The highly anticipated heavyweight rematch between reigning ONE World Champion "Reug Reug" Oumar Kane and former titleholder Anatoly Malykhin will not take place as scheduled after Kane was involved in a car accident in the United Arab Emirates.
ONE Championship confirmed the postponement through its social media channels, revealing that the 33-year-old Senegalese wrestler sustained injuries in the incident that have ruled him out of competition.
The rematch was set to be one of the most compelling heavyweight contests in promotional history. Kane shocked the combat sports world at ONE 169 in 2024 when he defeated Malykhin via split decision, becoming Africa's first-ever ONE World Champion while simultaneously ending one of the sport's most dominant championship runs.
Malykhin entered that bout as MMA's first-ever three-division king, holding simultaneous titles at heavyweight, light heavyweight, and middleweight. The loss stripped him of the heavyweight crown, though the 37-year-old Russian from One Chance Team and Tiger Muay Thai still reigns over two weight classes.
The former ONE World Champion carries an impressive 14-1 career record and 6-1 promotional mark, with all six ONE Championship victories coming by stoppage. His only defeat came at the hands of Kane, who extended his winning streak to five fights with that historic triumph.
Kane holds a 7-1 record with the promotion and was preparing to prove his first victory was no fluke when the accident occurred.
While the heavyweight showdown has been removed from the schedule, ONE 173 remains loaded with championship action on November 16 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
The main event features a ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Championship unification bout between reigning king Superbon and interim titleholder Masaaki Noiri.
Four World Titles will be decided throughout the evening, with two Muay Thai championships and two MMA belts up for grabs across 17 scheduled bouts spanning four martial arts disciplines.
Promotional superstars Takeru Segawa, Superlek Kiatmoo9, Nabil Anane, Stamp Fairtex, and Rodtang Jitmuangnon will all compete on the card.
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