Reigning Shooto bantamweight champion Tatsuya Ando has signed with ONE Championship. He is set to face Ali Motamed at Lumpinee Stadium on March 31st.
Ando stopped Ryo Okada in the second round last March to win the Shooto bantamweight title. It was the second time the two men had faced off with the first fight ending in a draw.
Okada (13-3-1) has been with Shooto for eight years. He appeared on the Road to UFC Japan reality show in 2015 and lost to eventual winner Teruto Ishihara by majority decision.
His opponent at ONE Friday Fights 11 is Motamed (7-5). The Iranian made his ONE Championship debut in 2020 but was stopped by Rui Chen and hasn’t been seen since.
Motamed initially came to prominence through ONE Warrior Series, fighting five times for the Rich Franklin fronted series and winning three of those bouts.
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Bantamweight battle
As normal ONE Friday Fights 11 will be headlined by a Muay Thai fight. Pongsiri PKSaenchaigym is set to take on Tyson Harrison in a bantamweight battle.
Pongsiri beat Ferzan Çiçek at ONE Friday Fights 2. He challenged for the featherweight title in 2020 but was beaten by Petchmorrakot Petchyindee.
Harrison faced Seksan Or Kwanmuang at ONE Friday Fights 1. He looked absolutely huge and is likely to tower over Pongsiri who is giving way five inches in height.
But Harrison could not quite get the better of Seksan on that occasion. He dropped a split decision to the Thai veteran after a close contest which could have gone either way.
ONE Friday Fights 11, Bangkok, March 31st
Pongsiri PKSaenchaigym vs. Tyson Harrison (Bantamweight)
MMA: Tatsuya Ando vs. Ali Motamed (Bantamweight)
