Finals Of Flyweight Muay Thai Grand Prix Rebooked For Much-Awaited ONE 164

Combat sports fans have received an early Christmas treat from ONE Championship as they will no longer have to wait for the New Year to witness the thrilling climax of the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix.

The highly-anticipated tournament finals pitting Superlek Kiatmoo9 against Panpayak Jitmuangnon has been rebooked for ONE 164, which emanates from the 20,000-seater SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Philippines on December 3.

It was originally scheduled to take place on the main card of ONE on Prime Video 3 last October, but Superlek sustained a hand injury in training that compelled him to withdraw from the bout.

ONE Championship has experienced several hiccups throughout its regulation of the Grand Prix, which included the shocking pull-out of odds-on favorite Rodtang Jitmuangnon from the tourney due to his failure to provide a sample for the mandatory hydration test.

With Superlek recovering just in time for the promotion's final live event of the year, it is a welcome development for all parties involved.

Superlek punched his ticket to finals by authoring a unanimous decision win over Taiki Naito in the quarterfinal round this past May before making quick work of Walter Goncalves in the semifinals in August.

On the other hand, Panpayak entered the Grand Prix picture by replacing Rodtang in the semifinals, where he scored a stunning second-round knockout victory over Savvas Michael.

Superlek and Panpayak are no strangers to each other as both men have shared the stage on numerous occasions, with the latter leading the rivalry with four wins, two losses, and one draw.

ONE 164, which is headlined by the grudge match between Filipino mixed martial arts (MMA) standout Joshua Pacio and American veteran Jarred Brooks for the coveted strawweight championship, unveiled its initial lineup of matches a few weeks ago.

Filipino-American superstar Brandon Vera is set to return to action on December 3 against fellow heavyweight hard-hitter Amir Aliakbari in a three-round clash on the undercard.

Joining Pacio and Vera are three more notable names from the well-entrenched Philippine MMA scene.

Pacio's Team Lakay stablemate and former ONE flyweight titlist Geje Eustaquio goes one-on-one with China's Hu Yong.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Pacatiw takes on Myanmar's Tial Thang in a pivotal bantamweight encounter.

Lastly, Jenelyn Olsim makes her strawweight comeback to duke it out with Chinese heroine Meng Bo.

ONE Championship is expected to announce more fights in the coming days.