Nazareth “The Northstar” Lalthazuala is getting another chance, and he is not wasting it.
The unbeaten Indian MMA fighter is set to make his ONE Championship main roster debut against South Korea’s Lee Seung Cheol in a strawweight MMA fight at ONE Fight Night 49 on Saturday, November 7, from Lumpinee Stadium in Thailand, as per The Times of India.
The 25-year-old from Mizoram, based in Guwahati and training out of Dojang MMA, had been scheduled to face Gilbert Nakatani in September for his main roster bow. But just days before the fight, Lalthazuala failed to make weight and pass hydration, and with no catchweight agreement reached, the bout was cancelled.
In the aftermath, the fighter and his team addressed the setback on Instagram with a statement that captured their mindset perfectly:
“Sometimes life throws obstacles at you that you never expected. Sometimes, despite giving everything you have, things still don’t go your way. But we will never give up. We learn. We come back stronger. We keep moving forward. One cancelled fight cannot cancel the dream. The journey continues.”
The southpaw carries an 8-0 career record with five finishes and a perfect 3-0 ONE record into his main roster debut, having made an immediate impression on the ONE Friday Fights circuit. His debut in November 2025 produced a 17-second knockout of Masaki Suzuki, one of the most explosive ONE debuts in recent memory.
A second-round submission of Jake Bron followed before a first-round TKO of Jhon Brutas in June earned him both a performance bonus and a life-changing US$100,000 main roster contract.
Now, standing across from him is one of the most dangerous fighters in the strawweight division.
Lee Seung Cheol, 27, carries a 14-1 career record with 11 finishes and a perfect 6-0 ONE record into the contest, riding a 14-fight winning. The South Korean followed a similar path, earning his main roster contract through ONE Friday Fights event series.
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