Exclusive | ONE Championship: Reinier de Ridder’s title fight off Prime Video 3 card in Malaysia, source says
- John Lineker’s bantamweight MMA title defence against Fabricio Andrade is new main event for October 22’s return to Kuala Lumpur
- Two-division champ De Ridder likely to be booked on another card this year, with more title fights to be added to Prime Video 3
Reinier de Ridder’s middleweight title defence has been scratched from next month’s ONE on Prime Video 3 card in Kuala Lumpur, a source told the Post.
The undefeated Dutchman’s opponent, Russian newcomer Shamil Abdulaev, has not been medically cleared to compete, the source said.
John Lineker’s bantamweight MMA title defence against fellow Brazilian Fabricio Andrade will now serve as the October 22 card’s main event.
More title fights will be added to the card at Axiata Arena, the source said, and will be announced later.
Two division champion De Ridder (16-0) is likely to fight on another Prime Video card later this year.
ONE on Prime Video 2, which will take place on a Saturday morning local time and be broadcast in US prime time on Amazon’s streaming service in the US and Canada and on pay-per-view in most other regions, is part of a double header of events marking the martial arts promotion’s return to Malaysia for the first time since December 2019.
The card will be preceded by ONE 162 on October 21 the previous Friday evening, though no fights have been announced for the event yet.
ONE Championship returns to action next week with a double header of events at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, headlined by Angela Lee’s trilogy fight with strawweight champ Xiong Jingnan.
ONE: Angela Lee, Xiong Jingnan trade barbs before trilogy title fight
The Malaysia events will be the promotion’s first outside its home city since September 2020, with pandemic restrictions and Covid-19 infections finally easing across Asia.
ONE will also return to another of its strongholds, the Mall of Asia Arena in the Philippines, for back-to-back events – ONE on Prime Video 5 and ONE 164 – on December 3 in Pasay City. The organisation last held an event there in January 2020.
Bangkok has also been lined up for a return, with ONE back at the Impact Arena on January 14 for ONE on Prime Video 6. The event is currently set to be headlined by a special mixed rules MMA and Muay Thai fight between Stamp Fairtex and Anissa Meksen.
The location for November 18 and 19’s ONE 163 and ONE on Prime Video 4 cards has yet to be announced.
ONE is also eyeing a return to Tokyo, the sight of two blockbuster events in 2019. The Japanese government eased travel restrictions this month, welcoming tourists back.
