ONE: Reloaded gets strawweight title eliminator, while heavyweights ‘Buchecha’ and ‘Reug Reug’ added to line-up
- Brooks and Masunyane will fight with a strawweight title shot on the line at ONE: Reloaded on April 22 in Singapore
- The event will also feature a newly-announced heavyweight tilt between grappling specialists ‘Buchecha’ and ‘Reug Reug’
The upcoming ONE: Reloaded event, scheduled for April 22 in Singapore, is beginning to look like can’t-miss spectacle for ONE Championship fans.
The Asian martial arts promotion recently revealed two new matchups for the card, and both could seemingly lead to title shots for the victors.
The more significant of the two bouts will pit American wrestling specialist Jarred Brooks against South Africa’s Bokang Masunyane, with a crack at strawweight champion Joshua Pacio of the Philippines hanging in the balance.
The 28-year-old Brooks (18-2), who has previously competed for the UFC, Bellator and Rizin, has looked unbeatable since joining ONE, picking up lopsided wins over Lito Adiwang and Hiroba Minowa to earn the No 2 spot in the promotion’s strawweight rankings.
His opponent Masunyane (8-0) has been out of action since December of 2020, when he knocked out Rene Catalan with a thunderous first-round head kick. Despite his long absence, he remains the strawweight divisions No 1-ranked contender.
The ONE: Reloaded line-up will also feature a colossal heavyweight clash between grappling specialists Marcus Almeida and Oumar Kane – better known by the nicknames ‘Buchecha’ and ‘Reug Reug’ respectively.
The 32-year-old Brazilian Buchecha (2-0), a decorated Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt, will be on the hunt for his third straight victory in ONE after submission wins over Anderson Silva and Kang Ji-won in his first two bouts with the organisation. If he wins, he will be well positioned for a crack at undisputed heavyweight champion Arjan Bhullar or interim king Anatoly Malykhin – though he has not been guaranteed a title shot in victory.