By:  | December 5, 2023 2:26 pm

Felipe Lobo has withdrawn from ONE Fight Night 17 at the last minute. The Brazilian had been scheduled to face Saemapetch Fairtex at Lumpinee Stadium on Saturday morning but picked up an injury.

We don’t know exactly what the issue is with Lobo but ONE Championship wasted no time in finding a replacement. Mohamed Younes Rabah will now be facing Saemapetch on Saturday.

Rabah is Algerian but appears to be based at the Venum Training Camp in Pattaya. That is home to current ONE Championship stars Alaverdi Ramazanov, Sinsamut Klinmee and Phetjeeja Lukjaoporongtom.

Saemapetch is also based in Pattaya and he trains at the Fairtex Camp. The two men are probably familiar to one another and they will face off in a catchweight contest which is set for 150lbs this Saturday

Inaugural title

The inaugural ONE Championship heavyweight Muay Thai title will be up for grabs in the main event. Roman Kryklia and Alex Roberts will go head to head at Lumpinee Stadium with the belt on the line.

The title fight looks set to headline ONE Fight Night 17. Kryklia won the heavyweight kickboxing Grand Prix last year and also holds the light heavyweight kickboxing title.

The Ukrainian has won five fights out of five for ONE Championship with four of those wins coming inside the distance. Roberts will be making his promotional debut but is the reigning WBC heavyweight Muay Thai champion.

Malaysian teenager

As previously announced Johan Ghazali will make his official ONE Championship debut next month. The Malaysian teenager has been booked to take on Edgar Tabares at Lumpinee Stadium on December 9th.

ONE Fight Night 17 is set for Lumpinee Stadium and it is a venue the 16 year old is already familiar with. He has won four fights out of four there this year to earn a spot fighting on one of the Amazon Prime cards.

At ONE Friday Fights 36 he finished Temirlan Bekmurzaev with a body show. Three of Ghazali’s four wins this year have come inside the distance and he has picked up three $10,000 USD bonuses.

Vietnamese star

Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat returns to the ONE Championship ring after a four year absence next month. The Vietnamese star has not competed for the promotion since 2019.

Nhat has been matched with Denis Purić at ONE Fight Night 17. The event is set for Lumpinee Stadium on December 9th and the Vietnamese star will be competing in a flyweight Muay Thai fight.

Nhat won two fights out of two for ONE Championship in 2019 with both victories coming inside the distance. While he hasn’t fought for them since then he has been busy collecting titles and winning tournaments.

In 2021 he won a gold medal at the SEA Games and last year Nhat won gold at the IFMA World Championships. He also began his MMA career in 2022, winning four fights out of four to win a Lion Championship tournament.

Eight fights

There are eight fights on the ONE Fight Night 17 card and they will all be contested under Muay Thai rules. In the featherweight division Luke Lessei faces Jo Nattawut, the Thai gave a very good account of himself when he stepped up to face Tawanchai at short notice recently.

Malaysian teenager Johan Ghazali faces Edgar Tabares in a flyweight fight. Also in the flyweight division Walter Goncalves meets Jacob Smith and Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat takes on Denis Puric.

ONE Fight Night 17, Bangkok, December 9th
Muay Thai: Roman Kryklia vs. Alex Roberts (For heavyweight title)
Muay Thai: Saemapetch Fairtex vs. Mohamed Younes Rabah (Catchweight)
Muay Thai: Luke Lessei vs. Jo Nattawut (Featherweight)
Muay Thai: Johan Ghazali vs. Edgar Tabares (Flyweight)
Muay Thai: Dmitry Menshikov vs. Mouhcine Chafi (Lightweight)
Muay Thai: Walter Goncalves vs. Jacob Smith (Flyweight)
Muay Thai: Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat vs. Denis Purić (Flyweight)
Muay Thai: Thongpoon PKSaenchaigym vs. Ellis Badr Barboza (Catchweight)