Adriano Moraes and Yuya Wakamatsu will meet for a second time to crown a new flyweight champion at ONE Championship 172. The event will take place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, on March 23.
A five-round kickboxing showdown between Takeru Segawa and Rodtang Jitmuangnon will serve as the main event.
Moraes (21-5) was the flyweight champion when he beat Wakamatsu back in March 2022, tapping out the Japanese talent in the third round. That was the last title defense of “Mikinho”, who would go on to lose twice to now-retired Demetrious Johnson.
Wakamatsu (18-6) earned another shot at the ONE belt after winning three in a row since 2023, knocking out Wei Xie and then winning a pair of decisions over Danny Kingad and Gilbert Nakatani.
“ONE Championship will head to Japan for the fourth time, and I am excited to bring one of the biggest kickboxing fights in history to Saitama Super Arena,” ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong stated in a release. “Takeru is a kickboxing icon, revered for his supreme skill and fighting spirit. Rodtang is the world’s most popular striking superstar and one of the greatest muay Thai fighters of all time. I can’t wait to finally witness this spectacular fight in ONE Championship.
“Plus, former flyweight MMA king Adriano Moraes and Japan’s own Yuya Wakamatsu will face off for the vacant ONE flyweight MMA world title. I’m excited to see who will succeed Demetrious Johnson as the undisputed king of the division. It’s going to be another historic night in Japan, and I want to express my sincere gratitude to U-NEXT for all of their support.”