Ben “The Problem” Woolliss returns to the global stage at The Inner Circle 22 carrying a renewed, highly dangerous edge — sharpened by a setback he has absolutely no intention of experiencing again.

The resilient Englishman collides with former K-1 Champion Yuki Yoza in a high-stakes bantamweight kickboxing showdown at Bangkok’s historic Lumpinee Stadium on Friday, July 17. The blockbuster Asia primetime card will stream live exclusively to subscribers at live.onefc.com.

After instantly announcing himself to millions with a shocking, first-round destruction of former MMA king John “Hands of Stone” Lineker in his promotional debut this past March, the 32-year-old dropped a hard-fought unanimous decision to former ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion Petchtanong Petchfergus in May.

That defeat has done absolutely nothing to dim his competitive fire. If anything, it has allowed him to channel his energy heading into another monumental battle.

Woolliss told onefc.com:

“Looking back, I think there were more positives for me to take from that fight. I pushed him to three rounds. There were some things I could have done better, but there were also things I did that were pretty impressive.

“But I’m not losing sleep over it. I’m just focused on fixing the shortcomings from that fight, tightening up my defense, and working on my attacks against Yoza.”

As such, Woolliss has left no stone unturned throughout his rigorous preparation camp at Soma Fight Club in Bali, Indonesia. In fact, he knows full well the level of danger he is walking into.

Yoza enters the ring on the back of a spectacular three-fight winning streak against world-class opposition — a brilliant run only recently halted by reigning ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion Jonathan “The General” Haggerty at ONE SAMURAI 1 in Tokyo this past April.

Woolliss intimately understands exactly what a victory over an opponent of that elite caliber would mean for his own World Title ambitions.

He said:

“Yoza is another top opponent. And I’m glad ONE Championship came through and gave me an amazing fight. I’ve studied what he does best. I’ve read his patterns. But I’m prepared for everything that he brings.

“Being at Soma is like a 24/7, 365-day fight camp. I have everything I need, whether it’s recovery or physios or my nutritionist. So, I’m perfectly dialed in to be able to put my best foot forward and compete.”

Given the grueling work he has put in over the past five weeks, Woolliss has every intention of making his return to “The Madison Square Garden of the East” count.

Though he refuses to boastfully call his shot, he is fired up to leave a lasting impression — one that could ultimately push him toward an unprecedented all-Brit World Title showdown in ONE Championship.

“The Problem” continued:

“I’m not big on predictions, really. But I’m ready to battle hard through a three-round fight or go for the finish if the chance is there. Either scenario works for me.

“Above all, I hope that the performance is strong enough to put me into that World Title conversation. I feel like this is almost an unofficial number one [contender’s] fight. So, beating someone like Yoza puts me straight back into the mix.”

Woolliss Breaks Down Yoza, Promises New Tricks Of His Own

While one eye is undeniably fixed on Jonathan Haggerty’s 26 pounds of gold, Ben Woolliss remains fully locked in on the immediate, dangerous task directly in front of him.

Getting past Yuki Yoza first means understanding exactly how the former ONE World Title challenger likes to operate, and the 32-year-old Brit has spent his entire camp meticulously doing just that.

He has completely dissected the Team Vasileus representative’s aggressive strengths and striking arsenal.

The Englishman said:

“From what I’ve seen, I can say that he does not give room for any of his opponents to operate. He loves to close the distance behind those calf kicks of his, and immediately try to swarm you with follow-up shots.

“But he doesn’t really do much of a great job with his hands. He does hit you, but it doesn’t seem like anything that will entirely rock me. That said, I cannot get careless against someone who has just as much explosiveness as I do inside the pocket.”

Respect for the immense threat Yoza poses has certainly not stopped Woolliss from plotting his own violent surprises.

Spending seven grueling years on the sidelines battling chronic Crohn’s disease taught him supreme patience, and he insists the version of himself stepping through the ropes at The Inner Circle 22 is significantly sharper and far more dangerous than the one fans saw in his first two promotional outings.

The Grimsby native revealed:

“Fans can expect a lot more new weapons from me in this fight. Throughout the seven years that I was away due to Crohn’s disease, I have leveled up every single day behind the scenes.

“The discipline and intensity are the same here. I’ve worked my socks off to improve. Whether it’s the right hand or the calf kicks that helped me knock out Lineker, everything will be far more dangerous and sharper.”

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ONE Championship returns to Bangkok’s iconic Lumpinee Stadium with a card guaranteed to deliver relentless action from the opening bell to the main event.

