Two Super-Fights Set For ONE 168: Denver In September

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ONE Championship will head back to Denver, Colorado, this coming September, and to mark the occasion, the world's largest martial arts organization offers up two gigantic World Champion vs. World Champion super-fights.

ONE 168: Denver heads to Ball Arena on Saturday, 7 September, where ONE Women's Atomweight MMA World Champion Stamp Fairtex will challenge Xiong Jing Nan for the women's strawweight MMA crown.

Before that, two-sport ONE World Champion Jonathan Haggerty will defend his ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title against flyweight kickboxing king Superlek Kiatmoo9 in a highly anticipated encounter in the evening's co-main event.

Since 2018, Xiong has kept a stronghold over the women's strawweight MMA realm - and she's remained the division's only queen ever since. "The Panda" has successfully retained her crown on seven occasions, dismantling some of the biggest names to set foot in the division.

The Chinese superstar has remained on a quest to fight the biggest and baddest women she can get her hands on, and that now leads her to her latest challenge in Stamp.

The first-ever three-sport ONE World Champion has showcased her combat sports talents across three different categories in the world's largest martial arts organization. Her previous success saw her claim the atomweight kickboxing and Muay Thai World Titles, and there was no exception when turning to MMA.

When Stamp got serious about the all-encompassing sport, the Thai megastar earned the ONE Women's MMA World Grand Prix Championship in 2021. Two years later, she followed that up by capturing the division's gold against Ham Seo Hee last September at ONE Fight Night 14.

Already in a league of her own, Stamp will now try to add a second consecutive MMA World Title to her collection. But the irresistible force that is Xiong has been incomparable in ONE Championship, and she'll do everything in her might to retain the gold again.

Elsewhere, two-sport king Haggerty looks to conquer a familiar foe in Superlek six years after their original bout. "The General" locked horns with Superlek in 2018, losing after suffering an injury midway through the contest. That was then, and this now, though. Haggerty has improved tenfold since their previous meeting.

In showcasing his evolution, Haggerty has held both flyweight and bantamweight Muay Thai gold in ONE Championship. But his most notorious performances have come since moving up to the bantamweight division.

The move has seen him take ownership of both bantamweight Muay Thai and kickboxing crowns, having knocked out Nong-O Hama in April 2023 before smashing ONE Bantamweight MMA World Champion Fabricio Andrade in October for the vacant kickboxing strap.

Haggerty's impenetrable run has continued into 2024, too, having toppled Felipe Lobo in an all-out war at ONE Fight Night 19 this past February. But Superlek's run has also seen him become a striking god in his own right.

"The Kicking Machine" rightly holds the ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Title and is recognised as the #1-ranked flyweight Muay Thai contender. And he plans to make his mark as an all-time great by also becoming a two-sport king.

Superlek has turned over a new leaf since claiming the kickboxing crown in January 2023, beating the likes of Takeru Segawa and ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon in iconic back-to-back outings.

It's safe to say the duo are enjoying the finest form of their careers. So when the pair meet on 7 September, the elite strikers will have the world watching in a rematch six years in the making.