ONE Championship: Three fights that could shake up the ONE Flyweight rankings

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Bengaluru, November 1: ONE Championship's flyweight roster is stacked from floor to ceiling with world-class talent, and as the months pass it's only growing.

Headlined by ONE Flyweight World Champion Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson, the division now enters an interesting phase as many of the top-five contenders have already faced each other.

Eko Roni Saputra, Reece McLaren, Kairat Akhmetov, Danny Kingad and Yuya Wakamatsu will be looking to further improve their rankings in the flyweight division. With that said, here are some interesting matchups that could shake up the ONE Flyweight rankings.

Reece McLaren Vs. Eko Roni Saputra

Eko Roni Saputra is the dark horse of the flyweight division. The multiple time Indonesian National Wrestling Champion has won his past seven fights, all within the first round.

The latest of which was a heel hook submission over Thailand's Yodkaikaew Fairtex at ONE 162: Zhang vs. Di Bella on 21 October. It would appear now that Saputra is due for a crack at a top-five opponent, and that man could be #5-ranked flyweight contender Reece McLaren.

McLaren has now won two in a row himself, following his third-round TKO win over Brazil's Windson Ramos - also at ONE 162. The Australian is a long-time stalwart of ONE Championship, having reeled off 14 fights since signing with the organization in 2015.

McLaren would be the ultimate test of Saputra's status within the division, while Saputra would be a stern test for "Lightning."

Demetrious Johnson Vs. Kairat Akhmetov

Demetrious Johnson is an MMA icon. As such, there is never a shortage of suitors when it comes time for "Mighty Mouse" to fight.

Johnson has gone 1-1 with top-ranked flyweight Adriano Moraes and already holds wins over #3 Yuya Wakamatsu and #4 Danny Kingad.

The temptation might be to stage the Moraes trilogy bout straight away, but there is one man sitting in between and due a title shot of his own - #2-ranked Kairat Akhmetov.

Kazakhstan's Akhmetov captured the ONE Flyweight World Title in his ONE debut before going 1-2 in his next three bouts. Since then, "The Kazakh" has reeled off five-straight wins, headlined by victories over McLaren and Kingad.

This recent record suggests that the 35-year-old is due another shot at regaining his title, should the Moraes-Johnson trilogy be put on hold.

Danny Kingad vs. Yuya Wakamatsu 2

Kingad and Yuya Wakamatsu went to war in 2018. On that occasion at ONE: Conquest of Heroes, it was Kingad who took home the unanimous decision. Since then, both have lost to Johnson and Moraes. Both also hold wins over fifth-ranked McLaren.

Third-ranked Wakamatsu and Kingad both have fights booked against unranked opponents in the near future.

"Little Piranha" is scheduled to face Woo Sung Hoon at ONE 163: Akimoto vs. Petchfergus in November, while "The King" will take on Gurdarshan Mangat at ONE: 164: Pacio vs. Brooks in December.

Should both be successful, the timing would likely be right for them to face off once again to decide who deserves another chance at their former foes above.