The Inner Circle 22, streaming live in Asia primetime on Friday, July 17, hosts a stacked five-fight lineup spanning kickboxing, submission grappling, and Muay Thai, available exclusively to subscribers at live.onefc.com.

Here are three undeniable reasons combat sports enthusiasts must tune in to this week’s edition of The Inner Circle.

#1 A World Title Rematch Four Years In The Making

After delivering one of the most breathtaking kickboxing clashes of 2022, reigning ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Champion Jonathan Di Bella and Zhang Peimian are finally set to author the second chapter of their rivalry.

The then-undefeated Team Di Bella Kickboxing standout narrowly secured the decision over the hardy Chinese star, who refused to yield throughout an action-packed 15-minute war in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Di Bella has been nothing short of sensational since that defining night. He added four more victories to his promotional slate, including a masterclass five-round defense against Sam-A Gaiyanghadao and a hard-fought unification win over Prajanchai PongSuphan PK — the very man who handed him the lone loss of his career.

The 29-year-old now carries a stellar 15-1 record into this rematch, remaining every bit the calculated technician whose high-IQ striking makes him one of the most complex puzzles to solve inside the ring.

Zhang’s road back to a second crack at the gold has been considerably rockier. The Chinese standout endured a grueling stretch, securing just two wins in five outings following that heartbreaking defeat. Rather than fade away, however, the 22-year-old clawed his way back into World Title contention with a pair of absolute statement performances over Thongpoon PK Saenchai and “El Jefe” Ellis Badr Barboza.

Four years removed from their instant classic, both men return to the same stage driven by unfinished business. Di Bella looks to prove the technical gap between them has only widened, while the Shengli Fight Club warrior aims to show the teenager who nearly dethroned him has matured into an entirely different threat.

#2 The P4P Queen Of Women’s Grappling Returns

Few names in women’s grappling can hold a candle to IBJJF No-Gi World Champion Helena Crevar, whose sheer dominance has completely redefined what is possible for her age.

The 19-year-old superstar — trained and promoted to black belt by the legendary John Danaher — has already established herself as the absolute gold standard of the sport. She seeks to add another clinical submission to her already remarkable resume at The Inner Circle 22.

Crevar carries a staggering 355-7 record into the matchup, having announced her global stage arrival with a slick estima lock finish against Teshya Noelani Alo at ONE Fight Night 39 this past January. She possesses the elite, high-level experience that most competitors twice her age never come close to accumulating.

The Kingsway Jiu-Jitsu representative rarely encounters a puzzle on the mats she cannot swiftly solve. However, that theory will be tested to its absolute limit against a surging debutant with every intention of derailing the hype train in their openweight submission grappling battle.

Paige Ivette Clymer arrives on the global stage from San Diego’s ultra-competitive grappling scene, having captured IBJJF gold at purple belt before earning her black belt in 2024. Her relentless, pressure-heavy style — forged through a grueling background in water polo and competitive bodybuilding long before she ever stepped onto the mats — makes her a highly dangerous threat to anyone in the world, regardless of reputation.

That fascinating collision of styles sets up an elite chess match. Crevar’s suffocating top game and ruthless finishing instincts will be tested against an opponent who thrives on wearing down world-class competition through sheer physical attrition.

A dominant victory for Crevar pushes her one step closer to a dream shot at ONE gold, while a win for Clymer would instantly rank among the biggest submission grappling upsets in recent memory.

#3 A Bounce-Back Battle For World Title Contention

Two elite bantamweight kickboxing contenders enter this pivotal matchup with the exact same mission: return to the win column and immediately inject themselves back into the World Title conversation.

Yuki Yoza rode a spectacular three-fight winning streak against world-class opposition — including Thai maestros “The Kicking Machine” Superlek and Petchtanong Petchfergus — before running into reigning ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion Jonathan “The General” Haggerty at ONE SAMURAI 1.

The setback in Tokyo this past April stung, but the former K-1 Champion possesses more than enough technical quality to remind the division exactly why he originally earned a shot at 26 pounds of gold.

Ben “The Problem” Woolliss steps into this high-stakes tilt carrying an identical chip on his shoulder. The Grimsby native delivered a knockout for the ages in his promotional bow, devastating former ONE Bantamweight MMA World Champion John “Hands of Stone” Lineker in less than two minutes.

Unfortunately, he failed to maintain that massive momentum in his sophomore outing against former divisional king Petchtanong. That said, the resilient Englishman has actively used that defeat as fuel heading into his toughest tactical test yet.

Both men intrinsically understand exactly what is on the line. A victory here could thrust the winner directly into the thick of the bantamweight kickboxing title picture. That landscape will soon come into much sharper focus, with Haggerty already confirmed to defend his crown against former kingpin Hiroki Akimoto at ONE SAMURAI 4 this October.

