Two highly anticipated fights have been added to ONE 169: Atlanta on November 8.
The event goes down at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, and the co-main event features a hometown fighter in “Smokin” Jo Nattawut.
Nattawut has called Atlanta home for the past decade, and he’ll get another chance to crown his storied career in World Title glory when he challenges familiar foe ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai.
The latest showdown between the Thai compatriots marks the third battle of their epic rivalry, a rivalry that has produced two spectacular fights to date.
Tawanchai has come out on top in both crazy back-and-forth wars which ended in razor-thin decisions and divided the combat sports world.
Most recently, the featherweight Muay Thai king edged out Nattawut by majority decision at ONE 167 earlier this month.
Triple champ Anatoly Malykhin to defend heavyweight crown
ONE 169: Atlanta also features history making three-weight ONE MMA World Champion Anatoly Malykhin, who puts his heavyweight title on the line against hulking Senegalese contender Oumar “Reug Reug” Kane.
Malykhin entered the record books in January when he crushed Reinier de Ridder for a second time to add the ONE Middleweight MMA World Title to his heavyweight and light heavyweight crowns.
After pulling off the feat, the Russian powerhouse immediately cast his eyes back up the heavyweight division.
“At the moment, I see two options. It’s ‘Reug Reug’ [Oumar Kane] or [Amir] Aliakbari. I don’t know which one. I am ready to go in the ring with both of them on the same night,” he said.
“Thoughts [on a fight with ‘Reug Reug’]? Knockout in round one, win a bonus, then have a good time with my family after the win.”
Now, the 13-0 Malykhin has the chance to put his money where his mouth is on November 8. Kane, however, is no pushover.
The standout of Senegal’s lutte avec frappe wrestling style has won his past three contests. The 31-year-old most recently took out a unanimous decision over Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida in a classic heavyweight tussle at ONE Fight Night 13.