What to watch for in ONE: Eternal Glory

The ONE: Eternal Glory card in a couple of weeks

ONE Championship is set to kick off 2019 with its first MMA event: ONE: Eternal Glory. Scheduled on January 19 at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta, with fifteen fights on the card.

Here are some things to watch out for:

Joshua Pacio title defense

The main event of ONE: Eternal Glory was supposed to be a rematch between Joshua Pacio and Hayato Suzuki for the former's strawweight title, but the latter suffered an injury. Yosuke Saruta stepped in to take on the challenge against Pacio for the title.

"The Passion" had been looking forward to avenging his loss against Suzuki back in August 2017. He already avenged a loss against Yoshitaka Naito back in September during ONE: Conquest of Heroes. Joshua, however, cannot look past Saruta as an injury replacement. The 31-year-old Japanese has fought 26 times and is fresh from making his ONE Championship debut last month against Alex Silva.

Lee-Kelly rematch

Back in September during ONE: Beyond the Horizon, Christian Lee and Edward Kelly faced off, with the latter winning via disqualification after the former completed a suplex. "The Warrior" is looking to repeat his dominance against "The Ferocious," without having to deal with that particular outcome.

Kelly is seeking to keep the recent success of Team Lakay in 2018 into 2019, while Lee is seeking to get himself back into another title rematch against current featherweight champion Martin Nguyen.

Wushu Queen showdown

Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol had a busy 2018 for ONE Championship, finishing with a 5-1 record. The Indonesian National Wushu Champion seeks to capitalize on that success into 2019, as she faces off against Indian champion Puja Tomar.

With the prospects of current champion Angela Lee potentially moving up to strawweight permanently as "The Unstoppable" one seeks to claim that title in ONE: A New Era, the Gaol-Tomar winner could figure into the title chase relatively soon.

Action-Packed Muay Thai clashes

Last year saw the integration of Muay Thai matches onto ONE Championship cards through its ONE Super Series. 2019 will not be different, as ONE: Eternal Glory will feature Joseph Lasiri and Jonathan Haggerty. "The Hurricane" is seeking to use his fan-friendly striking skills against the Englishman, which could yield a highlight-reel finish.

In addition to Lasiri-Haggerty, ONE: Eternal Glory also features two more ONE Super Series matches: Florent Kaouachi faces Steve McKinnon in kickboxing, while Alexi Serepisos faces Mongkolpetch Petchyindee Academy in Muay Thai.

Rahardian's return

ONE Indonesia Flyweight Tournament champion Stefer Rahardian is seeking to use the Brazilian Jiu-jutsu he learned under Carlson Gracie against Robin Catalan in a strawweight matchup. Catalan would prefer to use his Wushu and Muay Thai skills in stand-up, providing a clash of styles.