ONE: “Ascent to Power” is booked for the Singapore Indoor Stadium on May 6, 2016 and at the top of the card are two title fights. Vitaly Bigdash defends his Middleweight strap against Alexei Butorin in the headliner while the co-main event s…
ONE: “Ascent to Power” is booked for the Singapore Indoor Stadium on May 6, 2016 and at the top of the card are two title fights. Vitaly Bigdash defends his Middleweight strap against Alexei Butorin in the headliner while the co-main event sees Angela Lee and Mei Yamaguchi go head to head for the inaugural women’s Atomweight belt.
Bigdash (8-0) hails from Russia and beat previous champion Igor Svirid by second round stoppage due to strikes on his promotional debut last October. He’s got four submission wins and four TKO wins on his record but has never been to a decision.
His opponent is also an undefeated Russian who has never been the distance. Butorin (10-0) has nine TKO wins to his name and finished Leandro Ataides with strikes in the second round when he made his first appearance inside the ONE Championship cage last year.
The card also features ONE Championship’s first ever female title fight. Lee (5-0) has stopped all five of her opponents to date but faces a serious test against Yamaguchi (15-8-1) who is 14 years her senior and won the Deep-Jewels 105 lbs title in her most recent fight.
Two fighters who have already won and lost ONE Championship titles will go head to head when Kotetsu Boku (24-10-2) takes on Narantungalag Jadambaa (10-4). The former was the inaugural Lightweight champion while the later held the Featherweight belt until last year.
There’s also a middleweight fight which could well turn out to be a title eliminator. UFC and Strikeforce veteran Roger Gracie (7-2) returns to the cage after an 18 month absence to take on Michal Pasternak (11-0) who has been sidelined with injury since 2014.
ONE: “Union of Warriors” is set for the Thuwanna Stadium in Yangon this Friday night and features a handful of big fights with all eyes on Burmese middleweight Aung La Nsang as he makes his long awaited homecoming.
It will be ONE Championshi…
ONE: “Union of Warriors” is set for the Thuwanna Stadium in Yangon this Friday night and features a handful of big fights with all eyes on Burmese middleweight Aung La Nsang as he makes his long awaited homecoming.
It will be ONE Championship’s second event in Myanmar and many of the local fighters who won on last year’s card will be back. For the international audience there is the additional interest provided by the promotional debut of undefeated Australian Jordan Lucas and the return of former flyweight champion Adriano Moraes.
There’s also another chance to get a look at Christian Lee, one of the organization’s brightest prospects. I’m not familiar enough with the Burmese based fighters to analyze their matchups, but here’s my preview of the remainder of the card (please note that weights listed are walking weight):
155 lbs.: Jordan Lucas vs Edward Kelly
Jordan Lucas (8-0) moves up a division to make his promotional debut and it will be interesting to see whether he plans to stay at featherweight or return to the bantamweight division. The Australian is a blue chip prospect who likes a takedown although he’s also dangerous with punches and low kicks.
Edward Kelly (6-3) has been solid if not spectacular during his ONE Championship career. He has a wushu striking style but is not a huge featherweight and if Lucas wants to be a title contender than this is the sort of fight he needs to be winning convincingly.
125 lbs.: Alex Silva vs Robin Catalan
This is the third fight in a row for Alex Silva (3-1) against the same set of brothers. He’s submitted Ruel and Rene but faces a tougher task to beat Robin Catalan (5-1) who looks a superior fighter to either of his siblings and has only ever been beaten once, by top ranked strawweight Rambaa Somdet.
A win here could potentially earn Catalan a strawweight title shot but he will need to avoid being taken down by the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) black belt. Silva has a huge advantage on the ground but if the Filipino Wushu specialist can keep it standing, and it’s a big “if,” he has the tools to win by knockout.
155 lbs.: Christian Lee vs Anthony Engelen
Anthony Engelen (4-1) is primarily a grappler but looked pretty confident with his striking as he took on Filipino boxer Rocky Batol Batol in his last fight. He holds a purple belt in BJJ and has placed on the podium in numerous tournaments in his adopted home of Indonesia.
Just how good is teenage sensation Christian Lee (2-0)? His two mixed martial arts (MMA) fights have lasted a combined 2:49 so it’s difficult to answer that question but the 17 year old holds a brown belt in BJJ, is a Pankration World Champion and will probably be too good for Engelen here.
135 lbs.: Adriano Moraes vs Eugene Toquero
This is a very interesting fight between a former flyweight champion and a fighter who came very close to securing a flyweight title shot. There is a major asterisk besides both the defeats Adriano Moraes (13-2) has suffered because they both came courtesy of extremely contentious split decisions.
The Brazilian is a BJJ black belt with good striking but he has taken a safety first, takedown orientated approach to recent fights. Toquero (8-2) has a background in Muay Thai but will have a big disadvantage on the ground and Moraes will be a strong favourite here.
205 lbs.: Aung La Nsang vs Mohamed Ali
Aung La Nsang (16-9-0-1) finally makes his long awaited homecoming. The Burmese born fighter is based in the US and has been unable to compete for the last couple of years due to visa issues but he gets to compete in Yangon for the first time in his career this Friday.
La Nsang is very well rounded and has a Muay Thai based striking style and a purple belt in BJJ. He’s an aggressive fighter and all 16 of his wins have come courtesy of either a technical knockout or a submission, including the first round stoppage of Egypt’s Mahmoud Salama on his ONE debut.
Mohamed Ali (10-7) is well traveled and has beaten some decent opponents. He comes from a Wushu background but is more of a brawler and will be looking to suck La Nsang into a striking exchange and then hit him with something heavy.
If La Nsang comes in with a sensible game plan he should take this but it would be a mistake to overlook Ali altogether. The Burmese middleweight will have a big advantage on the ground but if it stays standing he will need to have his wits about him because the Egyptian will be swinging for the fences.
Fans from around the world can witness the action online via live streaming at http://www.onefc.com/livestream. The event will be available for purchase at just $9.99.
ONE: “Global Rivals” is set for the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila on April 15th and the full fight card was released this week (see it) with two of the organization’s top flyweights to collide in the main event as Geje Eustaquio faces Gianni …
ONE: “Global Rivals” is set for the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila on April 15th and the full fight card was released this week (see it) with two of the organization’s top flyweights to collide in the main event as Geje Eustaquio faces Gianni Subba.
Eustaquio (7-4) is coming off an impressive first round KO win while Subba (7-1) has won his last four fights and a victory for the Malaysian could be enough to secure a shot at the newly crowned ONE flyweight champion Kairat Akhmetov.
Another man hoping for a 2016 title shot is Lowen Tynanes (8-0) and he will be taking on Japanese lightweight Koji Ando (12-4-2). The latter has already challenged unsuccessfully for the belt once but Shinya Aoki remains the only man to ever beat him in the ONE cage.
Two of the organization’s best bantamweight prospects will go head to head when Reece McLaren (8-3) faces Muin Gafurov (10-0). The former scored a surprise submission win over Mark Striegl in this venue last year while the latter is just 19 years old.
Timofey Nastyukhin (9-2) returns to the venue where he knocked out Eduard Folayang in 2014 and will be hoping to take out another local fan favourite when he faces Eric Kelly (12-2). The Filipino will be fighting in Manila for the first time since 2013.
All fighters will be required to compete at their normal walk around weight under the new ONE regulations. Weight categories have yet to be announced for this show but the main event will be a welterweight title fight with Ben Askren defending his belt against Nikolay Aleksakhin.
09 March 2016 – Manila, Philippines: The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship (ONE), has announced nine bouts for ONE: GLOBAL RIVALS which takes place 15 April at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila. Fans in the Phil…
09 March 2016 – Manila, Philippines: The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship (ONE), has announced nine bouts for ONE: GLOBAL RIVALS which takes place 15 April at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila. Fans in the Philippines will witness all the action live as ONE Welterweight World Champion Ben “Funky” Askren returns to defend his title against hard-charging Russian opponent Nikolay Aleksakhin.
CEO of ONE Championship, Victor Cui stated: “We have an absolutely stacked card planned for fight fans in Manila, and we’re happy to be back at the Mall of Asia Arena for another awesome night of MMA. Each time out, our Manila show gets bigger and better, and this year is no exception.”
Former NCAA Division I All-American and Olympian Ben Askren is a collegiate wrestling legend and one of the finest mixed martial artists in the world today. In just a few fights in ONE, Askren was able to seize the ONE Welterweight World Championship with a resounding technical knockout victory over Nobutatsu Suzuki. The highly-skilled Askren is widely considered to be the absolute best in his division and one of the best fighters in the world pound for pound. His next challenge is a tough one, as he goes head-to-head with Russia’s Nikolay Aleksakhin.
A veteran welterweight from Russia, Nikolay Aleksakhin will make his highly-anticipated return to the ONE Championship cage in Manila this April. Aleksakhin was impressive in his debut for the promotion when he submitted Burenzorig Batmunkh with a rear naked choke within three rounds. Now, Aleksakhin gets the call to face ONE Welterweight World Champion Ben Askren and will look to surprise the crowd with intense action.
Team Lakay bantamweight Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio is one of the most proficient Wushu practitioners in the Philippines. Eustaquio’s accurate striking and cool composure has led him to a few big wins over the course of his career in ONE Championship. In his last bout, Eustaquio scored a scintillating one-punch knockout over Malaysian prospect Saiful Merican. He now looks to replicate his success against Gianni Subba.
Gianni Subba is one of the most promising prospects at ONE. At just 23-years old, Subba is already a seasoned athlete with a stellar 7-1 clip in his young career. He has won his last four bouts and in his last outing, he defeated the highly-regarded Anatpong Bunrad of Thailand. Subba now faces his toughest challenge yet in a bantamweight bout with Geje Eustaquio.
Lowen Tynanes of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, is a 25-year old unbeaten lightweight competitor and one of the most talented fighters in his division. Tynanes uses his aggressive striking approach and no-frills wrestling techniques to subdue his opponents inside the cage. He has defeated some of the biggest names in Asia, and now he is scheduled to take on Japanese veteran Koji Ando.
Koji “The Commander” Ando is one of Japan’s fiercest competitors, having been a mixed martial artist since 2008. The Japanese fighter is never in a boring fight and always remains a threat no matter who the opponent. With an array of diverse striking skills coupled with solid submission grappling credentials, Ando is ready to claim victory once again inside the ONE Cage. This time he battles Lowen Tynanes of the United States.
Featherweight standout Eric “The Natural” Kelly of Baguio City is highly-regarded as perhaps the best homegrown mixed martial artist to come out of the Philippines. The Filipino matches his solid striking techniques with a high-level grappling game, which has resulted in 9 submissions out of 12 victories. Kelly is on the trail for a shot at the featherweight title, but he’ll have to go through Timofey Nastyukhin to get it.
Russia’s Timofey Nastyukhin has notched a series of ferocious finishes since joining ONE Championship, including technical knockouts of top fighters Eduard Folayang and Yusuke Kawanago. He fell short of victory in his last bout against Herbert Burns and Nastyukhin now returns to action against one of the biggest names in the Philippines. He’ll take on grappling specialist Eric Kelly next.
24-year-old Filipino-Australian bantamweight standout Reece “Lightning” McLaren scored the biggest win of his young career in his last bout, a submission victory over Mark “Mugen” Striegl. McLaren showcased great striking skills paired with a technical ground game which resulted in a spectacular come-from-behind finish. McLaren now gets the chance to connect with his Filipino roots as he takes on Muin Gafurov in Manila.
Muin “Tajik” Gafurov of Dushanbe, Tajikistan proved in his ONE Championship debut that he is a relentless, aggressive fighter with solid all-round mixed martial arts skills. He is unbeaten at 10 wins and no losses and is a force to be reckoned with at bantamweight. In his last bout, Gafurov defeated Finnish MMA sensation Toni “Dynamite” Tauru via technical knockout and now he looks to do the same against Reece McLaren.
Team Lakay’s Honorio “The Rock” Banario has long been one of the Philippines’ most respected mixed martial arts veterans. The former ONE Featherweight World Champion, Banario is back and ready to show fans exactly what he’s been working on in the past few months since his last fight. An expert in Wushu, Banario will showcase his lightning quick strikes against fellow Filipino fighter, Vaughn Donayre.
Lightweight standout Vaughn “The Spawn” Donayre is a Filipino mixed martial artist based in Dubai. The Cebu native quit his mechanical engineering job to become a fighter. Donayre is highly regarded as an exciting mixed martial artist constantly in pursuit of a finish and in his next bout, he takes on Filipino MMA veteran Honorio Banario.
