Legendary grappler Marcus Almeida will make his long-awaited MMA debut on April 14, when he battles Ji Won Kang at ONE on TNT 4 in Singapore, the company announced. Combate first reported the matchup.
The decorate jiu-jitsu player won 13 gold medals as black belt at the IBJJF World Championship between 2012 and 2019, which includes six absolute titles.
The two-time ADCC gold medalist at the +99kg [over 218 pounds] weight class holds wins over there likes of Felipe Pena, Alexandre Ribeiro, ‘Cyborg’ Abreu, Leandro Lo, Erberth Santos, Rafael Lovato, Rodolfo Vieira, Garry Tonon, Dean Lister, Andre Galvao, Kron Gracie and Gilbert Burns in grappling competition.
Kang holds a MMA record of four wins and no losses. ONE will air Friday his most recent MMA bout, a heavyweight clash with Amir Aliakbari. The result is still unknown. The 25-year-old “Mighty Warrior” stopped Mehdi Barghi inside one round in his ONE debut in February.
Other notable matchups announced by the company includes “Reug Reug” Oumar Kane, who beat Alain Ngalani in his promotional debut earlier this year, versus Mehdi Barghi for April 7. The fourth show on the TNT series, set for April 28, will include Sage Northcutt’s sister Colby Northcutt, who returns from a win over Putri Padmi to take on Sovannahry Em.