In an effort to bring more attention to the global stage of mixed martial arts, this list does not focus on major North American-based promotions such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Bellator MMA and the World Series of Fighting:
The One Championship stage once again belongs to Ben Askren.
Askren will defend his welterweight crown against Nikolay Aleksakhin in the One Championship 40 “Global Rivals” main event on April 15 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines. The two headliners will be subject to One Championship’s recently adopted weigh-in policy, which requires athletes to compete at their “walking around” weight.