Rodtang Joins ONE GP

ONE Championship has unveiled the field for its 2026 Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix. Eight fighters are set to compete in November, including current champion Asadula Imangazaliev, former ONE titleholders Rodtang Jitmuangnon and Nong-O Hama, and several unbeaten or in-form challengers.

ONE published the announcement on September 23, following a post by CEO Chatri Sityodtong the previous day. The bracket, exact matchups and prize structure have not yet been released. That makes the news mainly a sporting marker for now: ONE is gathering the depth of one of its strongest striking divisions into a single tournament.

Champion, rivals, former kings

Imangazaliev enters as the reigning ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion. According to ONE, the Russian won seven of his first eight promotional appearances by knockout and claimed the vacant belt against Aslamjon Ortikov. Ortikov is also part of the Grand Prix, which keeps a rematch at least possible.

For the wider audience, the biggest names are still Rodtang and Nong-O. Rodtang is chasing a route back toward the top after defining the division for years. Nong-O brings a different threat as a former bantamweight champion: experience, power and the ability to turn fights with a small number of clean moments.

Youth makes the field sharper

Shimon Yoshinari remains unbeaten in ONE after knocking out Suablack Tor Pran49 at ONE SAMURAI 3, giving the tournament a clear Japanese angle. Black Panther enters on a six-fight winning streak, according to ONE, and represents the depth of Thai talent beyond the most famous names.

Ramadan Ondash of Lebanon and Ubaid Hussain of England complete the lineup. Ondash is only 19 and most recently defeated Johan Ghazali. Hussain is 20, remains unbeaten on the global stage and earned a main-roster contract at The Inner Circle 28, according to ONE. This is therefore not just a veterans' bracket, but also a test of how ready the next wave already is.

What still matters

The key missing piece is how ONE will seed the tournament. That detail will shape the sporting stakes. An early champion-versus-former-champion pairing would feel very different from a bracket built around generational clashes or national storylines. Ortikov's possible path back to Imangazaliev and Rodtang's route toward title relevance both depend on the draw.

For the flyweight division, the announcement already matters. ONE is not simply listing eight names. It is putting the major roles of the division into one format: current champion, former kings, in-form specialists and two very young challengers. If the matchups hold, Muay Thai gets an unusually concentrated tournament focus in November.