Team Lakay’s April Osenio made her much awaited ONE Championship debut against Singapore’s Kirstie Gannaway last year. Although Osenio fell short of victory, the 21-year-old female atomweight learned a lot in her first time inside the ONE Cage. Osenio now looks for her first victory, but it will have to come against fellow Filipino Natalie Gonzales Hills.
Filipino-Australian Natalie Gonzales Hills is a worthy female atomweight contender with a solid record. Her two wins inside the cage have both come by submission, with her ground game proving to be an asset. Aside from grappling, Hills also boasts high-level striking technique to round out her skillset. Against April Osenio, Hills will have to dig deep to emerge victorious.
Young prospect Bernard “Hitman” Soriano of the Philippines will take on Indonesian Sunoto in a three round bantamweight contest, while Team Lakay flyweight Danny Kingad makes his ONE Championship debut against Muhamad Haidar of Malaysia to kick off what should be an action-packed evening of world-class mixed martial arts.
Fans from around the world can witness the action online via live streaming at http://www.onefc.com/livestream. The event will be available for purchase at just US$9.99. For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com and follow Twitter and Instagram @ONEFCMMA and Facebook at www.facebook.com/ONEFCMMA.
ONE Championship’s inaugural event in Thailand is set for the the Impact Arena in Bangkok on 27 May 2016 and will be headlined by Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke. The Strawweight champion will be making the first defense of his title and the event will also feature two of Thailand’s biggest bands.
ONE: “Kingdom of Warriors” will feature live music alongside the mixed martial arts (MMA) fights with two of Thailand’s most famous bands, Big Ass and Bodyslam, set to perform. New ONE Championship President of Thailand Kamol ‘Sukie’ Sukosol, himself a local celebrity, stated:
“The Kingdom of Thailand has an undeniably rich martial arts history, and I am personally excited to bring ONE Championship, the world’s most exciting MMA promotion and Asia’s largest sports media property, to fans in the country who have been patiently waiting for years. One of our greatest champions, Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke, cannot wait to return home and defend his belt in front of a hometown crowd.”
Sukosol, who founded one of Thailand’s biggest record labels, believes the event will help to boost Thailand’s tourism industry and image at a time when the country’s economy is flagging:
“If ONE Championship’s past events in cities in Asia like Singapore, Beijing, Jakarta, Dubai, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, are anything to go by this event in Bangkok will create significant media coverage around the world. Thailand will receive a lot of attention and we believe it will be a big boost for tourism in Thailand. It will show once again why Thailand is one of the greatest countries in the world.”
Bangkok has a well deserved reputation as being the combat sport capital of the world. Thailand is probably home to a higher percentage of professional fighters than any other country and Sukosol is happy to see ONE Championship continuing this proud tradition:
“ONE Championship represents true martial arts and the values of honor, courage, humility, work ethic, mental strength, and confidence. Asia has been the home of martial arts for 5,000 years and we are here to show the beauty and values of all martial arts to the world.”
The campaign to have Muay Thai introduced as an Olympic sport has never gained any serious momentum but Sukosol hopes that ONE Championship can help to change that:
“Just like we have helped all other martial arts in different countries, ONE Championship will help Muay Thai by boosting more participation all over the world and help to support more gyms in Thailand. ONE Championship will also help to put Muay Thai in the Olympics by increasing its popularity around the world.”
The press conference was attended by a number of familiar faces from the Muay Thai scene including two time ‘Fighter of the Year’ Saenchai PK Saenchaigym, who is being linked with a move to MMA. Other local celebrities included Nong Toom, the transsexual boxer who had a movie made about her life, and Thailand’s top fight promoter Nuttadej ‘Boat’ Wachirarattanawong.
ONE Championship’s inaugural event in Thailand is set for the the Impact Arena in Bangkok on 27 May 2016 and will be headlined by Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke. The Strawweight champion will be making the first defense of his title and the event will also feature two of Thailand’s biggest bands.
ONE: “Kingdom of Warriors” will feature live music alongside the mixed martial arts (MMA) fights with two of Thailand’s most famous bands, Big Ass and Bodyslam, set to perform. New ONE Championship President of Thailand Kamol ‘Sukie’ Sukosol, himself a local celebrity, stated:
“The Kingdom of Thailand has an undeniably rich martial arts history, and I am personally excited to bring ONE Championship, the world’s most exciting MMA promotion and Asia’s largest sports media property, to fans in the country who have been patiently waiting for years. One of our greatest champions, Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke, cannot wait to return home and defend his belt in front of a hometown crowd.”
