Diego ‘Pato’ Oliveira will now be defend the Who’s Number One lightweight world title against top contender Keith Krikorian in the main event of WNO 26 on February 7th, 2025. This will be the promotion’s first event of 2025 and this is the first matchup that’s been announced for the card, although if history is anything to go by then it probably won’t be the last title-fight. This match also marks the first time that Oliveira has ever attempted to defend the lightweight belt, as he won it a little under a year ago by submitting Dante Leon at Who’s Number One 22 and it hasn’t been put on the line since.
It’s not that Oliveira has been inactive of course, he’s actually been incredibly active throughout 2024 in a variety of different promotions. He won The Crown 2024 and earned a silver medal at under 66kg at ADCC 2024, two incredible achievements that very few competitors will ever manage. It’s not as if he’s been absent from WNO either, it’s just difficult being the promotion’s first ever double champion and having two titles to defend at the same time. The lightweight title was the second that Oliveira won so his next course of action was to return to featherweight to defend that belt, which he did by submitting Fabricio Andrey at WNO 24.
While this match at WNO 26 is a chance for Diego ‘Pato’ Oliveira to become the first man to defend two titles, Keith Krikorian has a huge opportunity against one of the top competitor in his weight class. Krikorian has been right at the top of American grappling for several years now, standing on the podium of ADCC Trials multiple times over. He has even made it to ADCC itself more than once, with his most recent attempt in 2024 ending in a narrow loss on points in the opening round. Krikorian also has a 1-1 record at WNO, with his most recent appearance being in the featherweight tournament at WNO 20: Night of Champions.
The full Who’s Number One 26 live event, including the main event title-fight between Diego ‘Pato’ Oliveira and Keith Krikorian, will available to watch live on February 7th, 2025 on FloGrappling, click here to subscribe and watch.
