On July 13, 2018, Agilan “Alligator” Thani, 22, and Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam, 27, of Sweden will compete in the welterweight division at “ONE: Pursuit of Power” at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ONE Championship recently promoted it from co-main event to main event.

The new co-main event of “ONE: Pursuit of Power” is a Muay Thai contest in the featherweight division between “Smokin” Jo Nattawut, 28, of Thailand and Yohann Fairtex Drai, 26, of France. They were originally announced as the headliners. 

“ONE: Pursuit of Power” is the second ONE Championship event to take place in Malaysia in 2018. The first one was “ONE: Visions of Victory,” which took place at the Axiata Arena on March 9, 2018.

“ONE: Visions of Victory” was co-headlined by Thani and Amitesh Chaubey, 27 of India. The Malaysian contender submitted his Indian opponent via kimura.

Also at the Axiata Arena, Thani defeated Sherif “The Shark” Mohamed, 35, of Egypt via unanimous decision at “ONE: Quest for Greatness” on August 18, 2017. It was a redemptive win for the Malaysian fighter who previously suffered his first loss in his career in the hands of ONE Welterweight World Champion Ben “Funky” Askren, 33, of the United States.

On May 26, 2017, Askren submitted Thani via arm-triangle choke at “ONE: Dynasty of Heroes” at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. On September 2, 2017, the reigning ONE Welterweight World Champion knocked out Kadestam via punches at “ONE Championship: Shanghai” at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai, China.

After losing to Askren, Kadestam went on hiatus. His upcoming bout against Thani at “ONE: Pursuit of Power” will determine the rightful heir who shall inherit the ONE Welterweight World Champion belt from Askren.

Meanwhile, here is recap of “ONE: Visions of Victory” by Micharl Schiavello and Mitch “The Dragon” Chilson: