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ONE Championship releases full card for ONE Friday Fights 162

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ONE Championship releases full card for ONE Friday Fights 162

A nine-bout card returns to Lumpinee Stadium this week. The thread connecting its two biggest fights runs straight through one of Muay Thai's most beloved figures.

Southpaw powerhouse Kongklai Sor Sommai meets Moroccan puncher Adam Benwarwar in a bantamweight Muay Thai main event on Friday, July 17 at ONE Friday Fights 162. The card broadcasts live in Asia primetime from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Kongklai's story is the kind Muay Thai was built to tell. He lost his first ten professional fights and kept going anyway. Eventually, he strung together an 18-bout winning streak that included the only knockout of Seksan Or Kwanmuang ever recorded in the big gloves.

The 27-year-old carries that legacy into Friday's fight looking to get back on track after a tough loss to Julio Lobo at ONE Friday Fights 152. Benwarwar needs no extra motivation of his own, having announced himself with a first-round knockout and an explosive striking arsenal.

Khunponnoi aims to step out of his brother's shadow at ONE Friday Fights 162

The co-main event brings the Seksan connection full circle. Khunponnoi Sor Sommai, the younger brother of “The Man Who Yields To No One,†takes on Scotland's Gregor Thom in a flyweight Muay Thai matchup on the same card that headlines the man who once knocked his brother out.

The 33-year-old Sor Sommai product has 127 professional wins, including 28 knockouts, and has spent years working to step out of the most beloved shadow in ONE Championship. Thom's own story is one of the series' great origin tales, a fighter who started training during pandemic lockdown boredom and forged himself into a legitimate threat with a powerful low-kick game.

Rounding out the card, seven further bouts span Muay Thai, kickboxing, and MMA, with every fighter chasing the same prize: a life-changing US$100,000 contract and a permanent spot on ONE Championship's global roster.

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MMA

Bogdan Guskov calls Valter Walker a moron after wild training camp prank

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Bogdan Guskov calls Valter Walker 'a moron' after wild training camp prank
Bogdan
Guskov is now used to the chaotic package that is Valter
Walker.

Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters Guskov and Walker are
training partners at Gor
MMA under head coach Gor Azizyan. The latter has a loud
personality and rarely hesitates to pull off embarrassing pranks in
public, and the former was his latest victim.

Bogdan Guskov reacts to Valter Walker prank ahead of UFC Abu
Dhabi

In his latest prank, the Brazilian bizarrely touched Guskov's
manhood on camera. However, Guskov has learned to be unfazed by
Walter's antics.

Guskov believes Walker has chaos inside his head. While Guskov
doesn't understand Walker, he considers “The Foot Hunter†a friend.
The Uzbek fighter neither took the incident seriously in any way
nor tried to stop Walker from posting it on social media.

“He is a f*cking moron. A fool. A f*cking idiot. I didn't expect
that. I don't understand him at all,†Guskov told Red Corner MMA.
“He's got chaos in his head. We've got to get used to his
stupidity. As they say, he is a moron, but he's our own moron. Our
homie… [No intrusive thoughts] at all. It's Valter. What intrusive
thoughts? He ran away as I wanted to slap him. He knows that I
don't take such things lightly… Try not to let him post anything;
he would go home and still post it. And then won't show up. He's a
godsend to a spy.â€

Guskov (18-3) is stepping up on 14 days' notice against Magomed
Ankalaev (20-2) in the main event at
UFC Abu Dhabi on July 25. Meanwhile, Walker (15-1) takes on
Thomas
Petersen (11-4) in a heavyweight matchup on the same card.

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Jon Jones picks Ciryl Gane to beat Tom Aspinall in heavyweight rematch

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Jon Jones picks Ciryl Gane to beat Tom Aspinall in heavyweight rematch

Ultimate Fighting Championship legend Jon Jones
believes Ciryl Gane's
confidence will play a key role in a rematch against Tom
Aspinall.

Gane (14-2) challenged Aspinall (15-3) for the heavyweight title in
their first meeting at UFC 321
last October. However, the fight ended in an unfortunate no-contest
after a double eye poke by Gane in the first round rendered
Aspinall unable to continue.

While Aspinall subsequently underwent eye surgery, Gane defeated
Alex
Pereira to win the interim heavyweight title at
UFC Freedom 250. “Bon Gamin” is now expected to challenge
Aspinall in a title unification bout next and Jones believes the
Frenchman will come out on top.

Why Jon Jones believes Ciryl Gane has the edge over Tom
Aspinall

According to Jones, Gane's confidence is soaring after his win over
Pereira. The former champion also notes that Aspinall was looking
invincible until he faced Gane at UFC 321. Notably, many, including
UFC CEO Dana
White, opined that the two-time interim champion was winning
the fight as long as it lasted.

“I believe Gane's going to win,†Jones told Ring Magazine. “When
you become the champion and you beat a man like Alex Pereira, it
has to do something for your confidence. Even in Gane's first fight
with Tom Aspinall, Tom was looking pretty invincible until Ciryl
Gane. And most people feel like Gane was winning that fight. I feel
like Gane's confidence has to be at an all-time high.â€

Jones returned to the Octagon after three years against Gane in
2023, with the vacant heavyweight title on the line. “Bones” made
quick work of the French heavyweight with a guillotine choke in the
very first round. Meanwhile, the American has a contentious
relationship with Aspinall, with the duo going back and forth
repeatedly before Jones ultimately vacated the belt.

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Real American Freestyle expands with MMA crossover championship division

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Real American Freestyle expands with MMA crossover championship division
Real American Freestyle has announced a new championship designed
exclusively for elite crossover athletes from combat sports.

In a new social media post, RAF revealed details about the
competition. The inaugural championship bout of the new crossover
event will feature Arman
Tsarukyan against former
Ultimate Fighting Championship interim champion Colby
Covington.

RAF Crossover Championship creates new path for combat sports
athletes

RAF has introduced the RAF Crossover Championship, developed
exclusively for high-profile crossover athletes from combat sports.
The first cruiserweight match will take place at RAF 11 in
Milwaukee, featuring Tsarukyan and Covington.

The crossover will blend elite freestyle wrestling with MMA talent,
offering marquee crossover matchups.

“A new championship arrives at RAF,†RAF Wrestling's official X
account posted. “Introducing the RAF Crossover Championship.
Created exclusively for crossover wrestlers from across the world
of combat sports.â€

“The first chapter begins in Milwaukee with Arman Tsarukyan vs.
Colby Covington. The inaugural Cruiserweight Crossover
Championship,†the post further read.

Tsarukyan enters the matchup with a perfect 6-0 record under the
RAF banner, having most recently dominated Kuat
Khamitov at RAF Georgia. Covington, meanwhile, is unbeaten
through three RAF appearances, building on an accomplished amateur
wrestling background that includes an NJCAA national championship
and NCAA Division I All-American honors. The former interim UFC
welterweight champion last edged Chris
Weidman at RAF 9.

The event is set for July 18 at 8 p.m. ET in Milwaukee.

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