KEY POINTS

  • ONE: First Strike carries the same kickboxing DNA that two major promotions once held
  • K-1 and Glory are arguably the most recognizable promotions when it comes to kickboxing
  • Giorgio Petrosyan will face Superbon Banchamek for the inaugural kickboxing featherweight title

Singapore-based ONE Championship is looking to carry the flag that its forebearers once held with its all-kickboxing card.

In early September, the promotion announced ONE: First Strike, a card set to feature the best kickboxers in the promotion.

No.1-ranked featherweight kickboxer Giorgio Petrosyan will be going up against Superbon Banchamek for the inaugural featherweight kickboxing championship.

The card also features all four quarterfinal fights of the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix, the ultimate prize being a title shot at the featherweight crown.

The all-kickboxing card from ONE Championship has shades of two of the most recognized kickboxing organizations in the history of combat sports--K-1 and Glory.

K-1’s first Grand Prix featured future kickboxing greats Ernesto Hoost and Peter Aerts, who would go on to win a combined seven World Grand Prix titles.

The organization also helped launch the careers of mixed martial arts icons Mark Hunt and Mirko Cro Cop.

Its popularity skyrocketed in the late 90s and early 2000s due to fighters being incentivized to engage.

“With referees ruthlessly preventing any holding and judges awarding points not just for successful hits but also for aggressive intent, bouts rarely turn into the sort of boring stalemates that boxing so often produces,” wrote Paul Doyle in 2005.

Meanwhile, Glory gained prominence in 2012, featuring K-1 standouts Aerts, Badr Sari, Remy Bonjaski and former UFC fighter Gokhan Saki.

UFC middleweight king Israel Adesanya started his career in Glory and even competed for the outfit's middleweight championship in a losing effort.

Prior to signing with ONE Championship, Petrosyan himself was a part of both K-1 and Glory.

He reigned as the K-1 World MAX Tournament champion from 2009 to 2010 before winning the Glory 70-kilogram Slam Tournament in 2012.

Kickboxing’s DNA will continue to grow with Petrosyan and Superbon’s fight for the featherweight title, supported by the Kickboxing Featherweight World Grand Prix at ONE: First Strike.

The entire card will be streaming live on the official ONE Super App and the official ONE YouTube channel in Asia on October 15, 8:30 PM Singapore Standard Time (SGT).

Meanwhile, the American audience can watch the entire card over at Bleacher Report’s YouTube channel on October 15, 8:30 AM ET.

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