ONE: ‘Dangal’ will be broadcast on May 15th and the card has an Indian theme. There are six fights on the card at the Singapore Indoor Stadium with Brandon Vera defending his heavyweight title against Arjan Bhullar in the main event.
There are second generation Indians like Gary Mangat and Bhullar on the card as well as born and bred Indians like Roshan Mainam and Ritu Phogat. Tawanchai PKSaenchaigym should have too much for Sean Clancy but the MMA bouts looke extremely well matched.
Here’s my preview:
Gary Mangat vs. Roshan Mainam (Flyweight)
Gary Mangat (15-3) is a southpaw who is very light on his feet which allows the Canadian the throw kicks from unorthodox angle, but he loses a little in terms of power. He will want to keep this one standing and should have a clear advantage over Mainam in striking terms.
Roshan Mainam (6-2) is a wrestler who has been working on his all round game since relocating to Evolve MMA. But takedowns remain his bread and butter and the Indian won’t be slow to try and get this fight to the ground.
Ritu Phogat vs. Bi Nguyen (Atomweight)
Ritu Phogat (4-0) is also a wrestler who has been working on her all round game since relocating to Evolve MMA. Like Mainam she has won all her ONE Championship fights to date with takedowns consistently being the key to these victories.
Bi Nguyen (5-6) has some kickboxing and Muay Thai experience but almost alwasy goes the distance and has lost her last three fights.
Ayaka Miura vs. Rayane Bastos (Catchweight)
Ayaka Miura (10-3) is known for her scarf hold armlocks but the Japanese fighter’s striking is very limited. If she can’t find a way to win with her specialist submission then she tends to struggle.
We haven’t seen much of Rayane Bastos (4-0-1) but the Brazilian appears to have a very strong submission game. Stylistically that could make this a good matchup for the undefeated 22 year old.
Muay Thai: Tawanchai PKSaenchaigym vs. Sean Clancy (Bantamweight)
Tawanchai PKSaenchaigym was the 2018 Lumpinee fighter of the year, SAT fighter of the year and Siam Sports fighter of the year which is quite the trilogy. He is a tricky, technical southpaw who is very good with teeps and knees, interchanging the two to devastating effect.
Sean Clancy lives in Thailand and has the classic Thai style with a high guard and the weight on the back foot. He is guaranteed to take the fight to Clancy but looks to be outmatched by the top tier Thai.
Brandon Vera (c) vs. Arjan Bhullar (For heavyweight title)
Brandon Vera (16-8-0-1) started out as a wrestler but is better known for his kickboxing. He is coming off a proper training camp at Sanford MMA but Bhullar represents a step up for a 43 year old who last won a fight in 2019.
Arjan Bhullar (10-1) represented Canada in the 2012 Olympics so his wrestling credentials are outstanding. He also has very good head movement and is comfortable exchanging strikes at close quarters.
The entire ONE: “Dangal” fight card will be available to view free in some territories using the newly launched app which you can download here.