James Yang discusses pro MMA debut win and the Hume-DJ lineage

James Yang earned his debut MMA win in his first foray into the ONE Circle. Yang got it done in his ONE Championship debut from Singapore Indoor Stadium on September 24th.

The surging mixed martial artist was embraced afterward by legendary teammate Demetrious Johnson. Mighty Mouse was cornering Yang for this key prizefight and the decorated former UFC flyweight champion/ ONE flyweight Grand Prix champion was seemingly beaming with pride.

What happens when you've got the 🐐 in your corner ⬆️ James Yang kicks off his ONE career with a TKO win over Roel Rosauro! @MightyMouse #ONERevolution #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/HEms00bRX3

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) September 24, 2021

The 1-0 pro is now riding a seven-fight win streak in mixed martial arts overall dating back to his amateur run. Yang held the Ax Fighting featherweight championship and also the SFU catchweight championship at 150 pounds prior to signing with ONE Championship.

Based on the prior divisional alignment of his fights, Yang is looking to carve out his name at featherweight. An individual who knows there’s a lot of competition ahead of him in a deep division. But someone who looks to one day hoist up the ONE featherweight world title and begin his own championship legacy like some of his aforementioned mentors have had.

The 32-year-old American combatant really put himself on the radars of may after that last effort.

I spoke with the AMC Pankration product about his successful ONE Championship debut at the post-event ONE: Revolution presser. The excerpt from our interaction is below.

James Yang

The feelings with adding another tendril to the Matt Hume-Demetrious Johnson martial arts lineage

“Yeah, it’s good for the MMA mythical lore. MMA lore, it’s fun for everybody.”

The assessment of the effort there in his ONE Championship debut and MMA debut overall 

“Yeah, I feel good. There’s things I can work on and improve over time and enjoy what I did. But, you know, I’m excited to get back to the gym. Just improve and get better. So, that’s on my mind.”

Dylan Bowker

I've been enamored with combat sports for as long as I can remember. I've hosted MMA talk shows Lights Out and Pure Fight Radio with featured guests like Jens Pulver, Roy Nelson, Miesha Tate, Mark Coleman, and more. I've been an MMA broadcaster for XFFC as well as BTC and have done play by play commentary on live pay per view on GFL as well as FITE TV. I've provided written, audio, and video content covering some of the biggest MMA promotions like Rumble in the Cage, Unified MMA, and King of the Cage. I've worked as a sports entertainment personality for over five years and given play-by-play or featured promotions of KSW, ONE Championship, TKO, and Invicta FC. My work can be found in the USA Today Sports affiliate MMA Torch, Cageside Press, MMA Sucka, and Liberty Multimedia.

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