The first two matchups have been announced for ONE Championship’s blockbuster return to Japan.
On Sunday, November 16, the world’s largest martial arts organization will touch down at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo for ONE 173, and the card is already shaping up to be a truly epic event.
The headline attraction will see reigning ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion Superbon go toe-to-toe with interim titleholder Masaaki Noiri in the World Title unification showdown that fans have been waiting for.
Widely recognized as one of the planet’s most technically sound strikers, Superbon has been nearly unstoppable when competing in the talent-laden featherweight kickboxing division. He’s enjoyed multiple World Title reigns while consistently impressing fans with his devastating head kicks and ever-evolving boxing game.
The Thai most recently claimed kickboxing gold in April 2024 with a dazzling five-round decision victory over Armenian legend Marat Grigorian.
He would subsequently come up short in his quest for two-sport glory and the featherweight Muay Thai crown, but he will now return to kickboxing and defend his belt in enemy territory.
Noiri, meanwhile, has an opportunity to assert himself as the division’s top fighter.
This past January, the Japanese hero stopped Iraq’s Shakir Al-Tekreeti with leg kicks. That performance earned him a shot at the ONE Interim Featherweight Kickboxing World Title against current featherweight Muay Thai titleholder Tawanchai PK Saenchai at ONE 172.
Competing that night in front of an adoring home crowd at Saitama Super Arena, Noiri claimed the interim belt with a stunning third-round TKO victory, cemented himself as a global superstar, and earned a crack at Superbon’s undisputed crown.
Also announced for ONE 173, current ONE Middleweight and Light Heavyweight MMA World Champion Anatoly “Sladkiy” Malykhin will look for revenge against the man who took his heavyweight MMA belt – “Reug Reug” Oumar Kane.
With an unblemished professional record and a 100 percent finishing rate, Russia’s Malykhin looked utterly untouchable before his first matchup with Kane, dominating top-flight opposition to become MMA’s first-ever three-division World Champion.
But last November at ONE 169, he ran into the Senegalese powerhouse.
Over the course of five closely contested rounds, “Reug Reug” employed his impenetrable takedown defense, solid clinch fighting, and dangerous striking game to secure a shocking split-decision win, capture Malykhin’s ONE Heavyweight MMA World Title, and become the first African ONE World Champion.
Since then, “Sladkiy” has made it no small secret that he is desperate for redemption and the chance to once again wear 26 pounds of heavyweight MMA gold.
“Reug Reug,” meanwhile, is eager to prove that his first victory was no fluke and score an emphatic finish in this monumental rematch of titans at ONE 173.
