Denis Puric, Anissa Meksen, And More Cut From ONE Championship Roster
ONE Championship has released five athletes from its roster, cutting ties with veterans Denis Puric and Anissa Meksen alongside three others whose recent performances failed to meet organizational standards.
The departures reflect the promotion’s increasingly competitive landscape, where limited roster spots and an expanding talent pipeline from ONE Friday Fights have created heightened performance expectations. Recent trajectory matters more than past accomplishments when roster decisions arrive.
Puric exits after a brutal stretch that saw him lose three of his last four contests. The 40-year-old striker’s promotional tenure ended at ONE 173 in Tokyo last November, suffering a second-round TKO loss to Takeru Segawa in flyweight kickboxing action. Age and accumulated mileage may have caught the veteran, whose decline accelerated after years of elite competition.
Meksen’s departure carries different weight. The French striker held major belts in other promotions but never captured ONE Championship gold despite multiple opportunities. She earned decision victories over Marie Ruumet and Dangkongfah in Muay Thai during 2022 before losing to Phetjeeja for the interim atomweight kickboxing title in 2023.
Her closest championship moment arrived in 2024 when she dropped a narrow decision to Jackie Buntan for the inaugural strawweight kickboxing title. Meksen closed her promotional run with a decision win over Kana Morimoto in December 2024, but the organization evidently viewed her ceiling as established. Earlier victories like the second-round TKO of Cristina Morales showcased her capabilities, but championship gold remained elusive.
Dmitry Menshikov entered ONE Championship in June 2023 with immediate title implications, challenging Regian Eersel for the lightweight Muay Thai belt. The Russian striker lasted under a minute before Eersel stopped him. He responded admirably with four consecutive finishes, rebuilding momentum before his trajectory stalled again. The 28-year-old’s inability to maintain consistency ultimately cost him his roster spot.
Argentina’s Nicolas Vigna exits after losing all three promotional appearances. His debut at ONE 171 in Qatar this past February against lightweight submission grappling champion Kade Ruotolo ended via first-round submission. Subsequent decision losses to Dzhabir Dzhabrailov and Shozo Isojima in MMA competition sealed his fate. Three fights, three losses, zero reasons for the promotion to continue the investment.
Flyweight Muay Thai competitor Tagir Khalilov rounds out the departures, another casualty of the promotion’s performance-based roster management.
ONE Championship indicated that released fighters may return if they rebuild momentum elsewhere, leaving the door open for future redemption stories. But with ONE Friday Fights consistently producing hungry contenders willing to fight for life-changing contracts, the pressure to perform has never been greater for established roster members.
READ MORE: Logan Paul and Bradley Martyn’s Viral Fight Clip Exposed as Prime Drink Publicity Stunt
Recent posts
