Melvin Manhoef has lately been seen hanging out on the fringes of the UFC periphery, and he’s discussed the possibility of one day fighting for the promotion, but his next time competing in MMA will come in Asia under the ONE FC promotion.
MMA Fighting has learned that Manhoef will take on Brock Larson at ONE FC: Kings and Champions, the promotion’s April 5 event in Singapore.
The fight will be contested at middleweight, sources said. The fight is expected to be officially announced imminently.
Manhoef has won three consecutive fights, with knockouts of Denis Kang and Ryo Kawamura to go with a decision over Jae Young Kim.
The kickboxing specialist is one of the most dynamic strikers in the game, with 25 of his career wins coming via knockout. He’s 27-9-1 with 1 no contest in his career. Manhoef has recently been at several UFC events, including the most recent, where he worked the corner of Lyoto Machida.
The fight will be Manhoef’s third in ONE FC. He’s competed in promotions including Strikeforce, DREAM, K-1, Hero’s and Cage Rage during a career that spans nearly two decades, but he’s yet to grace the octagon.
Larson is a former UFC and WEC fighter with a 35-7 career record. He has recorded wins over Mike Pyle and John Alessio in his past.
Larson comes into the bout riding a two-fight win streak.
The April 5 show will take place at Singapore Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. It also features a lightweight championship bout pitting challenger Shinya Aoki against champion Kotetsu Boku.