Fight Preview: Jordan Lucas vs Yusup Saadulaev in Yangon

A look at an intriguing bantamweight matchup in Yangon by ONE Championship lead commentator and Fox Sports Presenter Steve Dawson.

The biggest surprise last time ONE Championship went to Myanmar was buried in contest number three of a 10-fight card.

22-year-old Australian Jordan Lucas was making his debut for ONE Championship off the back of an 8-0 record that had everything you wanted to see on it. With four submissions, two KOs, and two decisions, the young BRACE Bantamweight champion had only been outside the first round twice, and looked like the kind of bantamweight who, before long, might line up against ONE Championship Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano Fernandes.

Edward Kelly — who’d lost three of his previous four, albeit against top class opposition — didn’t look like he was much more than a tune up, but how wrong that assessment proved to be. The Filipino choked out Lucas in less than four minutes.

Kelly has gone on to demonstrate that this was far from a fluke, with a win over Vincent Latoel, but Lucas still has some stern tests ahead of him. Typical of ONE matchmaker Matt Hume, that won’t come easily – his comeback opponent at the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar, on 7 October is the highly-skilled Yusup Saadulaev.

The Russian (14-4-1, 1NC) has a split-decision win over Interim ONE Flyweight World Champion Adriano Moraes, and is a popular fighter with the fans. There’s no doubt about what you get from the 31-year-old grappler: great conditioning, a constant threat, and the willingness to be hit for the chance to get within close quarters and work his submission magic.

Against Kelly, Lucas shot successfully for the takedown very early and made prolonged attempts to secure a rear naked choke, but Kelly’s submission defense was very effective. When Lucas secured Kelly’s back for a second time, he got schooled by a superb transition that saw them back to their feet.

When Lucas shot for the takedown again he was clearly not as fresh as he had been the first time. The technique became ragged, and Kelly’s own rear naked choke skills only needed one opportunity.

It’s hard to see how Lucas can overcome Saadulaev with a similar game plan, and I don’t expect him to. Bringing an unbeaten record to the ONE cage isn’t the same as having an unbeaten record in it. I see Saadulaev winning by submission, possibly inside the first round, but this is MMA, and anything could happen. 

Steve Dawson is ONE Championship’s lead commentator, a Fox Sports presenter and an author of sporting biographies. He can be found on Twitter & Instagram as @Gulasahi and on Facebook as Steve Dawson.