ONE On TNT IV Preview

ONE On TNT IV Preview

ONE Championship returns to the Singapore Indoor Stadium on April 28th for the fourth and final instalment of their landmark ONE on TNT series, the promotion’s first event to air in the US during primetime.

ONE on TNT IV is headlined by Burmese superstar Aung La Nsang (26-11), who will be looking to defend his ONE Light Heavyweight Title against Reinier de Ridder (13-0), the man who defeated him and took his ONE Middleweight Title back in October.

Dutchman de Ridder steps up on extremely short notice, following the withdrawal of Vitaly Bigdash due to a positive COVID-19 test. The now-middleweight champion captured the title with a quick rear-naked choke win and will now look to secure a second title belt at the expense of Aung La.

The co-main event will feature Eddie Alvarez (30-8), who is wasting no time in returning the ONE Circle following his controversial DQ loss to Iuri Lapicus at ONE on TNT I just three weeks ago. The result has since been changed to a No Contest on appeal.

‘The Underground King’ takes on Ok Rae Yoon (14-3), who won the right to take part in the contest with a hard-fought decision win over former featherweight champion Murat Gafarov at ONE on TNT III.

Speaking of quick turnarounds, rising Senegalese star Oumar ‘Reug Reug’ Kane (3-0) returns to action for the third time in 2021, when he takes on fellow undefeated prospect Kirill Grishenko (3-0). Grishenko is making his ONE debut after winning his first three bouts in the space of five weeks back in his native Belarus, in late 2020.

Two former champions collide for the third time, as three-time ONE Lightweight Champion Shinya Aoki (46-9) takes on former two-time champ Eduard Folayang (22-10). The trilogy is tied at 1-1 following bouts in 2016 and 2019.

Folayang is taking the bout on short notice following the withdrawal of Sage Northcutt due to COVID-19 complications, however, he was in training for a bout with another Japanese superstar in Yoshihiro Akiyama, who withdrew from the originally scheduled bout with an injury.

Also on the card, Jackie Buntan looks to continue the momentum gained from her upset win over Wondergirl Fairtex earlier this year, when she takes on Belarussian Ekaterina Vandaryeva under Muay Thai rules.

The card is set to be opened by a women’s catchweight MMA contest, as Colbey Northcutt (1-1), older sister of former UFC star Sage Northcutt, takes on late notice replacement Courtney Martin.

Australia’s Martin is taking the fight on two weeks notice, making her professional debut in place of Sovannahry Em, who withdrew from her scheduled bout due to an injury.

ONE on TNT IV Full Card:

ONE Light Heavyweight MMA Title: Aung La Nsang (Myanmar) vs. Reinier de Ridder (Netherlands)

Lightweight MMA: Eddie Alvarez (USA) vs. Ok Rae Yoon (South Korea)

Heavyweight MMA: Oumar Kane (Senegal) vs. Kirill Grishenko (Belarus)

Lightweight MMA: Shinya Aoki (Japan) vs. Eduard Folayang (Philippines)

Women’s Strawweight Muay Thai: Jackie Buntan (USA) vs. Ekaterina Vandaryeva (Belarus)

Women’s catchweight (60.6kg) MMA: Colbey Northcutt (USA) vs. Courtney Martin (Australia)