Japanese striker Kaito and Mohammad Siasarani of Iran have been booked for a featherweight kickboxing rematch at ONE SAMURAI 2. The event goes down on Aug. 8 from Ebara Wave Arena Ota in Tokyo.
The first meeting between these two at ONE Friday Fights 109 went Siasarani’s way. The 24-year-old applied relentless forward pressure and outworked Kaito over three rounds, taking a unanimous decision in what was a difficult promotional debut for the Japanese star.
Siasarani has since added a second-round knockout of Jo Nattawut at ONE Friday Fights 137 to his resume and backed it up with a hard-fought decision win over Pedro Dantas in his main roster debut at ONE Fight Night 39.
He arrives at this rematch riding a five-fight winning streak and carrying serious momentum.
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Meanwhile, Kaito enters the rematch with something to prove. The 28-year-old is one of the most decorated kickboxers in Japan, carrying a career record of 58 wins into ONE.
However, his two promotional appearances have both ended in defeat, culminating in a first-round knockout loss to Marat Grigorian at ONE SAMURAI 1 in April.
The Tokyo crowd will be firmly behind him on Aug. 8, and Kaito knows the magnitude of this make-or-break showdown.
Kaito vs. Siasarani II is part of the ONE SAMURAI featherweight kickboxing tournament
Kaito vs. Siasarani II is one of two confirmed tournament quarterfinal bouts announced for the ONE SAMURAI featherweight kickboxing tournament.
Former ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world champion Masaaki Noiri of Japan is also set to run it back with Chinese standout Liu Mengyang of China.
“Spirit Dragon” handed Noiri his first ONE Championship loss before recently stopping Tawanchai PK Saenchai to announce himself as the division’s top contender.
Meanwhile, the tournament will feature an eight-man bracket where the ultimate prize is a guaranteed world title shot against reigning ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Superbon.
Stay tuned to ONE Championship and Sportskeeda for the latest on ONE SAMURAI 2
Edited by Joseph Schiefelbein