ONE Championship continues to add to its U.S. return on Friday, September 6. At ONE 168: Denver, strawweight hopefuls Hiroba Minowa vs Sanjar Zakirov showdown inside Ball Arena.
Minowa hit a rough patch against the division’s elite with three consecutive losses to Jarred Brooks, Bokang Masunyane, and Gustavo Balart. All three losses came by way of decision.
However, the learning experience against the top end of the division paid off when the Japanese talent returned in July. He was able to get back in the win column at ONE Fight Night 23 with a split decision win over Jeremy Miado to keep moving forward as the #4-ranked strawweight contender.
The ranking will be a target Zakirov will be trying to hit to extend his perfect ONE record to 4-0.
The 21-year-old “Tornado” has been perfect on ONE Friday Fights in three outings. Two of the three victories have come by way of TKO, showing his finishing prowess in the process. Now, the Uzbek athlete steps into the spotlight on Prime Video for his shot against the upper echelon.
As both men try to impress, the strawweight division will have to take notice of whoever walks out of Denver with their arm raised high.
The MMA battle will significantly impact the division moving forward and joins a stellar lineup of martial arts action in Denver. ONE 168 will be one of the year’s best lineups across the board.
ONE 168: Denver airs live on Prime Video at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Friday, September 6. Tickets to attend the star-studded event are available via Ticketmaster.