The billing for ONE Championship’s monumental return to the U.S. continues to grow, with a pivotal strawweight MMA contest added this week.
Fourth-ranked divisional contender Hiroba Minowa will return to action to take on unbeaten star Sanzhar Zakirov when ONE 168: Denver takes over Denver, Colorado’s Ball Arena on Saturday, 7th September.
Since entering the world’s largest martial arts organization four years ago, Minowa has consistently put himself among the best in the strawweight MMA division.
Every outing the Japanese powerhouse has taken part in has been against a ranked or previously ranked opponent, and he scored back-to-back wins against Filipino firecracker Lito Adiwang and former titleholder Alex Silva upon his arrival.
Minowa looked to be on the fast track to a World Title shot until three consecutive losses to Jarred Brooks, Bokang Masunyane, and Gustavo Balart dampened his hype somewhat.
While a skid like that would get many combatants down, the STF athlete used the defeats as motivation in his return bout against the always-dangerous Jeremy Miado earlier this month at ONE Fight Night 23.
Minowa found his way back to the winners’ column that evening, and he’ll be looking to remind the world of how dominant he can be when he meets Zakirov in September.
But the Uzbek battler could be his undoing. “Tornado” won all three of his bouts in the ONE Friday Fights series to move to 10-0 in his career, and his finish of Ryosuke Honda this past March at ONE Friday Fights 54 earned him a six-figure contract with ONE Championship.
ONE 168 will be the biggest stage Zakirov has competed on in the promotion so far, and a clash with a ranked contender represents a huge chance for him to make his name known.
At the same time, it will be a do-or-die moment for Minowa in Denver. So fans should expect both men to throw everything at each other as they shoot for relevance in the talent-rich division.