Doha, Qatar: ONE 171: Qatar is quickly approaching, and the card is stacked to the gills with superstar talent.
Fourteen bouts across MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing, and submission grappling will take place this Thursday, February 20, inside Doha, Qatar’s Lusail Sports Arena. The lineup also includes two World Title bouts at the top of the bill, as well as a plethora of storylines to follow.
So with that, let’s get you up to date and in the know about three big storylines ahead of ONE 171: Qatar.
The Joshua Pacio-Jarred Brooks trilogy fight
At the top of the bill, reigning ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Joshua Pacio will unify belts with interim titleholder Jarred Brooks.
The pair’s previous showdown came 11 months ago at ONE 166: Qatar. But it all began in Manila, Philippines, at ONE 164 in December 2022.
The difference on that night was Brooks’ wrestling prowess. The American star used his acumen to nullify Pacio across five rounds. To add insult to injury, he did it in Pacio’s backyard.
Then when the pair met in the sequel last year at ONE 166: Qatar, the bout ended in just 56 seconds after Brooks dropped the Filipino on his head, forcing a disqualification to “The Monkey God.”
Given their history heading into the upcoming third encounter, fans should expect an enthralling headliner with each man promising a finish.
A world title eliminator between Shamil Erdogan and Aung La N Sang?
Another intriguing rematch takes place in the middleweight MMA division when undefeated star Shamil Erdogan meets former two-weight ONE World Champion Aung La N Sang.
After dominating Fan Rong in his debut to score a second-round stoppage of the Chinese phenom, Erdogan called out Aung La N Sang – and “The Burmese Python” answered.
The pair threw down at ONE 168 in Denver, Colorado, USA, last September. There, Erdogan’s dominant wrestling shined through, stopping Aung La N Sang inside two rounds. In doing so, he snapped his foe’s three-fight winning streak.
But the Myanmar icon took the loss to heart. Feeling sluggish and not up to par at ONE 168, he wanted the chance to set this right. Luckily for him, he got the rematch.
Erdogan will be on the hunt for the same outcome as last time. With consecutive finishes, the 10-0 star is looking to take one step closer to a middleweight showdown with two-weight ONE MMA World Champion Anatoly Malykhin.
Dagi Arslanaliev and Roberto Soldic meet in a collision of knockout artists
Near the top of the talent-brimming card is a pivotal welterweight MMA showdown between the returning Dagi Arslanaliev and esteemed knockout artist Roberto Soldic. This has all the makings to be a fight of the year candidate.
It’s been four years since Arslanaliev last strapped on a pair of 4-ounce gloves. Back then, he was one of the most fearsome names to ever grace the promotion’s lightweight division.
The Turkish terror amassed a record of 9-2, with seven stoppages to go along with it. To boot, he reached the ONE Lightweight MMA World Grand Prix Final and won ONE’s 2021 Fight of the Year award versus Timofey Nastyukhin.
After a few years away from competition, the 30-year-old will move up to the welterweight division. But his foe is just as hungry to make a statement.
Before inking a deal with ONE Championship, Soldic was the hottest free agent in MMA. He’d previously been crowned a two-weight KSW king, including being the last man to knock out UFC Middleweight MMA World Champion Dricus du Plessis.
After a no contest promotional debut and a loss to Zebaztian Kadestam, Soldic is now ready to show his worth in his return to ONE Championship.
