ONE: “Fire & Fury” is set for the MOA Arena in Manila on Friday. The card will be headlined by a strawweight title fight between Joshua Pacio and Alex Silva while Filipino favorites Eduard Folayang and Danny Kingad are also in action.
Also representing the Philippines are Gina Iniong, Lito Adiwang and Jomary Torres. The card features just three ONE Super Series matchup but is stacked with MMA fights featuring local favourites.
Here’s my preview of the first six fights:
Muay Thai: Rotlek PKSaenchaigym vs. Chris Shaw (Bantamweight)
The Thais haven’t had it all their own way in the ONE Super Series but Rotlek PKSaenchaigym looked very impressive against Liam Harrison, dropping the Englishman multiple times.
Chris Shaw doesn’t quite have the same sort of reputation as Harrison and faces an uphill task against the much more experienced Thai.
Gina Iniong vs. Asha Roka (Atomweight)
Gina Iniong (8-4) has been the distance in all of her last four contests. The Team Lakay fighter is not lacking in aggression but doesn’t possess the sort of power that can finish fights.
Asha Roka (4-1) put on a good showing against Stamp Fairtex but Iniong represents a big step up and the experienced Filipina will be a strong favourite here.
Lito Adiwang vs. Pongsiri Mitsatit (Strawweight)
Lito Adiwang (10-2) came through ONE Warrior Series and has won six straight fights, although his ONE Championship debut ended prematurely when Senzo Ikeda suffered an arm injury.
Pongsiri Mitsatit (10-4) comes from a Muay Thai background but has been training at Tiger Muay Thai and looked good against former champion Yoshitaka Naito last time out, even if he did end up dropping a decision.
Muay Thai: Alma Juniku vs. Anne Line Hogstad (Atomweight)
Alma Juniku posed Stamp Fairtex serious problems and is probably the toughest opponent the two sport champion has faced in the ONE Super Series so far. She hits hard and made her name on the Thai scene, scoring wins over some big names.
Anne Line Hogstad appears to have done most of her fighting in Europe and has claimed a couple of ISKA titles. The Norwegian doesn’t appear to have ever been in with an opponent of Juniku’s calibre before.
Jomary Torres vs. Jenny Huang (Atomweight)
Two fighters on long losing streaks go head to head here. Jomary Torres (4-4) has lost four in a row and will be desperate to get back to winning ways in Manila.
But Jenny Huang (5-5) was incredibly unlucky not to get the decision against Mei Yamaguchi in Tokyo. Having got the better of one of ONE Championship’s top atomweights over the course of 15 minutes should give her immense confidence heading into this contest.
Tatsumitsu Wada vs. Ivanildo Delfino (Flyweight)
Tatsumitsu Wada (21-11-2) really opened people’s eyes to his potential by pushing Demetrious Johnson all the way in a decision defeat. He’s one of the taller fighters in the division and is an awkward opponent for anyone.
Ivanildo Delfino (8-0) comes into his ONE Championship debut as an undefeated Jungle Fight champion. Those are impressive credentials but the Brazilian will need to be at his best to defeat an opponent who the best 125lbs fighter in history struggled against.
The entire ONE: “Fire & Fury” fight card will be available to view live and free in some territories using the newly launched app which you can download here.