| February 27 2024 – Doha, Qatar: ONE Championship™ (ONE), the world’s largest martial arts organization, today held the official pre-event press conference for ONE 166: Qatar, presented by Visit Qatar, at the Mondrian Doha Ballroom. ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong and 10 of the superstar martial artists competing on the blockbuster card addressed the media in attendance. [ONE 166: Qatar Press Conference Photos] [WATCH: Complete ONE 166: Qatar Press Conference] ONE 166: Qatar broadcasts live from the Lusail Sports Arena on Friday, March 1. The card is headlined by three World Title rematches. In the main event, ONE Middleweight MMA World Champion Reinier de Ridder will defend his gold against ONE Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight MMA World Champion Anatoly Malykhin. ONE 166: Qatar will be broadcast worldwide in over 190 countries, and it will air exclusively on beIN SPORTS in the MENA region. The event will also air live and free on Watch.ONEFC.com in many regions around the world, and for the first time ever, Prime Video will be livestreaming a ONE numbered event for Prime members in the U.S. and Canada. Limited tickets for ONE 166: Qatar are still available for purchase at Virgin Megastore and Q-Tickets. Chatri Sityodtong, Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship, stated: “Qatar truly has become one of my favorite countries in the entire world. The Qatari history, the culture, the tradition, the kindness of the people is truly remarkable. I’ve had the good fortune of traveling all over the Middle East, and all over the world with ONE Championship, and I can’t speak highly enough of Qatar.” “Qatar represents the very best in the world, just like ONE Championship represents the very best in the world. And here, our World Champions, three World Title fights, unbelievable title fights, that I’m so excited for.” Reinier de Ridder, ONE Middleweight MMA World Champion, stated: “(This fight) is about one thing — he beat me last time, he hurt me. I’ve got a year to prepare for this, I grinded every single day, and I’m ready to showcase my skills this time.” “I’m planning to be a bit more humble this time … I believe I have the skills to finish him.” Anatoly Malykhin, ONE Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight MMA World Champion, stated: “I’m ready for this Friday. I’m gonna go and get my third belt. I’m gonna knock him out the same way I did before. I’m thankful for this opportunity. I cannot explain how excited I am to be here on Friday and show everybody what I’ve got.” “Three-belt time, three-belt time. Look at this right hand — this is gonna knock him back out to sleep this Friday.” Tang Kai, ONE Featherweight MMA World Champion, stated: “I’m so proud to be the first (male) Chinese MMA World Champion and for this Friday, I’m going to win this rematch against Thanh Le. I love Qatar as a country, I’m so proud to be here, and on Friday night, I’ll put on an epic show against Thanh Le and for the fans.” Thanh Le, ONE Interim Featherweight MMA World Champion, stated: “Y’all know I’m going to be bringing the fireworks. This 100 percent finish rate is not going down at all. He is getting finished, round one, round two. We have unfinished business, that last fight is not done.” Jarred Brooks, ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion, stated: “I think I beat Joshua Pacio pretty (definitively) last time. I’m willing to do that again and again and again until Joshua Pacio’s name is completely out of the picture and I am the best strawweight ever. I am the GOAT of the strawweights.” “People are underestimating my hunger and my goals in ONE Championship. Now, I’m here to show Joshua Pacio who is the best. I want to knock him out, and I want to finish him. I’m gonna finish him this time.” Joshua Pacio, former ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion, stated: “Honestly, I feel like I’m in Manila right now. There’s a lot of Filipinos. In every country that I compete in, there are a lot of Filipinos.” “Being one of the athletes in ONE Championship makes me so proud that I belong to the greatest and largest martial arts organization in the world. Competing here, I believe God put me on this platform to inspire the next generation. If you have dreams, go chase them. To the Filipinos, expect that I will bring home the gold belt this Friday.” Arjan Bhullar, former ONE Heavyweight MMA World Champion, stated: “This is Hanuman’s Gada. It’s presented to champion wrestlers from Indian culture. This was gifted to me after one of my wins by the great Dara Singh, legend. It’s a great honor for me to represent that lineage and carry this into battle.” Amir Aliakbari, ONE Heavyweight MMA Contender, stated: “I’m on a redemption road. I can fight anyone they put in front of me. I can fight Kang Ji Won, it could be next week, then I can fight Anatoly right after that.” Osamah Almarwai, ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling Contender, stated: “I train with the best in the world. As you know, my head instructor, Andre Galvao, the Ruotolo brothers … I’m very confident I’ll get the submission to win the match.” “This means a lot to me, to be part of the first historical event in Doha, Qatar. This is what actually motivates me to train every single day, and the fact that the biggest martial arts promotion in the world is coming to the Middle East shows that we in the Middle East have talent.” Zuhayr Al-Qahtani, WBC Middle East Champion, stated: “I’d like to thank the Qatari authority for this opportunity, it’s been amazing to fight and to make it possible. My message to youth is this: keep striving, keep working hard. We are making history. I inspire you to make history and keep achieving your goals and objectives. I was the first Saudi boxer, the first Saudi to have a WBC title, and now I’m here in Qatar, part of history, making history … and I’d like to inspire a new generation.” |
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