ONE: "Warrior's Quest" is set for the Singapore Indoor Stadium on May 22nd and the headlining attraction will be a lightweight title bout which sees Shinya Aoki make the second defense of his belt against fellow Japanese fighter Koji Ando.
Ando (11-3-2) is riding a five-fight win streak and in his two ONE Championship fights to date he has finished top lightweight contenders Zorobabel Moreira and Rafael Nunes, while the 30 year old signed for the organization on the back of a victory over current 145-pound king Jadamba Naruntungalag which won him the Legend FC lightweight title.
Aoki (37-6-0-1) has won his last seven fights but in his entire MMA career, Ando has never been finished and this promises to be the toughest test for the ONE Championship lightweight titleholder since he faced Eddie Alvarez under the Bellator banner in 2012.
The card will also feature a potential lightweight title eliminator between Lowen Tynanes (6-0) and Kuat Khamitov (18-3-1) which sees the undefeated Hawaiian return to the ONE Championship cage for the first time in two years to take on a promotional newcomer from Kazakhstan who is riding a six-fight win streak.
The organization's CEO Victor Cui stated that he believes Ando has the potential to cause Aoki some problems:
"ONE Championship returns to Singapore on 22 May with a blockbuster main event. Shinya Aoki is the greatest submission grappler the sport has ever seen. He has been on a tear with seven straight victories, but he now faces his toughest test yet. Koji Ando has proven to be one of the best lightweights in the world. Ando has both the striking and grappling skills to defeat Aoki. This is a clash that you do not want to miss! Get ready for a night of exciting world-class mixed martial arts action as ONE Championship goes live around the world from the Singapore Indoor Stadium."
More upcoming fights will be announced in the coming days.
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