweight champion to even contemplate a shot at the middleweight crown is reason enough to tune in, but add to this the fact he will be facing the man he took the light-heavyweight title from and we have a blockbuster. De Ridder will be doing everything in his powers to halt the Malykhin express, and hang on to his remaining piece of gold.
Tang Kai vs Thanh Le for the ONE featherweight MMA title
The featherweight MMA division will be unified in Qatar as champion Tang Kai takes on interim title holder Thanh Le in a mouthwatering rematch. China’s Kai has been out of the ring since August 2002 when he scored a unanimous decision win over Le. In doing so he became ONE’s first Chinese MMA world champion, but injury has prevented him from defending his crown. In the meantime Le has seen off the challenge of Russia’s Ilya Freymanov in a little over a minute and is now focussed on regaining his crown.
Jarred Brooks vs Joshua Pacio for the ONE strawweight MMA title
In the second of the night’s co-main events we have another rematch – and another former champion on a revenge mission. America’s Jarred Brooks is undefeated in ONE’s strawweight MMA division. He built up an impressive three-fight win-streak following his debut in 2021 and found himself facing this week’s opponent Joshua Pacio for the title in December 2022. The 31-year-old came away with an impressive UD win, and 26 pounds of gold. Since then his only outing in ONE has been a grappling contest with world champion Mikey Musumeci which ended in a submission loss. Pacio, from the Philippines, got himself back in the win column in October last year against Mansur Malachiev, and now he has Brooks, and that strawweight title, firmly in his sights.
ONE Championship returns to the Middle East on March 1 with ONE 166: Qatar at the Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail. A historic night awaits with no less than three title fights planned, and tickets are now available from Virgin Megastore and Q-Tickets.
