South African MMA sensation Willie van Rooyen brings his perfect record into ONE Championship\u2019s global spotlight. The undefeated fighter faces his toughest challenge immediately against a dangerous Uzbek finisher.<\/p>\n
Van Rooyen meets Avazbek Kholmirzaev in a flyweight MMA bout at ONE Fight Night 37<\/a> on Friday, November 7, broadcasting live from Bangkok, Thailand. The 23-year-old newcomer joins an increasingly stacked card<\/a> featuring multiple high-stakes matchups across various disciplines.<\/p>\n The Pretoria native established himself as one of Africa\u2019s most exciting young talents since turning professional in 2023. His 7-0 record showcases a well-rounded skill set built on world-class kickboxing fundamentals that translate dangerously into MMA competition.<\/p>\n Van Rooyen enters ONE riding momentum from four consecutive stoppage victories. His most impressive performances came in 2025 when he captured the EFC Flyweight Title in just 37 seconds via devastating straight right hand. Three months later, he successfully defended that championship by submitting his opponent with a rear-naked choke.<\/p>\n The A-Team Stars product under coach Nico Mothata possesses finishing instincts that keep fights out of the judges\u2019 hands. His combination of striking and submission skills create problems wherever the battle goes. But that outstanding ability faces immediate testing against Kholmirzaev\u2019s relentless pressure.<\/p>\n Kholmirzaev made his name through spectacular performances in the ONE Friday Fights series. Moreover, the Uzbek kicked off his promotional run in February 2024 with three consecutive highlight-reel finishes that announced his arrival among flyweight\u2019s elite prospects.<\/p>\n A tough decision loss in September 2024 temporarily slowed his momentum. But he responded by securing three more stoppage victories before earning the biggest win of his career. His dominant unanimous decision over former two-time DEEP Flyweight Champion Tatsumitsu Wada this past July secured his six-figure contract and main roster spot.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Willie van Rooyen tests skills against proven finisher<\/p>\n Avazbek Kholmirzaev brings a 13-2 record into his U.S. primetime debut. The 24-year-old possesses a jaw-dropping 92 percent finishing rate that makes him one of the division\u2019s most dangerous young fighters.<\/p>\n Willie van Rooyen\u2019s promotional debut carries enormous implications for both prospects seeking to establish themselves among flyweight\u2019s elite. The battle of unbeaten versus proven finisher creates fascinating stylistic questions about which path leads to championship gold.<\/p>\n Van Rooyen\u2019s kickboxing foundation provides advantages in striking exchanges. His crisp combinations and finishing power demonstrated against African competition now face elevation testing against international-level opposition. The South African must prove his skills translate against ONE\u2019s deeper talent pool.<\/p>\n Kholmirzaev\u2019s experience navigating ONE\u2019s weekly grinder provides crucial advantages. He understands the organizational expectations and competition level that await newcomers. His journey from Friday Fights obscurity to main roster contract validates his championship potential.<\/p>\n Both fighters possess the finishing instincts that guarantee fireworks when they collide. Van Rooyen\u2019s preference for early stoppages meets Kholmirzaev\u2019s relentless pressure in what should produce explosive action from the opening bell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"South African MMA sensation Willie van Rooyen brings his perfect record into ONE Championship\u2019s global spotlight. The undefeated…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":217462,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,785,2843,110005,85,132897],"class_list":["post-217461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-mma","tag-one-championship","tag-one-fight-night-37","tag-sports","tag-willie-van-rooyen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217461\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/217462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}