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Two Champ vs. Champ Fights Announced For ONE Championship's US Return In Denver On Sept. 6

Originally posted on MMA News | By Harvey Leonard | Last updated 3/27/24

ONE Championship, the leading combat sports promotion in Asia, has announced the headlining fights for its second event in the United States later this year.

The organization arrived on US soil in 2023, with the 1stBankCenter in Broomfield, Colorado, playing host to a ONE Fight Night 10 card that saw notable Americans like Demetrious Johnson and Sage Northcutt collect wins, as well as regional debuts for Asian stars Stamp Fairtex and Rodtang Jitmuangnon.

Toward the start of this year, ONE announced the dates and venues for two planned US events in 2024, starting with a return to Colorado for a show at the Ball Arena in Denver on September 6.

Now, the promotion has revealed the two major headlining acts for the card, which will be ONE 168, with mixed martial arts and Muay Thai gold on the line in "Mile-High City."

Breaking News ONE returns to the U.S. on September 6 with ONE 168: Denver, headlined by two epic World Title showdowns and more massive fights to be announced Hurry and register NOW for exclusive ticket pre-sale access at https://t.co/fqhJifFJCP and stay tuned for more… pic.twitter.com/gCQntkWxxJ
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 27, 2024

Xiong vs. Stamp, Haggerty vs. Superlek Official For ONE 168

One of the standout performers from ONE's US debut was former kickboxing and Muay Thai queen Stamp, who secured herself another shot at the atomweight MMA belt with a brutal body-shot knockout of Alyse Anderson.

Having subsequently got the better of Ham Seo Hee to reach three-sport supremacy, the Thai star is slated to defend her 115-pound title for the first time opposite Denice Zamboanga at ONE 167 this June in Bangkok.

Despite that booking, Stamp already has another assignment in her calendar. The fan favorite is set to challenge for two-division MMA glory against longtime strawweight queen Xiong Jing Nan in the main event of September's US card.

The Chinese champ became the inaugural 125-pound titleholder in 2018 and has maintained her grip on the belt through seven defenses, the most recent of which came over another atomweight moving up in Angela Lee almost two years ago.

ONE 168 will also see a blockbuster striking battle between two-sport kingpin Jonathan Haggerty and kickboxing titleholder Superlek Kiatmoo9, with the former putting his bantamweight Muay Thai belt on the line.

Haggerty, a former flyweight Muay Thai champ, enjoyed an incredibly successful 2023. After a shock knockout of Nong-O Hama last April to win the bantamweight Muay Thai strap, the Brit further added to his list of accolades by getting the better of MMA titleholder Fabrício Andrade seven months later to collect the weight class' vacant kickboxing gold.

And having defended the Muay Thai championship for the first time against Felipe Lobo last time out, Haggerty will next meet arguably the pound-for-pound best in Superlek on Sept. 6.

The Thai striker has increased his stardom since winning the flyweight kickboxing belt with a victory over Daniel Puertas in 2023. After defending it against Danial Williams soon after, "The Kicking Machine" most recently emerged with it still on his shoulder by defeating an all-time great of the sport in Takeru Segawa — a result that followed a Muay Thai triumph over a former two-time opponent of Haggerty's in Rodtang.

This article first appeared on MMA News and was syndicated with permission.

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