by Mark Smiley
Kade Ruotolo defends his title against fellow American Mikey Musumeci in ONE 160 at Ball Arena on September 6, 2024.
ONE Championship is the world’s largest martial arts organization, ranking among the world’s top five sports properties for viewership with a cumulative reach of over 400 million fans, according to Nielsen. ONE produces and distributes events across more than 190 countries, featuring martial artists and World Champions from over 80 nations and all styles of martial arts including MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and more. ONE can be viewed on many of the largest global free-to-air and digital broadcasters, including Prime Video, Sky Sports, and many others.
Cherry Creek Valley residents can see these athletes compete at Ball Arena on September 6, 2024. ONE 168 will feature many contests in an atmosphere compared to a rock concert.
“We were here [1stBank Center] last May for our first event in the U.S.,” said Rich Franklin, ONE Vice President. “We had such a great event with a sold out crowd and a great reception from the fans, that we decided to return and do two events in the U.S. Denver and Atlanta.”
Franklin became the UFC Middleweight World Champion in 2005 and was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. He became ONE Vice President in 2014, supporting key strategic initiatives for the company.
Some of the key matchups on September 6 include: Mikey Musumeci vs. Kade Ruotolo, and Liam Harrison vs. Seksan. Added to Fight Card, Joining Stamp vs. Xiong Jing Nan, and Jonathan Haggerty vs. Superlek. “I’m excited for this one [Haggerty vs. Superlek],” said Franklin. “Superlek is called the kicking machine. And Jonathan Haggerty is known for his elbows. He can close distance with an elbow like most people could with a long kicking leg. This is going to be a fun one to watch.”
In addition, two contests have been added to the stacked ONE 168 fight card. First, two of the top pound-for-pound grapplers on the planet will collide when ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Champion Kade Ruotolo defends his title against fellow American Mikey Musumeci in a must-see matchup. “We do a really good job matching up our submission grappling matches,” said Franklin. “Typically they are really fast paced. I expect this one to be really exciting.”
As the reigning ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Champion, Musumeci is looking to become the first two-division submission grappling titleholder in ONE history.
In addition, striking icon Liam Harrison of the United Kingdom will face Thai fan favorite Seksan Or Kwanmuang in a 140-pound catchweight Muay Thai bout. “Seksan is legendary in Tailand,” said Franklin. “His name in Tai translates to the man who yields to no one.”
ONE 168: Denver will also feature ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Champion Stamp Fairtex, who will attempt to become a two-division titleholder when she challenges Xiong Jing Nan of China for the ONE Women’s Strawweight MMA World Title. And in a battle between two of the greatest strikers, reigning two-sport ONE World Champion Jonathan Haggerty of the United Kingdom will put his ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title on the line against current ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Champion Superlek Kiatmoo9.
Stage Front VIP, the exclusive U.S. VIP experience partner of ONE, will continue to provide fans with access through immersive VIP experiences that include premier seating, premium hospitality offerings, athlete meet-and-greets, event collectibles, and more. You can sign up for more information on Stage Front’s VIP packages at stagefrontvip.com/one-denver.
Amazon Prime members can watch these matches live monthly and all 167 matches are archived for those who want to become more familiar with the sport. To learn more or to purchase tickets, visit www.onefc.com/events/one168.