ONE: ‘Big Bang’ Part II Preview

ONE: “Big Bang” Part II will be broadcast this Friday evening (local time). The card at the Singapore Indoor Stadium features legendary kickboxers Nieky Holzken and Errol Zimmerman.

There are also a couple of MMA fights on the card but most of the action is in the ONE Super Series.

Here is my quick preview:

Ali Motamed vs. Rui Chen (Bantamweight)

Rui Chen (8-1) has won four fights out of five for ONE Championship and will be looking to cement his status as one of the top a Chinese fighters on the roster with a win in Singapore. He was easily outwrestled by Troy Worthen in his last fight and future opponents will have taken note of that.

Ali Motamed (7-4) has been training for this fight in his native Iran after years at Tiger Muay Thai. He has a background in Muay Thai but has been working on his wrestling and will want to get this down.

Agilan Thani vs. Tyler McGuire (Welterweight)

Agilan Thani (10-4) had a solid 2019, scoring decision wins over Yoshihiro Akiyama and Dante Schiro and dropping a decision to Yushin Okami. The Malaysian is primarily a grappler and his confidence should be high after going the distance with two UFC veterans.

Tyler McGuire (11-1) did not compete at all in 2019. The previous year he earned a welterweight title shot but was stopped in the fifth round by Zebaztian Kadestam at ONE: “Warrior’s Dream” and, like his opponent, he generally relies on his wrestling to win fights.

Tetsuya Yamada vs. Jae Woong Kim (Featherweight)

The other MMA fight on the card sees veteran lightweight Tetsuya Yamada (26-7-2) competing in a new division. The experienced southpaw likes to counter and is comfortable attacking with either takedowns or strikes.

Jae Woong Kim (10-4) saw his four fight winning streak unceremoniously snapped by Koyomi Matsushima last time out. He is a former Top FC 145-pound champion but hasn’t beaten many opponents of Yamada’s calibre.

Kickboxing: Errol Zimmerman vs. Rade Opačić (Heavyweight)

Errol Zimmerman (111-82-27-1) is coming back after a two year lay off and the former K-1 and Glory star will be looking to make a strong statement in his ONE Championship debut. With all his injury problems behind him, he is coming into the fight on the back of two losses, which will make the Dutch legend even more determined to get the win on Friday in Singapore.

Rade Opačić (11-9-2) although relatively inexperienced compared to his opponent, the young Serbian warrior has been making waves with strong performances across Europe. At 200 cms tall he is one of the tallest of the athletes on ONE’s roster and likes to put his height to good use with some dangerous right high kicks. Like Zimmerman, Opacic is making his ONE debut and with both fighters having explosive walk forward styles, it should make for fireworks on Friday night.

Muay Thai: Taiki Naito vs. Jonathan Haggerty (Flyweight)

Jonathan Haggerty (20-16-4) the young English sensation will be looking to put on a strong showing on Friday night and put his recent stoppage loss to Flyweight World champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon behind him. With his eyes on regaining his belt, Haggerty will be hoping to draw the elusive Japanese fighter into a war and try to take him out with one of his trademark elbows.

Taiki Naito (40-32-8) currently on a four fight win streak on ONE Championship, the shoot boxing star will be looking to move and frustrate Haggerty and try to catch him out with some explosive counters. Like Haggerty the stakes are high for Naito, as he also dreams a win will push him up the Flyweight rankings and lead to a title shot against Rodtang.

Kickboxing: Nieky Holzken vs. Elliot Compton (Lightweight)

Nieky Holzken (109-92-16-1 NC) “The Natural” will be coming out all guns blazing on Friday night as he looks to return to winning ways. Holzken made a great start to his ONE career, knocking out the tough Brazilian Cosmo Alexandre, but has lost his last two fights to compatriot Regian Eersel. A decisive win on Friday night, would put him right back in contention for another crack at Eersel’s title.

Elliot Compton (46-34-11-1) will be looking to use his awkward style to frustrate and unsettle the Dutch Glory and K-1 legend on Friday night. Compton was the first Aussie fighter to register a win on ONE Super Series and will be looking to put his stoppage loss to Cosmo Alexandre in his last match on ONE firmly behind him with a win against Holzken.

The entire ONE: “Big Bang” Part II fight card will be available to view live and free in some territories using the newly launched app which you can download here. In the U.S. it will be streamed on B/R Live.

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