Stamp Fairtex
Stamp Fairtex will face Ritu Phogat in the finals of the ONE Atomweight Grand Prix at ONE: Winter Warriors on December 3. ONE Championship

KEY POINTS

  • Stamp Fairtex and Jihin Radzuan's clash could shake up the women's atomweight rankings
  • Martin Nguyen draws the task of welcoming Ilya Freymanov to ONE Championship
  • Timofey Nastyukhin will also take on promotional newcomer Halil Amir

ONE Championship is set to hold the highly-anticipated trilogy fight between longtime champions Xiong Jing Nan and Angela Lee of the women's strawweight and atomweight divisions respectively at ONE on Prime Video 2 this Saturday, October 1 (Friday, September 30 in the United States).

However, there are three fights on the card that could produce some highlight reel-worthy moments from these high-level mixed martial artists (MMA).

Stamp Fairtex vs. Jihin Radzuan

The women's atomweight division is due for a shakeup as No. 1-ranked Stamp Fairtex takes on the new No. 5 contender in Jihin Radzuan as part of the undercard.

Thailand's golden girl is coming off a disappointing outing against Lee back in March after she failed to capture gold despite being able to fend off the champion's submission attempts until she eventually succumbed to a rear-naked choke.

As for "Shadowcat," the Malaysian export fought on the same night as Stamp did but positioned herself on the winning side by handing Japanese grappler and former ranked atomweight Itsuki Hirata her first career loss.

Stamp is determined to re-enter the winners' column when she takes on Radzuan out of fear that the latter will leapfrog her in the standings with an upset.

ONE fans are already familiar with Stamp's strike-heavy style owing to her Muay Thai background, but Radzuan's strong grappling senses could present a problem for the Thai fighter at ONE on Prime Video 2.

Jihin Radzuan
Jihin Radzuan ONE Championship photo

Martin Nguyen vs. Ilya Freymanov

In the featherweight division, former lightweight champion Martin Nguyen is gunning for a return to relevancy as he takes on ONE Championship newcomer Ilya Fermanov.

"The Situ-Asian" is coming off a statement victory against Kirill Gorobets at ONE: Lights Out after going on a two-fight losing skid where he was put to sleep in both events by Thanh Le first and Kim Jae Woong the second time around.

Despite that though, Nguyen is ranked third in the division and Fermanov will have his work cut out for him.

The Russian fighter, seven years younger than the 33-year-old Nguyen, has put together a solid resume for himself thus far into his career as he amassed eight wins by knockout and two by decision while his lone loss came via submission.

Fermanov has a similar style to that of Nguyen in that he can also pull off the sudden victory with one well-placed shot, highlighted by his spinning elbow finish of Ezriman Bayramov in October 2020.

With youth and an eagerness to prove himself on the big stage, fans can expect Fermanov to take the fight to Ngyuen as soon as the opening bell rings and possibly produce an upset victory.

Martin Nguyen, ONE Championship
Martin Nguyen. ONE Championship

Timofey Nastyukhin vs. Halil Amir

Like Nguyen versus Freymanov, ONE Championship veteran Timofey Nastyukhin has the task of welcoming Turkey's Halil Amir to the promotion as they take the opening fight of the main card at ONE on Prime Video 2.

Nastyukhin has fought under the ONE Championship banner since 2014 and has come away with impressive victories against the likes of Eduard Folayang, Amir Khan and Eddie Alvarez.

A strong wrestler in his own regard, Nastyukhin has a penchant for draining the will of his opponents when he takes them to the ground before raining down big punches from the top position.

Amir is no slouch on the feet though as the Turkish fighter is determined to get his hands flying as quickly as possible and land the knockout blow when given the opportunity.

It is a classic striker-versus wrestler matchup between these two men and longtime MMA fans are aware of how drastic a fight's momentum can change during such clashes leading up to a big finish either on the feet or on the ground.

Timofey Nastyukhin
Timofey Nastyukhin celebrates a victory. ONE Championship