ONE Championship women’s atomweight grand prix: five storylines to watch out for
- Action set to get under way on May 28, with eight-woman line-up finally confirmed
- On International Women’s Day, SCMP MMA takes a look at five reasons you should be watching
It’s International Women’s Day, and what better way to mark the occasion than to break down one of the biggest announcements in women’s MMA history: ONE Championship’s long-awaited confirmation of their highly anticipated atomweight grand prix.
The five-month wait for names was filled with rumours and speculation, but now we know at long last who will make up the brackets: Ritu Phogat (4-0) of India, Stamp Fairtex (5-1) of Thailand, Japan’s Itsuki Hirata (7-0), Filipino Denice Zamboanga (8-0), Alyona Rassohnya (13-4) of Ukraine, former Invicta FC fighter Alyse Anderson (5-1) from the US and South Korean legend Ham Seo-hee (23-8).
Here are five reasons you should be watching when the action finally gets under way on May 28:
YAMAGUCHI, LIN, WAITING IN WINGS
The most curious element of the grand prix roster reveal wasn’t who was included, but rather who wasn’t – many fans were annoyed to see Nos 3 and 4-ranked Lin and Yamaguchi omitted.