Cole Abate is officially set to return at ONE Fight Night 35 on September 5th, 2025, where he’ll face off against fellow elite featherweight Samuel Nagai!
The bout will take place at featherweight – a division currently without a champion in ONE Championship.
Both Abate and Nagai are widely considered among the top grapplers in the world at that weight, and with the belt vacant, a win here could put either man next in line for a title shot.
Featherweight has quickly become one of the deepest divisions in ONE’s grappling roster.
Gabriel Sousa is currently 1-1 in the promotion and holds a decision win over Gianni Grippo this year.
Fabricio Andrey also made a strong debut recently with a win against Ashley Williams.
Given the influx of high-level talent, ONE appears poised to crown their first featherweight submission grappling champion soon.
Abate comes into the match off the back of a submission win over MMA legend Shinya Aoki last year, while Nagai will be making his promotional debut.
Despite that, Nagai has long been established as one of the most dangerous featherweights in the sport.
This will also be the third meeting between the two. Abate holds two wins over Nagai from earlier this year – one by points at an IBJJF Open, and another by decision in the quarterfinals of the IBJJF Pan Championship 2025.
Abate went on to win silver at that tournament, though it’s important to note that both of those wins came in the gi.
Now they meet in no-gi, where Abate has arguably had even more success.
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