MMA
ONE SAMURAI 4: Featherweight Kickboxing Tournament semifinal matchups revealed
ONE ChampionshipA three-time Glory Kickboxing World Champion is one win away from another shot at gold, and the road runs through a fighter who has looked sharper with every passing round.
Marat Grigorian meets “The Handsome White Dragon†Luo Chao in the ONE SAMURAI Featherweight Kickboxing Tournament semifinals when ONE SAMURAI 4 touches down inside Tokyo's Ariake Arena on Saturday, October 17.
Grigorian booked his semifinal spot with a commanding unanimous decision over Mamuka Usubyan at The Inner Circle 25 on August 7, extending his win streak to four and improving his career mark to 71-14.
Luo, meanwhile, survived a second-round setback against Kosuke Takagi at ONE SAMURAI 2 before rallying with a third-round assault that pushed his own record to 44-11.
The other half of the bracket carries its own weight that night, with Masaaki Noiri and Mohammad Siasarani meeting in the tournament's second semifinal on the same Ariake Arena card. Whoever survives that pairing will be waiting for the winner of Grigorian and Luo once the eight-man field narrows to a single finalist.
Marat Grigorian faces a stern styles test at ONE SAMURAI 4
Marat Grigorian's suffocating forward pressure and heavy hands have made him one of the hardest puzzles to solve in the division, and Luo will need every ounce of the composure he showed against Takagi to survive three rounds. Grigorian's pedigree at the elite level, including a prior run at ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World gold, gives him a slight experience edge, but Luo has already proven he can weather adversity mid-fight after his comeback in Tokyo.
The tournament winner will eventually earn a guaranteed shot at reigning ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion Superbon, an incentive steep enough to sharpen both men's focus in training camp. Grigorian has challenged for that title without success, and a trip through this bracket represents his clearest path back to the conversation, while a win for Luo would instantly vault the Chinese contender into the biggest opportunity of his career.
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
ONE ChampionshipA four-fight winning resume now meets a champion's pedigree when two contrasting career paths collide at ONE SAMURAI 3.
Hiroba Minowa meets Yuta Miyazawa in a strawweight MMA showdown when ONE SAMURAI 3 streams live from Yokohama Buntai in Yokohama, Japan, on Saturday, September 12.
Minowa has won four straight since establishing himself in the division, a stretch that includes a split decision over former ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Alex Silva and a ninth-career submission finish of previously undefeated Karen Ghazaryan this past April, a performance that earned him a US$50,000 bonus.
Miyazawa arrives with a 17-fight winning ledger and a Pancrase Strawweight Championship captured this past March, extending his personal streak to three heading into his ONE Championship debut.
The matchup adds another entry to a resume already thick with numbers. Since making his promotional debut in 2020, Minowa has repeatedly been booked against top-five opposition, a run that includes two former ONE Strawweight MMA World Champions among his list of opponents.
Hiroba Minowa's record meets a fresh test
Hiroba Minowa's grappling pedigree makes this matchup a compelling puzzle, since Miyazawa's wins come from his hands rather than takedown defense, and his 17 professional victories carry real knockout power into a division where grappling has often decided the biggest nights. Minowa will look to test that gap early, given four of his ONE Championship wins have come by way of decision or submission rather than knockout.
Elsewhere on the card, Kosei Yoshida's 9-1 record and four-fight win streak run into Zhao Zhengdong's unbeaten 3-0 promotional slate in a flyweight kickboxing pairing that adds another compelling number to the night. Zhao's overall mark of 29-5 stands as the more battle-tested résumé between the two, even as Yoshida chases his tenth career victory on home soil in front of a crowd inside Yokohama Buntai that will be watching his first fight back from a decision setback.
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
MMA
Manager blasts NSAC for withholding Paddy Pimblett's UFC 329 purse: 'This rule needs to be changed'
Graham Boylan, the manager of Paddy Pimblett, has blasted the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Pimblett is coming off a 52-second submission win over Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 329. It was a solid win, and after the victory, he hopped over the cage to celebrate. However, the NSAC doesn't allow that, and now the commission is withholding his purse along with Max Holloway and Gable Steveson.
The three fighters will have disciplinary hearings at the Nevada State Athletic Commission's monthly meeting in Las Vegas, MMAJunkie revealed. After the hearings were revealed, MMAJunkie texted Boylan who confirmed it was due to hopping the fence, which he isn't pleased about.
“For the record, this rule needs to be changed,†Boylan wrote in a text message. “Yes, it's the fight game, and systems need to be in play to make it all work, but this rule does nothing to support that. It's 2026. Apply a little common sense.â€
The NSAC withholding fighters' purses for celebrating on the cage and going out of it does seem insane, and something Boylan hopes will change. It's unclear how much of Pimblett's purse was withheld, but Diego Lopes had $5,000 of his disclosed $100,000 show money withheld for scaling the cage at UFC 300 in April 2024. He ended up being fined $2,500 after the hearing.
Paddy Pimblett hopes to fight Ilia Topuria or Arman Tsarukyan
Although Pimblett is set for an NSAC hearing, he is already looking forward to his next fight.
Pimblett is hoping for a major fight next and is open to facing Ilia Topuria or Arman Tsarukyan, as he wants to be able to get into their heads.
“If I fight Ilia or Arman, I'm gonna absolutely rinse their lives. I'm gonna absolutely terrorize them,†Pimblett said on Green Light podcast. “But if I fight Max Holloway or Charles Oliveira I wouldn't, because I respect them and I like them. … Don't get me wrong, I respect Ilia, but we've had beef for years,†Pimblett said. “I think he's a little helmet. I'd love to fight him and give him shit. Arman Tsarukyan, I've got no respect for at all. He's just rich kid, who's daddy's a millionaire.â€
Pimblett is 24-4 as a pro and coming off the win over Saint Denis.
Who do you think Paddy Pimblett should fight next?
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
Hiroba Minowa vs. Yuta Miyazawa, plus more added to ONE SAMURAI 3
Manager blasts NSAC for withholding Paddy Pimblett's UFC 329 purse: 'This rule needs to be changed'
ONE SAMURAI 4: Featherweight Kickboxing Tournament semifinal matchups revealed
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