ONE Fight Night 22: Top 3 Under The Radar Fights To Watch

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It goes without saying that ONE Fight Night 22: Sundell vs. Diachkova is stacked with many world-class bouts. From World Title fights to highly anticipated debuts, there are plenty of talking points ahead of this weekend's card.

All the action goes down this Saturday, 4 May, inside Bangkok, Thailand's Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. And with so many pivotal bouts on the card, some other important scraps can go amiss. With that said, let's look at three bouts going under the radar at ONE Fight Night 22.

1. Sinsamut Klinmee vs. Dmitry Menshikov

Elite Muay Thai fighters Sinsamut Klinmee and Dmitry Menshikov have built names for themselves as finishers in ONE Championship. Both have also challenged Regian Eersel for the ONE Lightweight Muay Thai World Title. But in order to do so once more, both men need a resounding win.

A staple of the lightweight Muay Thai division, Sinsamut always comes back better after facing a setback. In fact, since falling to Eersel, "Aquaman" has responded in great fashion, putting two decisive wins together. A third could see him challenge Eersel again, but Menshikov also has a point to prove.

The Russian debuted against Eersel, also coming up short in a shock knockout defeat. Like a phoenix, though, the 26-year-old has risen from the ashes to put together back-to-back first-round knockouts over Rungrawee Sitsongpeenong and Mouhcine Chafi.

Undisputedly, his Muay Thai clash this Saturday is the biggest of his tenure. And if he wants a second chance at stardom, he needs to score a clinical victory over Sinsamut.

2. Reece McLaren vs. Hu Yong

Elsewhere, an important flyweight MMA battle between two top-five contenders will take place. Fourth-ranked Reece McLaren meets #5-ranked Hu Yong in a contest that could determine who gets the next World Title shot.

A year has passed since McLaren's last outing. And for the enigmatic Aussie, a lot has changed. "Lightning" switched gyms, hoping to build upon the skills he showed in his last appearance in May 2023 at ONE Fight Night 10.

With that said, ONE Fight Night 22 will be the perfect place to display his newfound abilities. But Hu won't go down easily with so much up for grabs.

"Wolf Warrior" has amassed a three-fight winning streak over former two-time ONE Flyweight MMA World Champion Geje Eustaquio, Eko Roni Saputra, and Woo Sung Hoon - with two of those victories coming by knockout.

If Hu wants to shake up the core of the fastest-growing division in ONE and get the next shot at flyweight king Demetrious Johnson, he needs a surgical showing against McLaren.

3. Akbar Abdullaev vs. Halil Amir

In what could be the most fan-friendly bout of the event, unbeaten MMA stars Akbar Abdullaev and Halil Amir collide in a featherweight contest where someone's "0" has got to go.

The pair have dominated their respective careers. Coincidentally, both men hold 10-0 records. The only difference is that all 10 of Abdullaev's wins have come by way of stoppage - and he has continued that trend from the regional scene into the world's largest martial arts organization.

The Kyrgyzstan fighter has epically notched back-to-back finishes in the first round against South Korea's Oh Ho Taek and Aaron Canarte, the latter suffering the first loss of his professional career.

But not many come more menacing and calculated than Amir. The Turkish star is 3-0 in ONE's lightweight division. He has overcome every tough assignment put in front of him - with two finishes over Ahmed Mujtaba and Timofey Nastyukhin to his name.

He also surpassed fellow rising star Maurice Abevi in April 2023. But now, Amir enters the featherweight realm looking to stop the surging Abdullaev and solidify himself as a top name in the division.