Shamil Gasanov vs. Oh Ho Taek To Headline ONE Fight Night 18

ONE Championship’s 2024 campaign begins this Saturday, 13th January, when ONE Fight Night 18: Gasanov vs. Oh takes centre stage at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. 

The event is set to be a special one, as it will be the first ONE show aired on Sky Sports. The action commences at 1am GMT and officially kicks off the world’s largest martial arts organization’s partnership with the sports broadcasting giant.

After a whirlwind start to January that saw a number of changes to the card, the final lineup has been set, and it will be featherweight MMA standouts Shamil Gasanov and South Korea’s Oh Ho Taek who will do battle at the top of the card. 

When Gasanov entered ONE in 2022, he was seen as a future World Champion, and he quickly showed his worth by taking out Kim Jae Woong in his promotional bow to move to 13-0 in his career.

The 28-year-old was then paired with top-ranked featherweight MMA contender Garry Tonon at ONE Fight Night 12 last July. Unfortunately, “The Lion Killer’s” superior grappling proved too much for him, and he handed Gasanov his first loss via a second-round submission.

The Russian star will be looking to return to the winner’s column this Saturday in the hopes of getting a second meeting with “The Lion Killer.” But Oh has a similar opportunity at hand, and he’d be remiss not to make the most of it.

The South Korean star’s career has followed a similar trajectory to Gasanov, and he currently stands at 1-1 after two promotional outings. 

He defeated Japanese veteran Ryogo Takahashi in his debut at ONE on Prime Video 2 in October 2022, but his momentum was halted by Akbar Abdullaev last March at ONE Fight Night 8. 

With both scrappers on common ground, it’ll be interesting to see who the hungrier man is in ONE Fight Night 18’s main event.

In the co-main event, Thai sensation Suablack Tor Pran49 steps back inside Lumpinee Stadium’s ring just weeks after his phenomenal showing against Dublin, Ireland’s Craig Coakley at ONE Friday Fights 46. 

The Thai star stopped his Irish foe in the first round to earn a lucrative six-figure contract with ONE. And when he enters the ring this Saturday, he’ll be looking to send Coakley’s teammate, Stefan Korodi, home in similar fashion. 

Of course, Korodi will be out to avenge his fallen teammate, and he’ll have all the motivation he needs following December’s destruction. But the bright lights of a ONE Fight Night card bring a whole new audience and atmosphere to the occasion, with fans watching live on U.S. primetime on Amazon Prime Video as well as UK fans watching on Sky Sports for the very first time. 

The full ONE Fight Night 18 card is as follows:

• Shamil Gasanov vs. Oh Ho Taek (MMA – Featherweight)
• Suablack Tor Pran49 vs. Stefan Korodi (Muay Thai – Bantamweight)
• Kwon Won Il vs. Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg (MMA – Bantamweight)
• Rungrawee Sitsongpeenong vs. Shakir Al-Tekreeti (Muay Thai – Lightweight)
• Artem Belakh vs. Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu (MMA – Bantamweight)
• Liam Nolan vs. Ali Aliev (Muay Thai – Lightweight)
• Kang Ji Won vs. Mikhail Jamal Abdul-Latif (MMA – Heavyweight)
• Beybulat Isaev vs. Yuri Farcas (Kickboxing – Light Heavyweight)
• Mark Abelardo vs. Ibragim Dauev (MMA – Bantamweight)