Arian Sadikovic felt he needed to fight Nieky Holzken before getting title shot
ONE Championship (ONE) will hold ONE 156: Eersel vs. Sadikovic, which broadcasts live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday, 22 April.
In the main event, reigning ONE Lightweight Kickboxing World Champion Regian Eersel of Suriname puts his belt on the line against Arian Sadikovic of Germany.
Sadikovic earned a unanimous decision victory over Mustapha Haida in December which lined him up for this title shot opportunity.
Both the champion and the challenger spoke with ONE Championship officials earlier in the week. When asked what it felt like to get a fight offer and see the name Regian Eersel as his opponent and how he felt being offered a title shot opportunity, Sadikovic wasn’t entirely sure he should be there yet.
“Feeling great. I was very happy,” Sadikovic said. “I thought first that I need to fight (Nieky) Holzken because he was number one. But yeah, even better, now it’s even better. It’s a very good opportunity.”
Sadikovic was also asked if he felt a little bit overwhelmed by the moment now that he is in the championship fight after just one victory in ONE Championship.
“A little bit, but there are not a lot of guys in this division. So, no problem.”
In the co-main event, undefeated phenoms Jackie Buntan and Smilla Sundell do battle for the inaugural ONE Women’s Strawweight Muay Thai World Title.
Also on the main card, #1-ranked Bokang Masunyane returns to face #2-ranked Jarred Brooks in a ONE Strawweight World Title eliminator.
The main card airs live on 22 April at 8:30 p.m. SGT/8:30 a.m. ET. Check your local listings for the global broadcast in over 150 countries. The full event will also be available on Watch.ONEFC.com, the ONE Super App, and ONE Championship on YouTube (some regions excluded).
The lead card, which broadcasts live at 4:30 p.m. SGT/4:30 a.m. ET, features the ONE Muay Thai debut of Anissa Meksen against Marie Ruumet, the ONE submission grappling debut of Mikey Musumeci versus Masakazu Imanari, and many more action-packed matchups.
ONE: Regian Eersel vs. Arian SadikovicFriday, 22 April 2022
MAIN CARD
ONE Lightweight Kickboxing World Championship(C) Regian Eersel vs. Arian SadikovicLightweight: 155 LBS – 170 LBS
ONE Women’s Strawweight Muay Thai World ChampionshipSmilla Sundell vs. Jackie BuntanStrawweight: 115 LBS – 125 LBS
Mixed Martial Arts(1) Bokang Masunyane vs. (2) Jarred BrooksStrawweight: 115 LBS – 125 LBS
Muay ThaiLiam Harrison vs. Muangthai PK.SaenchaiBantamweight: 135 LBS – 145 LBS
Mixed Martial ArtsMarcus “Buchecha” Almeida vs. Oumar “Reug Reug” KaneHeavyweight: 225 LBS – 265 LBS
Mixed Martial ArtsNamiki Kawahara vs. Danial WilliamsStrawweight: 115 LBS – 125 LBS
LEAD CARD
Mixed Martial Arts(3) Yosuke Saruta vs. Gustavo BalartStrawweight: 115 LBS – 125 LBS
KickboxingAndre Stoica vs Giannis StoforidisLight Heavyweight: 205 LBS – 225 LBS
Muay ThaiAnissa Meksen vs. Marie RuumetAtomweight: 105 LBS – 115 LBS
Mixed Martial ArtsWindson Ramos vs Woo Sung HoonFlyweight: 125 LBS – 135 LBS
Mixed Martial ArtsChen Rui vs Song Min JongBantamweight: 135 LBS – 145 LBS
Mixed Martial ArtsAyaka Miura vs Dayane SouzaStrawweight: 115 LBS – 125 LBS
Mixed Martial ArtsAbraao Amorim vs Dae Sung ParkLightweight: 155 LBS – 170 LBS
Mixed Martial ArtsAgilan Thani vs Jin Tae HoWelterweight: 170 LBS – 185 LBS
Submission GrapplingMasakazu Imanari vs Mikey MusumeciCatchweight: 143 LBS
Mixed Martial ArtsKeanu Subba vs. James YangFeatherweight: 145 LBS – 155 LBS
