Jessa Khan Set for ONE Championship Debut Next Month
Jessa Khan (C) of Cambodia celebrates after beating Mahra Alhinaai of United Arab Emirates in the jujitsu newaza women's under 49kg finals during the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta on August 24, 2018. Photo by GOH Chai Hin / AFP
- By Ken Gadaffi
- June 28, 2022 9:15 AM
The atomweight submission grappling contest will be her first major tournament since she was disqualified from the 2021 Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam
PHNOM PENH – Cambodian-American jiu-jitsu star Jessa Khan has been slated to feature in a ONE Championship tournament for the first-time next month.
The Singapore-based combat sport promoter recently revealed that Khan will be part of “ONE 159: De Ridder vs Bigdash”, a blockbuster show that will feature some of the top mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters in the world.
The 20-year-old athlete will face Ecuadorean Amanda Alequin in an Atomweight Submission Grappling contest.
The tournament will also feature several combats between international fighters: a Middleweight World Championship bout between Reinier De Ridder of the Netherlands and Vitaly Bigdash of Russia; an Interim Atomweight Muay Thai World Championship battle pitting Janet Todd of the United States and Lara Fernandez of Spain; a Strawweight bout featuring Bokang Masunyane of South Africa and Hiroba Minowa of Japan; a Bantamweight Muay Thai battle between Muangthai Pk. Saenchai of Thailand and Vladimir Kuzmin of Russia; a Strawweight Kickboxing tussle pitting Zhang Peimian of China versus Aslanbek Zikreeev of Russia, among other bouts.
The matches are going to be held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on July 22.
The Singapore-headquartered ONE Championship is the largest global sports media property in Asia.
This competition will be Khan’s first major tournament since she was disqualified from representing Cambodia during the 2021 Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam, as she exceeded the weight limit.
Khan, who was born from a Cambodian-American father and a Mexican-American mother, previously won gold medals for Cambodia during the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia and 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines.
In April, Khan defeated Thamires Aquino of Brazil and won a gold medal in the 2022 Pen Jiu-Jitsu Championship in the U.S., local media reported. To date, she has seven Jiu-jitsu world titles and six European and Pan-American titles, among other accolades.
