ONE Championship chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong led the official kick-off press conference for “ONE: A New Era” on March 28, 2019 at the Ritz Carlton in Tokyo, Japan. In his speech, he talked about what makes the Singapore-based martial arts organization different from its rivals.
“We don’t sell fights like every other organization in the world,” Chatri declared. “We build heroes who ignite the world with hope, strength, dreams, and inspiration. This is ONE Championship.”
“As a lifelong martial artist, I want the world to see the true beauty of martial arts,” Chatri continued. “Our heroes, our World Champions, they exemplify the very best of humanity. I am very excited to be here in Japan.”
Taking place at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on March 31, 2019, “ONE: A New Era” is the first ever ONE Championship event to take place in Japan. Chatri declared it as the biggest martial arts event in the history of the world and said, “We are the only truly global sports media property in Asia celebrating our greatest cultural treasure, martial arts.”
Featured on the “ONE: A New Era” card are 11 mixed martial arts bouts and four ONE Super Series matches, which include two kickboxing contests and two Muay Thai contests. There will be four title bouts, which are the main event and the three co-main events.
In the first co-main event, Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes, 38, of Brazil will challenge reigning ONE Bantamweight World Champion Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon, 31, of the Philippines. It will be the third time they are facing each other in the ONE Championship cage.
In the second co-main event, Ken Hasegawa, 32, of Japan will challenge reigning ONE Middleweight and Light Heavyweight World Champion “The Burmese Python” Aung La N Sang, 33, of Myanmar in a rematch. They will compete for the Burmese fighter’s middleweight belt.
In the third co-main event, reigning ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion “The Unstoppable” Angela Lee, 22, of Singapore will compete for her second belt. She will challenge reigning ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan, 31, of China.
“ONE: A New Era” will be headlined by Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki, 35, of Japan and reigning ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang, 35, of the Philippines in a rematch. Meanwhile, watch Folayang in an open workout in the Philippines in 2018 here:
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CONAN Daily 