Reigning flyweight King of Pancrase Senzo Ikeda has signed on for the ONE Championship flyweight Grand Prix. He replaces Andrew Leone and will face Danny Kingad in Tokyo on March 31st.
Ikeda (12-6-1) is riding a four fight winning streak that culminated in a stoppage win over Yuya Wakamatsu last year. He also holds a perfect professional boxing record of 8-0, with wins over some top Japanese contenders.
The unfortunate Leone appears to have withdrawn with a back injury. ONE Championship recently announced a partnership with Pancrase that will see all champions from the Japanese promotion given the opportunity to compete on the international stage with the Singapore headquartered organization.
Ikeda faces Kingad (11-1) at ONE: ‘A New Era’ and joins Japanese fighters Tatsumitu Wada and Wakamatsu in the flyweight tournament. All four quarter finals are set to take place on the same night.
ONE: ‘A New Era’ is set for the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo and is being hailed as the biggest card in the promotion’s history. It features former UFC champions Demetrious Johnson and Eddie Alvarez as well as four title fights.
ONE: ‘A New Era’, Tokyo, March 31st
Eduard Folayang (c) vs. Shinya Aoki (For ONE Lightweight Title)
Kevin Belingon (c) vs. Bibiano Fernandes (For ONE Bantamnweight Title)
Xiong Jing Nan (c) vs. Angela Lee (For ONE Strawweight Title)
Aung La Nsang (c) vs. Ken Hasegawa (For ONE Middleweight Title)
Demetrious Johnson vs. Yuya Wakamatsu (ONE Flyweight Grand Prix Quarter Final)
Eddie Alvarez vs. Timofey Nastyukhin (ONE Lightweight Grand Prix)
Kickboxing: Yodsaenklai Fairtex vs. Andy Souwer (Featherweight)
Mei Yamaguchi vs. Kseniya Lachkova (Atomweight)
Danny Kingad vs. Senzo Ikeda (ONE Flyweight Grand Prix Quarter Final)
Reece McLaren vs. Kairat Akhmetov (ONE Flyweight Grand Prix Quarter Final)
Ivanildo Delfino vs. Tatsumitu Wada (ONE Flyweight Grand Prix Quarter Final)
Garry Tonon vs. Anthony Engelen (Lightweight)
Muay Thai: Rodtang Jitmuangnon vs. Hakim Hamech (Flyweight)
Muay Thai: Panicos Yusuf vs. Mohammed Bin Mahmoud (Bantamweight)
Kickboxing: Hiroki Akimoto vs. Joseph Lasiri (Flyweight)
Yoon Chang Min vs. Bala Shetty (Lightweight)
