The association between Muay Thai Grand Prix and ONE Championship is set for another huge milestone this weekend. The “Road to ONE” event, set to take place in Liverpool this Saturday, features the start of a huge Bantamweight Muay Thai tournament.
Despite facing difficulties with dates and injuries, Muay Thai Grand Prix will finally kick-off the eight-man Bantamweight tournament at the Olympia Hall on Merseyside this Saturday, September 10.
In one of the quarter-final bouts, we’ll see the slick, unorthodox Irish striker, Craig Coakley, take on the durable Swede, Kim Falk.
Falk, of Drakstadens Muay Thai gym in central Sweden, has earned a big reputation in the UK after his knockout victory over Shane Farquharson back in March. He also holds a big win on UK soil over Nathan Bendon back in 2014. The pair were later scheduled for a rematch, but Falk withdrew due to injury and they’ve yet to cross paths since. Bendon, who competes in the other half of the tournament bracket, has recently said he’d like to meet Kim Falk in the final.
To do that, though, the Swede will have to get past Irishman Craig Coakley, who recently defeated ONE Championship signed athlete, Panicos Yusuf, to win the MTGP World title. He’s been on the wrong end of some questionable decisions in recent years, so one is for certain; he won’t want to leave this to the judges.
In the second quarter-final bout, Natty Dodds returns to face Amro Ghanem. The former Team GB fighter, Dodds, has been inactive on the Muay Thai scene in the past few years, but made a successful return to the MTGP stage against Elia Zamprogno in April. He’ll face a tough challenge against “The Handsome Killer”, Amro Ghanem, who trains out of Team Tieu in London and alongside ONE Championship Strawweight World champion, Joseph Lasiri, in his hometown in Italy.
Elsewhere, Joe Craven will make a main event appearance. After his successful return to the ring at MTGP in April, he is set to face Jacopo Tarantino for the MTGP 72.5kg European title. His Bad Company team mate, Becky Caslin, is also set for a huge return to the ring.
After a few years out, Caslin made the switch to Bad Company and has reignited her passion to be the best once again. The MTGP British and European champion has moved up to 52.5kg and will take on ONE Championship athlete, Anne Line Hogstad. The Norwegian beat Alma Juniku in her ONE debut back in 2020 before a loss to Janet Todd in April 2021.
Full main card for MTGP Road to ONE;
- (Main Event) Joe Craven vs Jacopo Tarantino
MTGP 72.5kg European Title - Natty Dodds vs Amro Ghanem
Road to ONE Bantamweight Quarter-Final - Craig Coakley vs Kim Falk
Road to ONE Bantamweight Quarter-Final - Becky Caslin vs Anne Line Hogstad
- Yves Brusnello vs Ioc Cecan
- Ian Gibson vs Kenneth Cruz
- Naz Powell vs Josh Cooper
- Kesia Dempsey vs Mia Trevorrow
- Joe Hughes vs Adam O’Driscoll
How to watch MTGP Road to ONE?
Muay Thai Grand Prix: Road to ONE will be live streamed this Saturday, September 10, from the Olympia Hall in Liverpool.
The event will be streamed live at WeKaptureTV, starting at 4pm BST (British Summer Time). Pay-per-view tickets are currently priced at £9.99.
