Vietnamese Muay Thai star to fight Japanese champ at ONE Championship Singapore

By Dong Huyen    October 29, 2019 | 08:28 pm PT
Vietnamese Muay Thai star to fight Japanese champ at ONE Championship Singapore
Vietnamese Muay Thai fighter Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat reacts after beating Malaysian Azwan Che Wil at the ONE Immortal Triumph in HCMC, September 6, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Duc Dong.
Muay Thai fighter Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat will participate in Asia's top martial arts event, ONE Championship, in Singapore next month.

Nhat will face WMC (World Martial Arts Masterships Committee) Muay Thai champion Yuta Watanabe of Japan on November 22 in a match billed ONE: Edge of Greatness.

Nhat is currently the top Muay Thai fighter in Vietnam. The 30-year-old from Lam Dong Province in the Central Highlands has been undefeated since the start of his professional career, winning all the tournaments in the country.

Making his debut for the ONE Championship in Saigon last month at the ONE Immortal Triumph Championship, the seven-time International Federation of Muay Thai Amateur champion defeated Malaysia's Azwan Che Wil.

The event in HCMC marked the first time Vietnam hosted a ONE event. Vietnam's Nguyen Thanh Tung was also scheduled to make his ONE Championship debut, but withdrew due to health issues.

The coming meeting with Watanabe will not be an easy one for Nhat.

The Japanese has claimed multiple titles, claiming the MAJKF, J-Network, and WPMF Super Bantamweight Championships, and most recently added a WMC Muay Thai Open Title to his collection.

Aside from the Nhat-Watanabe confrontation, the Edge of Greatness event will also see Muay Thai legend Nong-O Gaiyanghadao defend his ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title against young phenom Saemapetch Fairtex, and Singaporean Amir Khan going up against Malaysian-Kiwi Ev Ting.

ONE Championship is the number one sports media property in the continent, broadcasting matches to over 2.6 billion potential viewers in 140 countries.

Forbes said earlier this year that despite the UFC setting up offices in Asia years before ONE Championship was founded, and making plans to open a Performance Institute in China this year, the Las-Vegas-based promotion hasn't been able to establish the same kind of footprint in the East that it has in the West.

The story of Vietnamese Muay Thai warrior Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat. Video by Dinh Phuc, Minh Nhat.

 
 
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