Kickboxing great Petrosyan looks to kick off ONE Super Series in style

Giorgio Petrosyan for ONE Super Series. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Filipino fight fans will get the first look at some of the world’s best strikers strut their stuff as ONE Championship launches its Super Series on Friday at Mall of Asia Arena.

This new offering from ONE will feature top-flight martial artists whether it’s from boxing, Muay Thai, kickboxing, karate and other forms of striking arts.

“I love all striking arts. ONE Championship has been so big now. So I said, what can we do to make the fans happier all over the world?” ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong said during the kick-off press conference for ONE: Heroes of Honor Tuesday at City of Dreams Manila.

“For me, how can we get the best mixed martial artists in the world? It doesn’t matter whether it’s Brazilian jiujitsu, wrestling, Muay Thai, kickboxing. We want all the very best in the world to compete here.”

Looking to unveil the Super Series in style, ONE’s first offering will be headlined by kickboxing superstar Giorgio Petrosyan, who faces an exciting fighter in Jo Nattawut of Thailand.

The 32-year-old Petrosyan, who was born in Armenia before moving to Italy at 13, is one of the most celebrated kickboxers of all time with his numerous accolades include back-to-back K-1 World Max World Championship titles. He boasts a record of 85-2-2, 38 KOs and is currently on a 10-fight winning run.

“The most exciting for me is the Super Series. The fact that we have Giorgio Petrosyan, the pound-for-pound greatest kickboxer on the planet,” Sityodtong said.  “It’s going to be a treat for the fight fans.”

The Petrosyan-Nattawut bout is among the highlights of ONE: Heroes of Honor, which features Filipino MMA star Kevin Belingon and Andrew Leone in the main event.

The winner between Belingon and Leone gets a title shot for the bantamweight belt.

Two other Filipinos fighting in the card are former featherweight champion Honorio Banario and Gina Iniong.

Banario clashes with heavy-handed veteran Adrian Pang of Australia in the lightweight division while Iniong faces Jenny Huang in the women’s atomweight.

“I’m competing against a tough fighter in Adrian Pang so this is going to be an exciting bout,” said Banario.