CV Stardom

Georgiy “Knight” Kichigin, 30, of Kazakhstan will make his ONE Championship debut at “ONE: Reign of Valor” at the iconic Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon on March 8, 2019. In his promotional debut, he will challenge reigning ONE Welterweight World Champion Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam, 28, of Sweden.

Kichigin and Kadestam had their face-off during the official “ONE: Reign of Valor” open workout at the Transcend Fitness Yangon in Yangon, Myanmar on March 5, 2019. During the event, the Kazakh challenger said, “This will be the most important fight of my career.”

“I have defeated many big names in the past but if I can defeat Zebaztian Kadestam and become the new ONE Welterweight World Champion, then that will definitely be the biggest win ever,” Kichigin continued. “I am very excited for this fight because this will be the biggest stage that I have been on. If I can become a world champion in just my first time with ONE Championship, then that will put me in the history books, as well.”

“I have trained hard for this opportunity and I will not let it go to waste,” the Kazakh mixed martial artist added. “My opponent is a great champion and a big test for me but I am confident that I can pass this test with flying colors.”

Born in Atyrau, Kazakhstan, Kichigin has two brothers and three sisters. They grew up in a poor family.

Before joining ONE Championship, Kichigin competed in Tech-KREP Fighting Championship, Absolute Championship Berkut and Fight Nights, among others. He is riding a 14-bout winning streak and currently holds a professional MMA record of 20 wins and 5 losses.

On the other hand, Kadestam currently has 11 wins and 4 losses. “ONE: Reign of Valor” marks his first title defense as the reigning ONE Welterweight World Champion.