In some ways, a win is a win and a loss is a loss. But while it is true that every fight matters, some feel bigger than others, for whatever reason. In some cases, the stakes are easy to define. Picture the fighter on a losing streak who knows he or she is likely fighting for their job; or conversely, any title fight in a top regional organization, where the combatants know they are almost certainly being scouted by the big leagues. At other times, a fight feels especially important for reasons that are harder to quantify, but no less real. Whether it’s the unspoken weight of being a pioneer in MMA from one’s native country, or the simple added spice of two fighters who genuinely hate each other’s guts, that fight means just a little more.
Next Friday, One Championship will make its first foray into the United States, as One on Prime Video 10 takes place at 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colo., on May 5. The choice of location is significant: Broomfield, just north of Denver, is where the sport we now call mixed martial arts was birthed by way of the first Ultimate Fighting Championship tournament, 30 years ago this November. For an article series that highlights bouts with elevated, but sometimes symbolic or otherwise intangible stakes, it doesn’t get much more obvious.
As one might expect for such an auspicious occasion, ONE has loaded next week’s lineup with much of the best it has to offer, from the world-class rubber match in the main event to the customary mix of striking, grappling and MMA bouts up and down the card. Even on an historic night where every participant will perform under a microscope, however, several bouts stand out. Here are some fighters who are under just a little more pressure to stand and deliver at One on Prime Video 10.
This One’s for All the Marbles, Demetrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes
Well, of course. This column generally steers clear of highlighting main events, especially if they are also title fights, since the stakes are usually obvious. However, the Johnson-Moraes rubber match for the ONE flyweight (135-pound) title is special and merits mention. The two-fight series between “Mighty Mouse” and “Black Diamond” has given fans many things: two fantastic scraps, a pair of nasty knockout finishes, a couple of the highest-level displays of skill in MMA in recent years and rarest of all, a rivalry that has managed to elevate both men’s stock. The two first met in 2021, after Johnson joined the promotion as an already-legendary former UFC champ, then promptly blew through his new promotion’s flyweight grand prix to earn a title shot. When Moraes knocked Johnson out, it confirmed the Brazilian’s status as one of the best lighter-weight competitors in the world—and perhaps the top pound-for-pound fighter competing outside of North America—and by extension, validated the pool of fighters with whom Moraes had been passing the flyweight title around like a hot potato for years. When Johnson starched Moraes in the rematch, it reminded us that he is one of the five greatest fighters in MMA history and probably the most intelligent of all-time.
One Championship understands exactly what it has in the Johnson-Moraes series. Their first meeting headlined the first One on TNT show, the rematch did the same for the first One on Prime Video card and the trilogy fight is set to close out One’s first-ever event in North America. Regardless of who wins next Friday, both men’s place in history is secured, but make no mistake; neither of them wants to be the loser of one of MMA’s greatest rivalries.
Roberto Soldic, Take Two. And…Action!
Johnson signing with One Championship in 2018 was the biggest free-agent move in MMA in 15 years: a top pound-for-pound fighter in or near his prime picking up stakes and joining a new promotion on the other side of the world. Having said that, Soldic’s similar move last year may have been a bigger deal for hardcore fans. The former two-division KSW titleholder could have gone anywhere, and he chose ONE. Why should you care? Because the 28-year-old Croatian is one of the best fighters in the world in his weight range, but just as importantly, Soldic absolutely rules. MMA has plenty of consistently exciting action heroes and plenty of champions with elite skills, but not many who are both. At his best, “Robocop” blends blood-and-guts madness with top-shelf competitive excellence in a way that recalls Robbie Lawler or Justin Gaethje.
Soldic’s promotional debut against Murad Ramazanov last December at One on Prime Video 5 ended in just two minutes thanks to an inadvertent groin strike that left Soldic and fans alike with an ache below the belt. Next weekend Soldic faces Zebaztian Kadestam in a main card welterweight attraction at One on Prime Video 10. A victory could fast-track him into title contention, but win or lose, it’s time to remind us why his signing was so highly anticipated in the first place.
There’s Still Time, Sage Northcutt, But Let’s Go
Speaking of notable free-agent acquisitions by ONE, Northcutt’s signing in 2019 after being released by the UFC was stunning news at the time. The Las Vegas promotion is not usually in the habit of cutting fighters on three-fight win streaks, let alone those with the incipient star power of “Super Sage.” Northcutt’s clean-cut charisma and deep background in traditional martial arts seemed to be a perfect fit for One Championship, but circumstances have conspired to keep him on the shelf for most of the last four years. His debut in May of 2019 ended up with Northcutt getting his face smashed in under 30 seconds by far more experienced, world-class kickboxer Cosmo Alexandre. Surgery and recovery from those facial injuries overlapped the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is only now that the former teen karate prodigy is preparing to make his second walk to the One Championship cage, when he faces Ahmed Mujtaba next Friday in 1stBank Center.
Due to Northcutt’s personal qualities—good looks, cartoonishly jacked physique, choirboy charm—and extreme youth, a subset of MMA fans seemed to take pleasure in his early-career setbacks. When he lost to Bryan Barberena and Mickey Gall in the UFC, there was a certain gleeful schadenfreude as some fans proclaimed him a “bust” or “hype train.” Even among those like myself with no personal axe to grind, it was easy to lose perspective. Yes, Northcutt lost a few times as one of the youngest fighters in any top-level MMA promotion. He nonetheless managed to go 6-2 in the UFC and—this bears repeating—had won three straight leading up to his release. Still just 27, Northcutt may not even have reached his physical prime yet, and his peak in terms of skill development is almost certainly ahead of him. He has plenty of time to make his mark on the sport and fulfill the promise of his early career, and it can start against Mujtaba at One on Prime Video 10.