Rene Catalan has been inserted to One: Big Bang. One Championship (file photo) |
MANILA--The fans eagerly awaiting for the blockbuster showdown between Danny Kingad and Kairat Akhmetov may have to wait a little longer.
One Championship announced on Monday that the battle between the two flyweight stars has been postponed.
The mixed martial arts promotion revealed that one of Kingad's cornermen became a suspected COVID-19 case after getting a positive result in the mandatory pre-fight swab test.
This effectively means that Kingad and the Team Lakay delegation in Singapore are in isolation right now.
However, the number of Filipinos fighting at One: Big Bang will still be at two as Rene Catalan steps in.
The former One strawweight title challenger, currently ranked third in his division, gets a call-up and will see action on Friday night at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Catalan will take on Bokang Masunyane, an unbeaten South African fighter.
The 26-year-old Masunyane is sporting a 7-0 record but has yet to score a stoppage win since his impressive pro debut on Dec. 9, 2016, in which he submitted Mussadiq Alli Hassan via a kimura lock at EFC Worldwide 56.
Masunyane makes a return to the One Championship arena after nearly a year or after he scored a unanimous win against Ryuto Sawada at One: Mark of Greatness in Kuala Lumpur on Dec. 6, 2019.
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