Can Danny Kingad shock the world against mixed martial arts Demetrious Johnson? Or will "Mighty Mouse" derail "The King's" hype and capture the greatest prize of his career? Find out on 13 October! @MightyMouse #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship #ONECentury pic.twitter.com/rGiS3xGYAp
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) October 7, 2019
On their way to the finals, Johnson beat Yuya Wakamatsu and Tatsumitsu Wada while Kingad defeated Senzo Ikeda and Reece McLaren. Whoever wins this final bout will challenge current champion Adriano Moraes at a still undetermined time and place. As the biggest card in One Championship’s history nears, here are some of the numbers that define the Flyweight Grand Prix.
8: World-class flyweights entered the tournament, namely Demetrious Johnson, Yuya Wakamatsu, Tatsumitsu Wada, Gustavo Balart, Kairat Akhmetov, Reece McLaren, Danny Kingad and Senzo Ikeda.
40: Victories between the two finalists, Demetrious Johnson and Danny Kingad. Johnson, the former 12-time Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight champion, widely considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters of all time, owns 29 wins, while Kingad, the Filipino striking specialist, has 11.
4: Losses between Johnson and Kingad. The American has lost only three times in 32 professional fights, at the hands of Brad Pickett, Dominick Cruz and Henry Cejudo. All of his losses were by decision. On the other hand, Kingad’s lone defeat was dealt him by Adriano Moraes in a championship bout.
10: Years is the age difference between Johnson and Kingad. At 33 years old, Johnson has had a stellar career that started on April 28, 2007, while the 23-year-old Kingad made his professional debut on Nov. 20, 2014, two years into Johnson’s UFC title reign.
11: Rounds contested in the quarterfinals of the tournament. Three of the matches went the full three rounds. The only fight that didn’t go all three rounds was Johnson’s fight against Wakamatsu, which ended at 2:40 of Round 2 following a guillotine choke from the American.
3: Japanese fighters competed in the tournament. These were Wakamatsu, Wada and Ikeda. Additionally, the tournament featured one competitor from the United States, one from the Philippines, one from Kazakhstan, one from Australia and one from Cuba.
6: Rounds contested in the semifinals. Kingad beat McLaren via split decision while Johnson defeated Wada by unanimous decision at One Championship: Dawn of Heroes. There was also a reserve Grand Prix bout that pitted Yuya Wakamatsu against former flyweight champion Geje Eustaqio, which ended via first-round knockout in the Japanese’s favor.
4: Events cover the entire One Championship Flyweight Grand Prix. These are One Championship: A New Era, One Championship: Dawn of Heroes, One Championship: Roots of Honor and One Championship: Century.
196: Days from the first round of the tournament to the finals between Johnson and Kingad. One Championship: A New Era took place on March 31, 2019. As previously mentioned, the finals will take place on Oct. 13.
1: Match that didn’t reach the final bell since the tournament started. Johnson’s submission of Wakamatsu remains the only bout that didn’t go the distance.