The competition lineup for 2022 is already starting to take shape as the main event for the first Who’s Number One event in January has just been announced, Craig Jones will be taking on Pedro Marinho for the promotion’s Light-Heavyweight title. This will be the first time that the divisional title will ever be fought for, as Who’s Number One hasn’t actually had titles for any of their weightclasses until very recently. It all started with the WNO Championships event that was staged over a whole weekend and ended up crowning three men’s champions and two women’s champions.
That initial event provided non-stop action across both days and crowned the promotion’s very first champions, but there was nothing done in the Light-Heavyweight division, leaving it wide open until now. That wasn’t all either as WNO quickly arranged another two women’s titles at the very next event the in the 125lbs and 135lbs divisions. Those two titles were put on the line during the build-up to the return of Gordon Ryan, who took on UFC veteran Phillip Rowe in an exhibition match that ended with him scoring four submission finishes during the fifteen-minute period.
In the end it was two of the best female competitors around who emerged victorious and were crowned as those division’s first champions, Beatriz ‘Bia’ Mesquita and Ffion Davies. Now either Craig Jones or Pedro Marinho will be crowned the eighth Who’s Number One world champion and enhance their legacy beyond what they’ve already achieved in the sport. It’s events like these that will serve as fantastic build-up towards the 2022 ADCC World Championships, giving the fans a preview of what they can expect from some of the best athletes on the planet.
The full Who’s Number One event, including Craig Jones taking on Pedro Marinho for the Light-Heavyweight title, will be available to watch live on January 21st on FloGrappling, click here to subscribe and watch.