Kwon Wonil comeback match with ‘Tyson of New Zealand’
Mixed martial arts fighter Kwon Won-il (27) will play a comeback against an opponent who can engage in a hot batting battle, leaving behind the regret of missing the title match of Asia’s largest group “ONE Championship.”
Kwon Wonil will face Mark Abelardo (31, New Zealand/Philippines) in the first game of the ONE on Prime Video 4 main card in Singapore on November 19. The main card of this competition will be scheduled to be broadcast live on the global OTT service “Amazon Prime Video” from 8 p.m. on the 18th in New York, the U.S.
Kwon Wonil, ranked fourth in the One Championship, is aiming for a rebound 170 days (5 months and 17 days) after losing the bantamweight title challenger match. Abelardo is the winner of season 3 of the 2018 martial arts reality program “One Warrior Series (OWS).”
The One Championship evaluates the top five players by weight, excluding champions, through its official ranking. Kwon Won-il was third in the bantamweight division and then fell to fourth place. This is the aftermath of champion John Lineker (32, Brazil) falling to second place in the rankings after being deprived of his title due to a failure in the first defense match.
The challenger Fabrizio Andraj (25, Brazil) rose from second place in the bantamweight division of the One Championship to first place. Although the title match itself was invalidated due to the third-round attack on Lineker’s vital point, he was recognized for playing a dominant game before the accident.
Kwon Wonil collapsed in June this year, allowing Andraji a body kick in 1 minute and 2 seconds after the start of the game. His pride in his batting skills, which boasts a mixed martial arts KO winning rate of 81.8% (9/11), was greatly damaged. If you beat Abelardo, who is called “New Zealand’s Tyson,” it will be a return to some degree of honor.
Abelardo’s mixed martial arts KO winning rate is 60% (12/20) lower than Kwon Won-il. Kwon Won-il, who has 6 wins and 4 losses, also leads Abelardo, who has 5 wins and 4 losses, including OWS.
The one-championship bantamweight throne, which lost its owner, is likely to find the owner of the champion belt through a rematch between No. 1 Andraj and No. 2 Lineker. Kwon Won-il can find his way back to the top challenge if he does not add defeat and does not deviate from the official ranking until then.
The One Championship has held 217 events in 24 countries since 2011, with its first competition in Australia, the Netherlands, and Mongolia.