Road to ONE: Fair Fight XIII Tournament Preview

In the latest iteration of the tournament, ONE partnered with Russian Cagefighting Championship (RCC) and kickboxing promotion Fair Fight to host a four-man Kickboxing tournament.

The Tournament

Similar to ONE Warrior Series (OWS), the fighters of Road to ONE: Fair Fight XIII will be competing for a ONE Championship contract. The fights will feature some of Russia’s best up and coming talents and we’ll be looking at which of them has what it takes to cross over to ONE Super Series.

This collaboration will technically be ONE Championship’s first-ever event in Russia and no one is more excited about the development than ONE VP Rich Franklin.

“I’ve enjoyed scouting talent across the globe for ONE Championship. This is our first foray into Russia, and RCC is the obvious place to start given their talent pool and local success. I am excited to see the talent they add to our roster beginning with this four-man flyweight tournament,”

Rich Franklin, ONE Championship VP 2020

Kickboxing seems to be the next point of focus for Russian combat sports as there is a bigger push to become more competitive with their European counterparts.

“It’s especially important for us to jump-start the development of kickboxing in Russia. We have already hosted 13 tournaments, formed a permanent fighter roster, determined champions in three different divisions and we are ready for the next step in development. ONE Championship is the largest global sports media property in Asian history and access to their event ecosystem and reach is incredibly valuable to any martial arts athlete who aspires for global stardom. This pilot event can lead to additional ‘Road to ONE’ tournaments in 2021 and beyond,”

Nikolay Klimenko, RCC Executive Director 2020

The Fighters

The Road to ONE semi-final will feature Tamerlan Bashirov (12-1) versus Victor Mikhailov (8-2), and Vladimir Kuzmin (12-1) versus veteran and tournament favorite Maxim Petkevich (35-4).

ONE Championship has made great strides in building their rosters for OSS Kickboxing. This latest venture is just the latest effort in ONEs efforts to grow the sport in a region dominated by Muay Thai.

Fair Fight XIII will air on 28 November and will be available on the ONE Super App.

Promotional Picture Credits to ONE Championship

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