ONE Championship 159 line-up updated with new matchups after last-minute cancellations
- Two fights have been scratched from Friday’s ONE 159 event, including the debut of American grappling star Jessa Khan
- One fight has been added to the line-up, while Sinsamut Klinmee also has a new opponent after Islam Murtazaev’s exit
ONE Championship 159, the Asian martial arts promotion’s first event in over a month, goes down this Friday in Singapore, and there have been a few last-minute changes to the programme.
Most notably, the card has lost a pair of fights: an atomweight grappling match between debuting Americans Jessa Khan and Amanda Alequin, and a heavyweight MMA bout between Anderson “Braddock” Silva and Mikhail Jamal Abdul-Latif.
Alequin was forced out of her fight with a medical issue, per ONE, while Abdul-Latif suffered an injury.
Russia’s Islam Murtazaev, who previously challenged for ONE’s lightweight kickboxing title, is also off the bill because of a family emergency. However, his opponent Sinsamut Klinmee will still compete on Friday, taking on England’s Liam Nolan.
ONE has counterbalanced these last-minute shuffles by adding a new fight to the line-up: a featherweight Muay Thai clash between Russia’s Jamal Yusupov, the division’s No 5-ranked contender, and experienced Thai veteran Jo Nattawut.
There have been no changes to the top of the ONE 159 bill. Headlining honours will still go to a middleweight title fight between Dutch champion Reinier de Ridder, who also holds the light heavyweight belt, and Russian challenger Vitaly Bigdash.
