ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong (centre) with Joshua Pacio (left) and Jarred Brooks.
Doha, Qatar: The globe’s biggest combat sport organisation, ONE Championship (ONE), is all set for a blockbuster return to Qatar with the ONE 171: Qatar, which will be held tomorrow at the Lusail Sports Arena.
ONE 166: Qatar, the Championship’s first-ever live event in Qatar last year was watched by nearly 20 million fans across linear and digital broadcasts worldwide, marking the organisation’s entry to the MENA region.
The star-studded fight card this time showcases multiple World title clashes in MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing and submission grappling.
Topping the card is a highly anticipated rematch between ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio and interim titleholder Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks.
The two celebrated fighters first faced each other in December 2022, when Brooks emerged victorious to claim the strawweight crown. A disqualification win for Pacio in their March 2024 rematch levelled the score, but Brooks later captured the ONE Interim Strawweight MMA World Title. Pacio will look to settle the rivalry in Doha this time in a unification showdown.
At a press conference held at the Mohammed Bin Jassim House - Msheireb Museums, Pacio said: “The difference this time is, of course, I’m going to win. Yeah, I’m going to win. The last time I won, but it’s not the way that we wanted to. And I don’t look [at the] past, I look forward, and here we are. It will be different. It will be different this time.”
Brooks said in return: “I want to be remembered as the true strawweight World Champion. I am very, very grateful for ONE Championship and the things that they have done for me. I promise you, Joshua, and I, we are more than willing and prepared. And I am going to go out and I’m going to finish him on Thursday.”
In the co-main event, reigning ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion Jonathan “The General” Haggerty defends his belt against Chinese challenger “Demon Blade” Wei Rui. Haggerty, renowned for Known for his aggressive style, will be looking to bounce back from his knockout loss to Superlek Kiatmoo9 last September.
“I’m truly blessed to be doing what I love and traveling to beautiful countries like Qatar. I’m very excited to defend my belt against Wei Rui. You know, he’s a very credible opponent, the number one for a reason. We’ve not overlooked him, and we’re just excited to put on a great performance for everyone,” Haggerty said.
However, Rui, who is riding on a 21-fight win streak, will be a tough nut to crack.
ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong (centre) speaks during a press conference.
“This is my first time in Doha, and I came here just for this world title belt. I will definitely bring this belt to China,” Rui, a veteran of 75 career bouts, said.
Also on the stacked card, the legendary Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes takes on Kevin Belingon in a Bantamweight MMA clash in the final bout of his career.
Current ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Champion Kade Ruotolo is also set to showcase his dominance yet again when he takes on Lightweight MMA challenger Nicolas Alejandro Vigna.
Meanwhile, Croatian powerhouse Roberto “Robocop” Soldic takes on lightweight contender Dagi Arslanaliev in a welterweight MMA contest.
ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong was pumped up ahead of the blockbuster show.
“I’ve come back here now for the last six, seven years, many, many times. I would like to thank Qatar Media City. This is incredible partners who have been instrumental from day one in welcoming the world’s largest martial arts organization into the Middle East,” Sityodtong said during the event.
“Also, give a special shout-out to (Qatar Boxing and Wrestling Federation President) Sheikh Fahad bin Khalid Al Thani. His vision for MMA and wrestling is commendable. We would not be here without Sheik Fahad,” Sityodtong said.
“The world’s largest martial arts organisation is coming back to the Middle East to throw the biggest spectacle across all these incredible disciplines, with the world’s greatest athletes, and the greatest martial arts on the planet. We are excited. And I tell you what, the main event and the co-main are absolutely barn-burning, explosive. I think both fights are going to end in a spectacular knockout. But here’s the thing, we have 14 fights. You look around just at this table right here, these are all killers and monsters, the very best of the best on the planet,” Sityodtong said.
With a total of 15 bouts on the card and action set to kick off at 6:00pm tomorrow, One 171: Qatar is all set to delight millions of fans, highlighting Qatar’s presence in the world of combat sports.
Tomorrow's fight card
Main Event
Strawweight MMA World Championship Unification
Joshua Pacio vs Jarred Brooks
Co-main event
Bantamweight Kickboxing World Championship
Jonathan Haggerty vs Wei Rui
Welterweight MMA
Roberto Soldic vs Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev
Bantamweight Kickboxing
Petchtanong Petchfergus vs Ilias Ennahachi
Middleweight MMA
Aung La Nsang vs Shamil Erdogan
Featherweight MMA
Shamil Gasanov vs Martin Nguyen
Bantamweight MMA
Bibiano Fernandes vs Kevin Belingon
Heavyweight MMA
Mauro Cerilli vs Kirill Grishenko
Bantamweight Muay Thai
Jake Peacock vs Shinji Suzuki
Women's Atomweight MMA
Ritu Phogat vs Ayaka Miura
Lightweight MMA
Kade Ruotolo vs Nicolas Alejandro Vigna
Preliminary card
Openweight Submission Grappling
Zayed Alkatheeri vs Mohammed Hilal Ahmad Abu Rumuh
Lightweight MMA
Abdullo Khodzhaev vs Wilian Poles
Featherweight MMA
Hussein Salem vs Walter Cogliandro
