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ONE 169 Preview - Malykhin vs. Kane, Rodtang vs. Smith 2

Check out a preview of this Friday's stacked ONE Championship card.

Drew Beaupre

(ONE Championship)

ONE Championship returns this Friday (November 8) with a huge ONE 169 card featuring three title fights at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

The Main Event

The main event will see ONE triple-champ Anatoly Malykhin try to defend his heavyweight belt and preserve his unbeaten record when he faces Oumar “Reug Reug” Kane.

Malykhin’s last three fights saw the 36-year-old claim the ONE Championship heavyweight, light heavyweight, and middleweight belts, while “Reug Reug” heads into the biggest matchup of his career after a successful kickboxing debut at ONE Fight Night 23 that followed three-straight wins in MMA against formerly unbeaten competition.

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The Co-Main Event

The night’s co-main event is another massive title bout between defending ONE Flyweight Muay Thai Champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon and the United Kingdom’s Jacob Smith.

“The Iron Man” rebounded from his 2023 loss to Superlek with a decision win over Denis Purić in kickboxing at ONE 167, and Smith enters the night looking to claim ONE gold and avenge the previous loss he suffered against Rodtang at ONE 157 in 2022.

Fights You Don’t Want To Miss

Jackie Buntan vs. Anissa Meksen

The third title bout at ONE 169 is a matchup between Jackie Buntan and Anissa Meksen with the inaugural ONE Women's Flyweight Kickboxing Championship on the line.

Buntan came up short in a bid for the ONE Women's Strawweight Muay Thai title against Smilla Sundell in 2022, and she’ll now try to hand Meksen back-to-back losses after the latter fighter missed out on claiming the Interim ONE Women's Atomweight Kickboxing title at ONE Friday Fights 46 last December.

Marcus Buchecha vs. Amir Aliakbari

This heavyweight clash will likely decide the next challenger for whichever fighter walks away as champion after the ONE 169 main event concludes.

Buchecha had a 4-0 start to his MMA career halted when he lost a unanimous decision to “Reug Reug” in an epic clash at ONE Fight Night 13, while Aliakbari was stopped by Malykhin in a 2021 meeting but has scored four-straight wins since then.

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Fighters To Watch

Adriano Moraes

Former three-time ONE Flyweight Champion Moraes returns for the first time in well over a year when he meets Danny Kingad in a rematch at ONE 169.

The Brazilian is coming off back-to-back losses to Demetrious Johnson after he famously knocked out “Mighty Mouse” out in their first meeting in 2021, and if Moraes can earn a second win over Kingad it should set him up for a crack at the now-vacant ONE Flyweight Championship following Johnson’s recent retirement.

Kade Ruotolo

Ruotolo was scheduled to meet Mikey Musumeci in a grappling super fight at ONE 168 but was forced to withdraw with an injury, and now the 21-year-old will compete in MMA for the second time against Ahmed Mujtaba.

The grappling phenom impressed in his MMA debut against Blake Cooper in June with a first-round submission, and now at ONE 169 he’ll get a significant step up in competition against an opponent that already has 14 fights worth of professional MMA experience.

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ONE 169 Fight Card

·        Main Event: Anatoly Malykhin vs. Oumar “Reug Reug” Kane – For the ONE Heavyweight MMA World Championship

·        Co-Main Event: Rodtang Jitmuangnon vs. Jacob Smith – For the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Championship

·        Jackie Buntan vs. Anissa Meksen – For the Vacant ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Championship

·        Adrian Moraes vs. Danny Kingad (Flyweight MMA)

·        Kongthoranee Sor Sommai vs. Tagir Khalilov (Flyweight Muay Thai)

·        Kade Ruotolo vs. Ahmed Mujtaba (Lightweight MMA)

·        Sam-A Gaiyanghadao vs. Zhang Peimian (Strawweight Kickboxing)

·        Marcus Buchecha vs. Amir Aliakbari (Heavyweight MMA)

·        Eddie Abasolo vs. Mohamed Younes Rabah (Featherweight Muay Thai)

·        Ayaka Miure vs. Macarena Aragon (Atomweight MMA)

·        Aliff Sor Dechapan vs. Walter Goncalves (Strawweight Muay Thai)

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Drew Beaupre
DREW BEAUPRE

Drew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.

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