THOUSANDS of people will descend upon the Singapore Sports Hub in Kallang on Saturday (Mar 26), with One Championship staging a mega mixed martial arts show to celebrate its 10th anniversary, and Singapore and Malaysia renewing their football rivalry in the latest instalment of the Causeway Derby.

It will be, by some distance, the busiest day that the Sports Hub has experienced since the start of the pandemic over 2 years ago, with its largest venues - the National Stadium and the Indoor Stadium - in the spotlight with a couple of the most eagerly anticipated events in this year's local sporting calendar.

A decade of MMA

Since One Championship was founded in 2011, the Singapore-based sports media property has chalked up one milestone after another with some of the biggest mixed martial arts shows in the world.

But those will all pale in comparison to this Saturday's One X, an event so big it is being spread over 3 parts spanning more than 10 hours in a single day. There are 20 bouts in all, with 5 world championships on the line.

At a press conference on Wednesday, One Championship's chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong claimed the show will leave an indelible mark on generations of combat sports fans. "This is the first time in history that any major global organisation is attempting to pull off what we are doing, making history with the greatest world championship athletes in mixed martial arts, in submission grappling, in kickboxing, and in Muay Thai," he said.

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The main event of the grand finale featuring Angela Lee defending the atomweight world championship against Thailand's Stamp Fairtex.

It's the first time in 29 months that Lee - born to a Singaporean dad and a South Korean mum - is competing inside the cage, but the 25-year-old insists she has shaken off the rust and won't feel any pressure as she looks to end the in-form Stamp's winning streak.

"I've put in 5 months of hard training, double the time that I usually do. It needed to be this way because of the extended time off (due to the pandemic and giving birth to my daughter Ava Marie)," she told BT Weekend in a video call.

"I needed to make sure I am at 100 per cent, better and stronger than ever, and I'm excited to put on a great fight for everyone. It's been so long since the fans have been able to watch a live event, and I trust they will bring some great energy to the stadium."

There is plenty of other mouth-watering fights to look out for. Demetrious Johnson, formerly from the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the United States, will square off against flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a 4-round mixed rules super-fight.

Japanese stars Shinya Aoki and Yoshihiro Akiyama will clash in a lightweight match, while John Wayne Parr and former lightweight world champion Eduard Folayang collide in a Wushu versus Muay Thai showdown.

Lions against Tigers

Football fans have waited more than 3 years for Singapore and Malaysia to square off on a football field, and as many as 15,000 spectators will be at the National Stadium to witness these 2 nations play on Saturday (8pm kick-off) in an international friendly.

It's also the first time Singapore are in action since their run to the semi-finals of the Suzuki Cup on home soil last December.

This match between the neighbours is part of the Football Association of Singapore's Tri-Nations Series 2022, which also involves the Philippines.

The last time the Singapore Lions and the Malaysia Tigers played each other was in March 2019, when Faris Ramli's goal gave the Lions a gritty 1-0 win in the Airmarine Cup at the Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur. Singapore last hosted Malaysia nearly 6 years ago, in October 2016, in what turned out to be an uneventful goalless draw.

With the recent departure of Singapore's national coach Tatsuma Yoshida, the spotlight is on Young Lions coach Nazri Nasir, who takes charge of the senior squad for the second time in his career.

Malaysia also has a new coach - South Korean Kim Pan-gon - who got off to a winning start as he oversaw a 2-0 victory over the Philippines in the opening match of the Tri-Nations Series on Wednesday. While there won't be any trophy up for grabs at the final whistle, it's a given that these 2 rivals will give it their all and go for the win.

Singapore will return to the National Stadium next Tuesday (Mar 29) to face the Philippines in their second and final match of this competition.