A four man Road to ONE middleweight tournament will take place in Australia later this year. The semi finals are set for Beast Championship 11 on October 7th.
Four experienced Australian middleweights have been confirmed for the tournament with a ONE Championship contract on the table for the winner:
View this post on Instagram
Impressive record
Among the fighters participating in the tournament is Priscus Fogagnolo who boasts an impressive 11-1 record. He holds black belts in both Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and judo.
Fogagnolo turned 39 earlier this year and has not competed in MMA since 2019. But he has been a professional for 17 years and will be the most experienced fighter in the tournament.
Jointing him is Harry Grech who is less experienced in MMA terms with a 2-0 record but also holds black belts in BJJ and judo. The 33 year old was a late started, making his pro debut in 2o19.
View this post on Instagram
Immediate shot
The only fighter in the tournament who is not from Australia is Lyle Karam. The South African is 7-1 and is a veteran of EFC which has helped launch the careers of fighters like Reinier de Ridder and Dricus du Plessis.
The final fighter is Isi Fitikefu who has an impressive 8-0 record and recently captured the Rogue FC middleweight title. The 29 year old has a 100% winning record but has never fought outside of Australia.
The tournament winner will be joining a division which is currently ruled by Reinier de Ridder who holds both the middleweight and light heavyweight titles.
He will be defending the middleweight strap against Vitaly Bigdash at ONE 159 later this month. The winner of this tournament could be in contention for an immediate shot at that title.
View this post on Instagram
Australian fighters
The most successful Australian fighter to have signed for ONE Championship is Martin Nguyen. At one stage he held the promotion’s featherweight and lightweight titles and came very close to winning the bantamweight strap.
Adrian Pang and Reece Mclaren have also enjoyed success in their respective divisions. But while there are several Australians in the ONE Super Series mixed martial artists from that nation have featured less frequently.
Linking up with Beast Championship in Australia looks set to provide the promotion with a steady stream of fighters from that country. Whoever wins this tournament looks set to be an immediate contender in the middleweight division.
