Kaito Faces Elimination Fight Against Siasarani

Kaito Ono needs a result against Mohammad Siasarani at ONE SAMURAI 2 on Saturday or risk becoming an afterthought in his own ONE Championship run.

The Japanese kickboxer dropped his promotional debut to Siasarani by unanimous decision in May before falling to Marat Grigorian at ONE SAMURAI 1 in April, leaving him winless in two outings. Now he gets a rematch with Siasarani in the quarterfinals of the eight-man ONE SAMURAI Featherweight Kickboxing Tournament in Tokyo, with a semifinal berth and a path to reigning champion Superbon waiting on the other side.

Tournament Structure Raises Stakes for Kaito

The winner advances toward a guaranteed title shot against Superbon. For Siasarani, that means chasing a dream matchup with a training partner and longtime idol he has only faced in the gym. "Superbon is a friend of mine. I have watched him since I was young, learned from him, and trained with him," Siasarani said, per BJ Penn. "I would love to fight him. It is a dream matchup for me, but I believe I am already at that level."

Kaito, meanwhile, faces a simpler equation: win in front of his home fans at EBARA WAVE Arena Ota or watch his ONE tenure slip further into irrelevance. BJ Penn reported that Siasarani has competed in 11 ONE fights and entered as the underdog in seven or eight of them, a position he claims fuels his preparation. The tournament streams live Saturday, August 8.

Reported via:

• BJPenn — Kaito needs a win over Siasarani to save his ONE Championship run