ONE Fight Night 39: Bokang Masunyane and Ryohei Kurosawa throwdown in high-stakes strawweight MMA war

(From left) Bokang Masunyane and Ryohei Kurosawa trade leather in Bangkok on January 23. [Image: ONE Championship]
Bokang Masunyane (left) and Ryohei Kurosawa (right) trade leather in Bangkok on Jan. 23. [Image courtesy: ONE Championship]

A strawweight MMA joust between third-ranked divisional contender Bokang Masunyane and Ryohei Kurosawa will join ONE Fight Night 39 on Jan. 23.

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The world's largest martial arts organization revealed this bout on its official site this past Monday.

Fans can expect nothing but a fast-paced contest between these two explosive fighters, who have a lot on the line heading into 2026.

Masunyane, whose fight name is 'Little Giant', introduced himself on the global stage with a dominant unanimous decision triumph over Ryuto Sawada at ONE: Mark of Greatness in 2019.

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The South African dazzled across three rounds with his world-class wrestling, while showing glimpses of his potent stand-up tools. Though he fell short of a finish in that fight, the Coach Quan University affiliate didn't let his second outing in the promotion go to the judges' scorecards.

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In fact, he needed only 37 seconds to wrap things up, landing a brutal head kick knockout of Rene Catalan.

He, however, failed to keep his positive momentum going when he was handed a first-round submission defeat to Jarred Brooks in April 2022.

Down but not out, Bokang Masunyane (10-3) brought a more well-rounded package when he returned, cruising to another pair of comfortable wins on the scorecards against Japanese sluggers Keito Yamakita and Hiroba Minowa.

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Unfortunately, things haven't gone quite as planned for the five-foot-one fighter in his past two appearances against Mansur Malachiev and Sanzhar Zakirov. Both athletes overcame the 31-year-old via unanimous decision.

He has had plenty of time to analyze the setbacks and should certainly bring a new version of himself into ONE Fight Night 39.

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Bokang Masunyane cannot underestimate Ryohei Kurosawa

A win for Bokang Masunyane should thrust him back into the world title mix, as newlywed ONE strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio looks for his second assignment in the latest chapter of his world title journey.

However, Kurosawa will be out to ruin his dreams and continue his upward trajectory in the loaded strawweight MMA division.

The 32-year-old warrior (20-4) debuted under the ONE Championship banner with a solid three-round showing against Jayson Miralpez at ONE Friday Fights 124 this past September.

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While he didn't score a highlight-reel finish, the Blackbelt Japan athlete troubled his Filipino opponent with his solid all-around arsenal.

He has attained 11 finishes from 20 career victories, though, proving that he has the power and submission skills to wrap things up early.

That said, it'll be far from easy to finish someone of Bokang Masunyane's caliber.

Will it be Masunyane or Kurosawa who gets their hand raised in this strawweight MMA tiff?

North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch the entire ONE Fight Night 39 card live in U.S. primetime for free.

Follow One Championship News, Schedule & Results at Sportskeeda.

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Edited by Aziel Karthak
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