Isi Fitikefu will return to the ONE Championship ring against Dzhabir Dzhabrailov at ONE Fight Night 38 on December 6, a source told the Bangkok Post.
The three-round welterweight MMA bout will air from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, live in US primetime on Prime Video on December 5.
Fitikefu, a training partner of former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, is riding a two-fight win streak in the promotion. He had been set to face ex-ONE welterweight titleholder Zebaztian Kadestam earlier this year in what appeared to be a title eliminator, before the fight was cancelled at the last moment after Kadestam failed hydration.
The Swede was later taken to hospital for issues related to his weight cut, with ONE Championship’s head doctor, Warren Wang, determining during the three-hour testing window that Kadestam was too dehydrated to attempt another pass.
Fitikefu told the Bangkok Post at the time he was ‘disappointed and just wanted to fight’. Whittaker had even flown to Bangkok to corner him.
Kadestam moved up to middleweight last weekend at ONE Fight Night 36, losing by second-round TKO to former two-division champion Aung La N Sang.
His latest opponent, Dzhabrailov, is one of the promotion’s most explosive young talents.
The 20-year-old Turkish fighter has won all three of his ONE bouts by first-round knockout – the first two inside 20 and 47 seconds respectively, and the longest lasting just 1 minute 43 seconds.
After earning his contract through the ONE Friday Fights series, Dzhabrailov made his Prime Video debut in June with another first-round finish of Nicolas Vigna. He missed weight for that lightweight bout, though, and has since elected to move up to welterweight.
ONE Fight Night 38 will be headlined by bantamweight MMA champion Fabricio Andrade defending his title against Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu. A second world title will also be on the line as Brazil’s Diogo ‘Baby Shark’ Reis faces Japan’s Daiki Yonekura for the inaugural flyweight submission grappling belt.
Legendary British Muay Thai fighter Liam Harrison will also make his long-awaited return in a bantamweight kickboxing contest against Shinji Suzuki, ending a brief retirement after a loss to Seksan in Denver at ONE 168 in September 2024.