Heavyweight Title Unification Postponed; ONE 161 Gets New Headliner
KEY POINTS
- An injury reportedly forced Arjan Bhullar to pull out of his bout against Anatoly Malykhin at ONE 161
- ONE Championship found a new bout to headline the aforementioned card
- Petchmorakot Petchyindee will defend his world title against Tawanchai PK.Saenchai in the main event
The long-awaited heavyweight championship unification between lineal champion Arjan Bhullar and interim titleholder Anatoly Malykhin was originally scheduled to headline ONE 161 on September 29.
Unfortunately, ONE Championship had to postpone the much-awaited collision between the two hard-hitting titans of the heavyweight division and reschedule it for a late dater as several reports circulated that an undisclosed injury forced Bhullar to withdraw from his cage encounter against Malykhin.
The incident compelled the Singapore-based combat sports organization to promote the Muay Thai featherweight title duel between reigning titlist Petchmorakot Petchyindee and challenger Tawanchai PK.Saenchai to the main-event position.
Petchmorakot has been on roll since capturing the gold-plated strap at the expense of Tawanchai's stablemate Pongsiri PK.Saenchai in February 2020.
The 28-year-old Thai has edged out his last three challengers in enthralling fashion, scoring decision wins over the likes of the legendary Yodsanklai Fairtex, Magnus Andersson and Jimmy Vienot.
On the other hand, Tawanchai looks to shock the Muay Thai world by scoring an upset victory at the expense of his compatriot.
Tawanchai, 23, positioned himself for a world title shot following his statement conquest of Saemapetch Fairtex and Niclas Larsen earlier this year.
Aside from the new scheduled five-round duel on the marquee of ONE 161, the promotion recently confirmed additional bouts to the card.
The first round of the four-man ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix will commence on September 29, where current light heavyweight champion Roman Kryklia is set to battle Guto Inocente.
In the other bracket of the tourney, Iraj Azizpour will lock horns with Bruno Chaves—with the winner advancing to face the victor between Kryklia and Inocente.
Moreover, UFC veteran Zhang Lipeng is slated to test the mettle of highly-touted prospect and Khabib Nurmagemedov's protege Saygid Izagakhmaev in a three-round lightweight joust.
In addition, Ritu Phogat will make her return to action to take on former two-time women's strawweight title contender Tiffany Teo.
Lastly, ex-flyweight title challenger Yuya Wakamatsu begins his road to redemption at ONE 161 as he shares the cage opposite Chinese phenom Wang Shuo.
ONE Championship is expected to announce more fights for its September 29 card in the coming weeks.
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