Former ONE champion, Zebaztian Kadestam, is making his highly anticipated return to the ONE Championship ring. He is scheduled to face off against Isi Fitikefu at the upcoming ONE Fight Night 31 event, taking place on Friday, May 2nd at the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Thailand.
Officials from ONE Championship confirmed the exciting matchup earlier this week.
This fight marks Kadestam`s first appearance in ONE Championship since his sensational second-round knockout victory over Roberto Soldic, a former two-division KSW champion, in 2023. That impressive knockout was Kadestam`s third consecutive stoppage win, successfully putting him back on the path to contention after a previous three-fight losing streak.
Since his last defeat in 2021, Kadestam has demonstrated a remarkable turnaround with a series of impressive performances, most notably his finish of Soldic. Soldic himself recently returned to the winner`s circle with a knockout against Dagi Arslanaliev in February and remains the last fighter to defeat current UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis.
A veteran of ONE Championship since 2017, Kadestam has a history of facing top-tier opponents within the promotion, including Ben Askren, Tyler McGuire, and Murad Ramazanov.
Isi Fitikefu will be making his fourth walk to the ONE Championship circle, holding a record of 2 wins and 1 loss in his first three appearances. His most recent victory came against Hiroyuki Tetsuka in 2024.
ONE Fight Night 31 will be available for viewing on Amazon Prime in the United States and will also feature a captivating grappling match starring Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert Tye Ruotolo.
Wesley Dunham