Whoever gets their hand raised at The Inner Circle 22 will be watching that Tokyo main event very closely, fully aware that a statement performance on July 17 could set up a direct path to the winner.

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ONE Championship returns to Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, July 17, with another exclusive card for members of The Inner Circle, streaming live at live.onefc.com.

A ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Title rematch four years in the making tops a card that also features the world’s top-ranked women’s no-gi grappler and one of Japan’s most dangerous kickboxers hunting a path back to another shot at gold.

In the main event, Jonathan Di Bella makes the first defense of his ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Title against Zhang Peimian in a rematch of the fight that started it all.

Di Bella, the son of Kickboxing Champion Angelo Di Bella, grew up on the mats of his family’s Montreal gym, and turned pro at 20 after going 20-0 as a junior and amateur. He has since become a four-time World Champion with one of the highest significant strike outputs in ONE kickboxing history, setting records for the most strikes landed in a single fight during his unification win over Prajanchai PongSuphan PK last October — a performance that left no doubt about who the best strawweight in the world is.

Zhang was 60 seconds away from derailing all of that at ONE 162 in 2022. The young Chinese fighter from rural Guangxi — who grew up chopping sugar cane and cutting rice on his family farm before his headteacher introduced him to martial arts — had led on all three scorecards heading into the final minute of the final round, only for Di Bella to produce a clutch head kick knockdown that snatched the title.

Zhang has admitted he let his emotions get the better of him that night, that at 19 he was not the most composed version of himself. He has since beaten “El Jefe” Ellis Badr Barboza and Thongpoon PK Saenchai and arrives here four years older, considerably sharper, and motivated by the kind of unfinished business that has a way of sharpening everything.

In the co-main event, Helena Crevar returns to the ring for her second appearance in ONE, this time against San Diego’s Paige Ivette Clymer in an openweight submission grappling contest.

Crevar is 19 years old, ranked number one pound-for-pound in women’s no-gi grappling, and holds a 355-7 record with 315 submission wins. She has submitted her last 20 opponents in a row and won the $100,000 CJI 2 tournament in September. The IBJJF No-Gi World Champion made her ONE debut in January with a 100-second estima lock finish of Teshya Noelani Alo, and has not slowed down since.

Born in Las Vegas to two Serbian parents, trained under Gordon Ryan and John Danaher in Austin, Texas, she is the kind of generational talent that comes along once in a long while.

Clymer is not a footnote. The 33-year-old Legion American Jiu Jitsu black belt under Keenan Cornelius started grappling in 2016 and spent years competing and teaching before earning her black belt in May 2024. She won the 2021 IBJJF No-Gi World Title at purple belt and reached the final of the ADCC West Coast Trials in 2022. She came back and won the same event outright in 2026 with two submissions and a decision, securing her place at the upcoming ADCC World Championships.

She is a pressure passer with sharp heel hooks who sets a punishing physical pace, and she arrives at Lumpinee with serious momentum behind her.

Rounding out the card, Yuki Yoza faces Ben “The Problem” Woolliss in bantamweight kickboxing action. Yoza is one of the most creative kickers in the sport, a former K-1 Champion from a Kyokushin Karate background who defeated “The Kicking Machine” Superlek at ONE 173 before his 12-fight win streak was finally snapped by Jonathan “The General” Haggerty at ONE SAMURAI 1 this past April. He is rebuilding with his ambitions intact and his eyes fixed on 2027.

Woolliss is the kind of opponent who makes that rebuild uncomfortable. The Grimsby-born fighter battled a chronic illness that nearly ended his career, lost 15kg, was told he would never fight again, and refused to accept it. He is now based in Bali, where he trains at Soma Fight Club. He shocked the world with a first-round TKO of former ONE Bantamweight MMA World Champion John “Hands of Stone” Lineker via calf kicks in March and nearly upset Petchtanong Petchfergus in his last outing. He is dangerous, creative, and carrying nothing to lose into one of the biggest fights of his career.

The Inner Circle 22 July 17 Full Card

• Jonathan Di Bella vs. Zhang Peimian (ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Championship)
• Helena Crevar vs. Paige Ivette Clymer (submission grappling – openweight)
• Kompikart PK Saenchai vs. Mustafa Al-Tekreeti (Muay Thai – lightweight)
• Sonrak Fairtex vs. Wuttikrai Wor Chakrawut (Muay Thai – bantamweight)
• Yuki Yoza vs. Ben Woolliss (kickboxing – bantamweight)

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