Ben Askren is UFC bound and that means ONE Championship has a welterweight vacancy. It will be filled on November 17th when Tyler McGuire meets Zebaztian Kadestam in Jakarta.
Their welterweight title fight headlines at ONE: ‘Warrior’s Dream’ at Stadium Istora. Both men are coming off victories in Kuala Lumpur earlier this year, with McGuire outpointing Brazilian veteran Luis Santos and Kadestam scoring a stoppage win against local favourite Agilan Thani.
McGuire (11-0) is undefeated, just like the previous incumbent at welterweight. However the similarities with Askren end there. The former champion was a college wrestling champion and US Olympian while the man who hopes to succeed him had a successful amateur before signing up to join the US Air Force.
McGuire was already an active serviceman when he made his professional debut but has combined the two careers seamlessly. He has risen to the rank of Staff Sergeant while winning 11 fights as a pro, with eight of those victories coming inside the distance.
Kadestam (10-4) hails from Sweden and has won two fights out of three for ONE Championship, with the sole loss coming at the hands of Askren. He’s also a former PXC welterweight champion and eight out of his ten wins have come by way of stoppage.
Next up for ONE Championship is ONE: ‘Heart of a Lion’ on November 9th. The Show at the Singapore Indoor Stadium will feature a strawweight title fight between Angela Lee and Xiong Jing Nan and a bantamweight title fight between Kevin Belingon and Bibiano Fernandes.
ONE: ‘Warrior’s Dream’, Jakarta, November 3rd
Tyler McGuire vs. Zebaztian Kadestam (For Vacant ONE Welterweight Title)
