Japan many no longer the seat of MMA’s Asian scene, but the ghosts of PRIDE were visible Saturday at ONE Fighting Championship 4: Destiny of Warriors at Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Harkening back to the days of soccer kicks and stomps, UFC and Bellator veteran Roger Huerta was savagely albeit legally soccer kicked into unconsciousness at the 3:53 mark of round two in his bout with Zorobel Moreira. Huerta tried to rush ‘Zoro’ early, but by the end of the first round the Brazilian had found his range.
In the second frame it was all Moreira. The Brazilian dominated Huerta throughout the period with a wide arsenal of strikes, hurting the former top prospect at several points. It was one strike from Moreiera – a right hand in the second – that spelled the beginning of the end for ‘El Matador’. After the right connected and clearly stunned Huerta, Moreira followed up with several strikes from the clinch and eventually sealed the deal with a brutal soccer kick that rendered Huerta prostrate on the canvas.
Huerta has now lost six of his last seven fights. Moreira, by contrast, holds wins over Roger Huerta, Andy Wang, Ferrid Kheder and Felipe Enomoto.
Strikeforce and UFC veteran Renato Sobral faired much better in his ONE FC debut. This was ‘Babalu’s’ first professional MMA bout since losing to Dan Henderson in 2010.
A right hand from Tatsuya Mizuno surprised and temporarily floored Sobral in the early moments of round one, even drawing blood in the process. Mizuno was too reckless, however, and the jiu-jitsu black belt scored an armbar submission victory in just 31 seconds into the first round.
Full fight card results for ONE FC 4: Destiny of Warriors is as follows:
Renato Sobral def. Tatsuya Mizuno by submission (armbar) at :31 of round 1
Zorobabel Moreira def. Roger Huerta by KO (soccer kick) at 3:53 of round 2
Leandro Issa def. Masakazu Imanari by unanimous decision
Adam Kayoom def. Gregor Gracie by unanimous decision
Eric Kelly def. Bae Young Kwon by unanimous decision
Arnaud Lepont def. Brian Choi by submission (rear naked choke) at 1:38 of round 3
Mitch Chilson def. AJ Vaa by submission (rear naked choke) at 1:39 of round 1
Marcos Escobar def. Rodrigo Praxedes by submission (brabo choke) at 1:05 of round 3
Peter Davis def. Kim Hock Quek by TKO (strikes) at :55 of round 1