Sukosol, who founded one of Thailand’s biggest record labels, believes the event will help to boost Thailand’s tourism industry and image at a time when the country’s economy is flagging:
“If ONE Championship’s past events in cities in Asia like Singapore, Beijing, Jakarta, Dubai, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, are anything to go by this event in Bangkok will create significant media coverage around the world. Thailand will receive a lot of attention and we believe it will be a big boost for tourism in Thailand. It will show once again why Thailand is one of the greatest countries in the world.”
Bangkok has a well deserved reputation as being the combat sport capital of the world. Thailand is probably home to a higher percentage of professional fighters than any other country and Sukosol is happy to see ONE Championship continuing this proud tradition:
“ONE Championship represents true martial arts and the values of honor, courage, humility, work ethic, mental strength, and confidence. Asia has been the home of martial arts for 5,000 years and we are here to show the beauty and values of all martial arts to the world.”
The campaign to have Muay Thai introduced as an Olympic sport has never gained any serious momentum but Sukosol hopes that ONE Championship can help to change that:
“Just like we have helped all other martial arts in different countries, ONE Championship will help Muay Thai by boosting more participation all over the world and help to support more gyms in Thailand. ONE Championship will also help to put Muay Thai in the Olympics by increasing its popularity around the world.”
The press conference was attended by a number of familiar faces from the Muay Thai scene including two time ‘Fighter of the Year’ Saenchai PK Saenchaigym, who is being linked with a move to MMA. Other local celebrities included Nong Toom, the transsexual boxer who had a movie made about her life, and Thailand’s top fight promoter Nuttadej ‘Boat’ Wachirarattanawong.
Ben Askren’s next fight is booked for Manila. The former Bellator MMA champ will be defending his welterweight strap against Nikolay Aleksakhin at ONE: “Global Rivals” on April 15th.
The event is set for the SM Mall of Asia Arena and the Philippines will become the fifth different country to host a ONE Championship card in 2016.
ONE CEO Victor Cui says he is excited to be back in Manila.
“We’re always excited for Manila because Filipino fans are so passionate about mixed martial arts that everything just comes naturally! The atmosphere and the excitement in Manila on fight night is truly unparalleled and we anticipate the same when we arrive in April. We have an excellent matchup prepared for fight fans as Ben Askren meets Nikolay Aleksakhin, and we expect nothing less than the absolute best in world-class mixed martial arts action.”
Askren (14-0-0-1) is coming off a no-contest against Luis Santos. The rematch was cancelled at the last minute when the Brazilian missed weight, meaning that the reigning ONE welterweight champion has only fought once in the last 18 months.
His opponent has been much more active and Aleksakhin (16-3) is currently riding a six-fight winning streak that included a submission victory over Mongolian welterweight Burenzorig Batmunkh in his ONE Championship debut last November.
Under ONE Championship’s new regulations both fighters will be required to prove that they weigh 185 pounds or less over the course of a series of checks.
Ben Askren’s next fight is booked for Manila. The former Bellator MMA champ will be defending his welterweight strap against Nikolay Aleksakhin at ONE: “Global Rivals” on April 15th.
The event is set for the SM Mall of Asia Arena and the Philippines will become the fifth different country to host a ONE Championship card in 2016.
ONE CEO Victor Cui says he is excited to be back in Manila.
“We’re always excited for Manila because Filipino fans are so passionate about mixed martial arts that everything just comes naturally! The atmosphere and the excitement in Manila on fight night is truly unparalleled and we anticipate the same when we arrive in April. We have an excellent matchup prepared for fight fans as Ben Askren meets Nikolay Aleksakhin, and we expect nothing less than the absolute best in world-class mixed martial arts action.”
Askren (14-0-0-1) is coming off a no-contest against Luis Santos. The rematch was cancelled at the last minute when the Brazilian missed weight, meaning that the reigning ONE welterweight champion has only fought once in the last 18 months.
His opponent has been much more active and Aleksakhin (16-3) is currently riding a six-fight winning streak that included a submission victory over Mongolian welterweight Burenzorig Batmunkh in his ONE Championship debut last November.
Under ONE Championship’s new regulations both fighters will be required to prove that they weigh 185 pounds or less over the course of a series of checks.
