5 ONE Championship Matches We'd Like to See in 2021
2020 was a strange year for ONE Championship as the coronavirus pandemic forced the Singapore-based promotion to not hold events for nearly six months.
However, it still managed to showcase the continued emergence of Asian stars and budding rivalries that highlighted much of the year. ONE will welcome back those athletes in addition to top stars like Demetrious Johnson and Eddie Alvarez in 2021 after neither were able to compete last year.
There are plenty of dream matches to think about for the new year. Here are five that we'd like to see in 2021.
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Adriano Moraes vs. Demetrious Johnson
2021 finally has to be the year for Moraes vs. Johnson, right?
Johnson's eyes have been on Moraes' flyweight title since he joined ONE in 2018. After winning the world grand prix, "Mighty Mouse" earned that championship shot, and the two were set to face off in April of 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, their match was postponed and is now slated for Feb. 24 in Singapore.
It will be a matchup between the three-time ONE flyweight champion in Moraes and the greatest flyweight of all time in Johnson. This has been a dream match among fans for a while now, so hopefully their meeting will in fact happen next month.
Eddie Alvarez vs. Iuri Lapicus or Saygid Arslanaliev
We haven't seen Alvarez in action since August of 2019, the longest layoff of his career. He was supposed to face Saygid Arslanaliev in the lightweight world grand prix in October 2019, but he was forced to pull out because of injury. It was rumored that ONE wanted to reschedule this match, but Nolan King of MMA Junkie (h/t Tom Taylor of BJPenn.com) reported are that Alvarez vs. lightweight contender Iuri Lapicus could happen instead this April.
Regardless of what ONE decides on, both matches make sense for Alvarez. Arslanaliev was an opponent "The Underground King" already prepared for, while Lapicus is coming off a title-match loss to Christian Lee and is an established top contender in the lightweight division.
Regardless of who his opponent ends up being, it will be nice to see Alvarez back in the cage.
Thanh Le vs. Martin Nguyen II
Who doesn't want to see a rematch of ONE's 2020 MMA match of the year?
After Le knocked out Nguyen in the third round of their featherweight title match last October, the former champion has requested a rematch. As the titleholder for nearly three years, Nguyen will almost certainly get it after their incredible first meeting. ONE even promoted a rematch as something to look forward to in 2021.
There's been some talk of Christian Lee coming back down to featherweight in hopes of becoming a two-division champion, but he'll likely have to wait for the winner of Le-Nguyen II to do it.
Bibiano Fernandes vs. John Lineker
Former UFC fighter Lineker, who won notable matches against Rob Font, Marlon Vera and Brian Kelleher during his time with the promotion, is now 2-0 at ONE and coming off a knockout victory over No. 1 bantamweight contender Kevin Belingon. He made his intentions clear after the win that he wants champion Fernandes next.
A bout between the two Brazilians would be welcomed, especially considering the matchup of Fernandes' grappling against Lineker's striking. Fernandes hasn't competed since October of 2019, but the 40-year-old would likely return with his compatriot waiting for him.
Brandon Vera vs. Amir Aliakbari
Of all the matches mentioned, this one is the least likely to happen simply because there are a few different factors to consider.
Aliakbari was supposed to make his ONE debut last December, but his opponent was a late scratch. When he eventually does make his debut, he'll only need one or two wins before earning a shot at the heavyweight championship held by Vera.
Vera is expected to first defend his title against Arjan Bhullar after their match originally slated for last May was postponed. This poses a couple of problems for a dream match between Vera and Aliakbari in 2021. If Vera defeats Bhullar, it's unlikely he'd compete again in 2021 as he hasn't fought twice in a year since 2011. If Vera were to lose to Bhullar, it's likely they would either have a rematch or Aliakbari would move on to face the new champion.
Vera and Aliakbari will almost certainly fight at some point, but it just might not happen this year. If ONE can make it happen, though, it would be the biggest heavyweight match in the promotion's history.
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