ONE Atomweight Grand Prix re-booked for September

The ONE Atomweight Grand Prix train is back on the proverbial tracks.

ONE: Empower initially was scheduled for May 28th. But the COVID-19 landscape in Singapore forced the promotion’s hand in postponing the card.

Question marks had been popping up from fans and pundits alike. As to if this tournament would ever even end up taking place at all.

The all-women combat sports extravaganza goes down on September 3rd.

ONE Atomweight Grand Prix

The brackets have been revealed and there has been yet another shift in terms of the quarterfinal matchups.

ONE Championship made this announcement during their ONE: Battleground card that transpired earlier today.

ONE: EMPOWER is back on! 🙌 Don't miss Xiong Jing Nan vs. Michelle Nicolini, Anissa Meksen's debut, and the start of the ONE Women's Atomweight World Grand Prix on 3 September! @AnissaMeksen @_itsuki_h_ #ONEEmpower #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/ydXspbF1oZ

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) July 30, 2021

Meng Bo will be experiencing yet another opponent switch for this Grand Prix quarterfinal contest.

Bo was initially supposed to fight Ritu Phogat until they pulled her from the GP for a Bi Nguyen bout. After Phogat’s controversial decision loss against Nguyen, Phogat was ousted from the Grand Prix and was replaced by ONE debutant Julie Mezabarba.

With the Mezabarba bout evidently dissolving, Bo will now test skills with Grace Cleveland inside the ONE Circle.

Thai Kitten is riding an eight-fight win streak dating back to her amateur days and is 5-0 as a pro overall. The product out of Elevation Fight Team has carved out her name on the KOTC circuit and Cleveland makes her ONE Championship debut here.

The other quarterfinal bouts include Denice Zamboanga vs Seo Hee Ham, Alyona Rassohyna vs Stamp Fairtex II, and Itsuki Hirata vs Alyse Anderson remain unchanged.

Beyond the hotly discussed tournament action, championship gold is also on the line in the ONE: Empower main event.

Xiong Jing Nan defends her strawweight crown against a truly elite contender and jiu-jitsu savant in Michelle Nicolini.

Plus, Anissa Meksen will make her long-awaited atomweight kickboxing debut in the ONE Circle against Cristina Morales.

Which bout on ONE: Empower are you most stoked for heading into September?

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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