Stephen Loman vs Shoko Sato beef up ONE X card
ONE Championship is swinging for the fences to make ONE X its biggest show in history. That said, the entire card has been divided into three parts, with five world championships on the line.
But the stacked event has gotten even better with the addition of an intriguing bantamweight clash between No. 3-ranked contender Stephen “The Sniper” Loman and Shoko Sato.
The Filipino warrior entered the division’s rankings after defeating Yusup “Maestro” Saadulaev during his debut at ONE: Winter Warriors II.
With less than a minute left in the first round, the wushu sanda specialist from Baguio City landed a counter left punch that sent the Russian crashing to the canvas. Referee Olivier Coste stopped the fight immediately as Saadulaev was dealing with the impact of that thunderous strike.
That victory made him the third-ranked bantamweight in The Home of Martial Arts, behind former ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes and “Pretty Boy” Kwon Won Il.
On the other hand, 34-year-old Mr. Sato has a 3-1 record and a 100 percent finish rate at ONE. He defeated Mark “Tyson” Abelardo, Rafael “Morcego” Silva, and Kwon before suffering a setback versus No, 4-ranked Fabricio “Wonder Boy” Andrade at ONE: Unbreakable III.
The combatant from Sakaguchi Dojo hopes to return to the win column and improve his 35-17-3 career mixed martial arts record with a win over Mr. Loman. Expect an all-out striking war between the two bantamweights.
Mr. Loman, the 26-year-old competitor with a 15-2 MMA record, is the third Team Lakay member who will compete in ONE’s tenth-anniversary event. In part one of the historic show, strawweight Lito “Thunder Kid” Adiwang will face compatriot Jeremy “The Jaguar” Miado.
Likewise, two legends will clash in part three as Eduard “Landslide” Folayang will face John Wayne “The Gunslinger” Parr in a Muay Thai rules match. The former ONE Lightweight World Champion hopes to defeat the Australian in his retirement fight.
Also, No, 2-ranked atomweight Denice “Lycan Queen” Zamboanga will be seeking payback when she gets her rematch against No, 3-ranked Ham Seo Hee. The bout was bound to happen after the Marrok Force mainstay suffered a controversial loss to the South Korean in their ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix quarterfinal match.
