It’s back-to-back events for Asia’s biggest MMA promotion. After last week’s card in Singapore this Saturday is ONE: “Warrior’s Dream” in Jakarta and the headliner is a welterweight title tilt.
Undefeated American Tyler McGuire faces Swedish striking specialist Zebastian Kadestam for a title which, until recently, was the property of Ben Askren. The event at Stadium Istora also features the ONE Championship of debut of kickboxing veteran Nieky Holzken.
Here’s my preview of the bottom half of the card:
115 lbs.: Putri Padmi Vs Dwi Ani Retno Wulan
These two Indonesians are both making their pro debuts and I have no information about either.
155 lbs.: Xie Chao Vs Bruno Pucci
Nowadays he is better know for being Angela Lee’s husband than for his fight career. But Bruno Pucci (5-3) is a no-gi grappling world champion and one of the most dangerous submission specialists in the division.
Punch resistance seems to be an issue for the Brazilian, and all three of his losses have been by stoppage due to strikes. For Chao Xie (9-4) the task is to try to test Pucci’s chin without getting taken down in the process.
125 lbs.: Brown Pinas vs Yohann Drai
Yohann Drai is a rising star in Thailand and it ranked as a minor upset when he was beaten by Jo Nattawut earlier this year. He holds wins over Jomthong Chuwuttana and Iquezang Kor Rungthanakeat and will be the favourite here.
Having said that, Brown Pinas went the distance with Chamuaktong Fightergym on his ONE Super Series debut which will have done wonders for his confidence, even if it wasn’t a particularly close fight.
125 lbs.: Adrian Mattheis vs Aziz Calim
Adrien Mattheis (6-4) is a veteran of eight ONE Championship fights and has beaten the guys you would expect him to beat but consistently come up short against top tier opposition.
Aziz Calim (4-2) has emerged from the local ONE Pride promotion, which has a tendency to put on wild brawls. Mattheis seems to be more of the grappler and might play it safe by trying to take this one to the ground.
135 lbs.: Eugene Toquero Vs Tatsumitsu Wada
Eugene Toquero caused Adrian Moraes a lot of problems, and looked like he was on the verge of stopping arguably the best flyweight in ONE Championship history. He comes from a Muay Thai background but is a solid grappler who can mix his gameplan up depending on the opponent.
Tatsumitsu Wada (19-9-2) dropped split decision to Reece McLaren on his ONE Championship debut. He probably backtracked too much in that fight but is a versatile fighter who is strong in the clinch and tends to look for takedowns.
145 lbs.: Zhao Zhi Kang Vs Dae Hwan Kim
Dae Hwan Kim (13-3-1) comes from a Muay Thai background but has six submission wins to his name, including one against newly crowned bantamweight king Kevin Belingon. He was able to dominate Mazakazu Imanari on the ground in his last fight, which is no easy task.
Zhao Zhi Kang (11-3) was submitted by Pakistans’ Waqar Umar earlier this year, that result was a major upset. The Chinese fighter has a lot of amateur experience, but Kim will be confident of submitting him here.
125 lbs.: Egi Rozten Vs Eddey Kalai
Egi Rozten (1-0) is a veteran of 26 boxing matches, although he’s lost 19 of them. His ONE Championship debut was an entertaining affair with both fighters swinging for the fences, he eventually won with ground and pound.
So far the pro career of Eddey Kalai (0-4) has not gone well. But it’s worth remembering he has a 10-4 amateur record and reached the final of the MIMMA flyweight tournament in 2016 which suggests he is no pushover.
The entire ONE: “Warrior’s Dream” card will be available to view live and free using the newly launched app which you can download here. The first six fights will also be live on twitter and facebook.