ONE Championship: Anissa Meksen, Jimmy Vienot still under ‘exclusive contract’, officials say
- French striking stars Meksen and Vienot are set to compete in mixed martial arts for ARES Fighting Championship in May
- Mei Yamaguchi has been released, and will take on Kanna Asakura in her native Japan next month at Rizin’s Landmark 5 event
Anissa Meksen and Jimmy Vienot remain under “exclusive contract” with ONE Championship, officials told the Post, despite the three fighters taking bookings outside the promotion.
The Post was also originally told former ONE atomweight MMA title contender Mei Yamaguchi was also still under contract. But officials later confirmed on Tuesday she has been released. The 40-year-old Japanese veteran (21-14-1) is part of the line-up for Rizin Fighting Federation’s Landmark 5 event in her home country on April 29.
ARES Fighting Federation had announced last week that ONE striking stars Meksen and Vienot would both be competing in the French MMA organisation on May 11 in Paris.
Japanese promotion Rizin announced on March 3 that Yamaguchi has been booked to face Kanna Asakura in Yoyogi next month.
“I couldn’t answer anything when everyone asked me, so I was silent, but it was finally announced and it was refreshing,” Yamaguchi wrote on social media after the press conference for the event.
Yamaguchi was on a three-fight losing skid in ONE, where she has fought since May 2016, when she debuted in a bout for the inaugural atomweight MMA title against Angela Lee, who won the belt and has held it ever since.
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She lost a rematch against Lee two years later, but racked up six wins in the division during her time in the Singapore-based organisation.
Yamaguchi was initially left out of ONE’s atomweight MMA grand prix in 2021, but lost an alternate bout against Brazil’s Julie Mezabarba. Her most recent MMA fight – a decision loss to Malaysia’s “Shadow Cat” Jihin Radzuan – came in February 2022, and she last competed in a submission grappling draw against Danielle Kelly a month later.
The 34-year-old multiple-time kickboxing world champion Meksen would be making her MMA debut in ARES, should she compete.
“Paris, I’m back,” the Phuket, Thailand-based Meksen wrote in a social media post. “Let’s go. They ain’t ready.”
She claimed they made a “huge mistake in communication” over her proposed mixed rules MMA and Muay Thai fight against Stamp Fairtex in January, which she pulled out from just days before the Bangkok event.
Meksen was set to challenge Stamp for the interim atomweight kickboxing title last month in Thailand, having been frustrated in her attempts to face divisional queen Janet Todd since singing with ONE in August 2020.
Former ONE featherweight Muay Thai title challenger Vienot would be competing in his second MMA bout, should he fight in ARES in May. He also said on his Instagram account that he will compete in a Muay Thai title fight on March 18 in Nice, France.
The 27-year-old last competed in ONE in October, taking a unanimous decision over Niclas Larsen, having lost a contentious split decision to former featherweight Muay Thai champ Petchmorakot Petchyindee in May 2022.
French media reported recently Vienot is hoping to make it to the UFC, with whom ARES have a close relationship, as the France-based promotion is broadcast on UFC Fight Pass.
