April was supposed to be a big month for One Championship as they looked to increase interest in the US market. Last week, the Singapore-Based MMA promotion held their first primetime event on TNT.Â
One had their two biggest US stars fighting in former UFC champions Demetrious Johnson and Eddie Alvarez. One had to be hoping for big performances out of the American stars, but the performances left much to be desired.
In the first round, Eddie Alvarez was disqualified due to shots to the back of the head of his opponent. Next up was the former UFC flyweight champion and all time great, Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson.
Johnson was looking to become the One flyweight champion. However, Adriano Moraes had different plans and ended up stopping Johnson in the second round. That was the first stoppage loss in the career of Mighty Mouse.
The next big event for One in the US featured MMA legend Shinya Aoki (46-9, 1 NC) and the popular American, Sage Northcutt (11-3). Sage Northcutt was the first fighter to ever get a UFC contract from Dana White’s Looking for a Fight.
Northcutt had an up and down UFC career before the promotion let him walk in free agency. Northcutt signed with One Championship and was knocked out, but his return was being hyped by the promotion to the American fans.
One Championship’s Rough Start
Today, we learned that the fight is off. ESPN was the first to report that Sage Northcutt is having to pull out of his upcoming bout against Shinya Aoki. Northcutt is having to pull out due to lingering issues from COVID-19.
With that, One is having to pivot and they have decided to leave Aoki on the card. Per ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, Aoki will now take on Eduard Folayang (22-10) on the April 28th card.
This matchup is actually a trilogy fight and both men hold a finish over the other. For having to scramble, this is actually a really good fight for One Championship to put on.
UFC Veteran John Lineker will be making his third appearance in One Championship against Stephen Loman on April 28th. Lineker is 2-0 in the promotion with a TKO in his last fight.