Feb 5, 2020

3 Bouts That Could Steal The Show At ONE: WARRIOR’S CODE

As you will have come to expect from every ONE Championship event, its show this Friday, 7 February, is stacked from top to bottom with unmissable martial arts match-ups.

From the start of the lead card all the way up to the headline attraction, ONE: WARRIOR’S CODE will bring the action to the Istora Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia.

However, when pressed these are the three contests the onefc.com editorial team believes fans should keep the closest eye on when the action begins.

#1 Leandro Ataides Vs. Reinier De Ridder

With so much to gain in victory, both Leandro “Wolf” Ataides and Reinier “The Dutch Knight” De Ridder should come into their ONE Middleweight World Title eliminator fired up and at the top of their game, and that should lead to a riveting contest in Jakarta.

This match-up pits two skilled, hungry, and colossal middleweights against each other with the sport’s biggest prize in their sights, and the likely outcome is an epic mixed martial arts battle – for as long as it lasts.

Both men are proven finishers, so it would be a safe bet that this one will not go the distance based on the knockout power and submission skill on show.

Ataides is a seasoned campaigner in The Home Of Martial Arts with five wins on the global stage, and four of those have come by knockout. He is also a five-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion, and though we have not seen much of his submission skills so far, he has expressed his desire to flex them this time.

De Ridder is unbeaten at 11-0 and has finished every man that has stood across from him. The BJJ black belt is also a submission specialist – and showed he can hang with another hulking Brazilian in his last match – and he is starting to show his KO ability, too.

#2 Kim Jae Woong Vs. Koyomi Matsushima

ONE debuts do not get much better than “The Fighting God” Kim Jae Woong’s show-stealing performance in November.

The South Korean rising star shut down the dangerous grappling game of Rafael Nunes and scored a second-round TKO courtesy of one of the most blistering striking salvos of 2019.

His game plan is likely to be the same against Koyomi “Moushigo” Matsushima – who has shown his efficacy in taking opponents to the mat and grinding them out – but the Japanese star is not afraid of mixing things up on the feet, either.

Matsushima can crack with the best of them, and also had an outstanding maiden performance in The Home Of Martial Arts when he stunned Marat Gafurov with a shocking KO.

If these two men decide to go to battle on the feet, it would be best not to blink, because their contest could end in an instant.

#3 Andy Howson Vs. Josh Tonna

Andy “Punisher” Howson comes from the same gym in Leeds, England as Liam “Hitman” Harrison, and like the established ONE Super Series star, he is renowned for being an action hero of Muay Thai.

In fact, Howson’s teammate’s praise suggests he is even more exciting in the ring than him – and that is no mean feat. The five-time Muay Thai World Champion loves nothing more than to walk forward and exchange heavy fire with his opponents, and you can guarantee he will want to do that in his debut on the global stage to make a grand first impression.

His opponent, Josh “Timebomb” Tonna could be the perfect foil because the Australian strawweight seems to be at his best when he is forced to dig deep. He is tough and never backs down from trading blows.

In his last bout against Yoshihisa “Mad Dog” Morimoto, the ISKA K-1 World Champion started slow, but got into his opponent’s face in rounds two and three to take an entertaining victory on the judges’ scorecards.

Make sure you’re in your seats for this lead card match-up because it could be a corker.