Tag: ONE Championship

By Dan Paulo Errazo

Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson made headlines with his highly-publicized move to ONE Championship late last year. It was a development in the sport of mixed martial arts which shocked the entire industry.

Immediately, a myriad of questions arose as to what pushed the 12-time Flyweight World Champion to compete on the other side of the world, even after establishing a terrific career in the United States.

Johnson revealed some of the reasons why he chose to sign with ONE Championship.

“I’m very excited. It’s a fresh opportunity for me to go somewhere I’ve never been able to compete before,” Johnson said in an interview with Q13 FOX TV.

“I’ve spent most of my career in North America competing against the best, now I’m going over to Asia with ONE Championship and fight the best that they would offer.”

Johnson is widely considered one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time, even as he still actively competes. In many ways, he made the flyweight division in the UFC and dazzled with every performance.

Yet given his many accomplishments, Johnson still felt the need to explore outside his comfort zone and eventually discovered a promising opportunity he just could not say no to.

“Well after my last fight I thought I would go, obviously and I sat down and thought to myself ‘What do I want to do next?’ and there’s an opportunity for me to go there and compete in Asia for ONE Championship,” Johnson said.

“So, I talked to my management and said ‘Hey, this is what I want to happen. If I’m able to get out of my UFC contract, let’s see if we can make it happen because I got five years left and I will be doing my career a great disservice if I don’t try it.’ All the great mixed martial artists have done it Fedor, Crocop, Rampage Jackson, Shogun Rua, Wanderlei Silva… the list just goes on.

“For me, if I just settle competing in North America and I never got the chance to compete in Asia, then I would be like Oh man I wish I did it.’”

Aside from his bevy of accomplishments and accolades, “Mighty Mouse” has been known to be a man of principle and values. When he discovered that ONE Championship basically championed the same things he holds dear to his heart, he found it to be a breath of fresh air.

“The best change is that this company believes in a lot of values that I believe in you know? Honor, respect, integrity, and discipline, which goes a long way,” Johnson said.

“Through my whole career in mixed martial arts in UFC and in WEC, I always carried myself as a great athlete and I think in ONE Championship all their athletes do the same thing so it’s a perfect fit.

“You don’t see any type of bogus stuff outside of competition week or anything like that.”

Johnson is excited to take part in the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix, which kicks off on 31 March in Tokyo, Japan. He squares off against Yuya “Little Piranha” Wakamatsu in his promotional debut.

“It’s refreshing and ONE Championship is The Home of Martial Arts – The Home of True Martial Arts,” Johnson concluded.

The post Demetrious Johnson Bares His Thoughts on His New Career with ONE Championship appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

ONE lightweight athlete Ev “E.T” Ting knows a thing or two about how to use his legs and feet, just ask some of the opponents he’s left in his wake.

The stand-up specialist has done plenty of damage with his lethal kicks during his years atop the division’s elite, a strength borne of his previous life as a stand-out footballer growing up in his native New Zealand.

The 29-year-old was was a star at youth level and was named captain of both his high school and club teams.

“I grew up playing football,” said Ting. “But once I left school I moved suburbs a couple of times and I got a little bit isolated. But I still love a game of football or even rugby.”

Like many Brazilians before him, Ting leveraged his skills on the pitch into his abilities as a striker, particularly with his arsenal of kicks.

“The foot dexterity – being more well versed with your foot,” Ting says. “Football in some ways definitely helped me.

“But martial arts is limitless- there are so many movements to master, not that you’d ever master everything.”

Ting will be looking to put those skills to good use in Singapore next weekend at ONE: Call to Greatness when he takes on Dagestani Saygid “Dagi” Guseyn Arslanaliev in the quarter-finals of the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix.

The 24-year-old is one of the division’s rising stars – a Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion with a decorated background in the art of wushu.

“Dagi” has recorded consecutive stoppage wins in his brief ONE tenure to date – including an upset knock-out in his most recent bout against hard-nosed Russian Timofey Nastyukhin.

Ting is well aware of the threat Arslanaliev poses but identifies one area where he believes he has a key advantage.

“Experience. I’ve been training hard and I feel like I have more ring time and cage time, hopefully I can drag him into the deep waters,” says Ting.

The Auckland MMA-product has 21 professional bouts to his name in a career dating back to 2011, while his opponent has taken to the cage on just seven occasions.

“He’s dangerous, well rounded, and explosive. He’s very tough, but that’s just like any opponent — they’re all tough.”

Grinding right through the Christmas period, Ting has been working on refining his ground game at renowned Bali MMA in preparation for Arslanaliev’s challenge, and has complete confidence that he’ll be able to hold his own wherever the contest may lead.

“I missed out on all Christmas and new years but I’m glad we got through it and I’m healthy and ready to go. Feel like I’ve put in all the work, so it’s just a matter of unleashing it now and showcasing it to the world.”

The post Ev Ting Unfazed With Monstrous Challenge Posed by Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev? appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

By Dan Paulo Errazo

Malaysia’s Jihin “Shadow Cat” Radzuan has been on a roll, winning match after match since embarking on her professional mixed martial arts career. However, her unbeaten streak could be in jeopardy as she faces Team Lakay’s Gina “Conviction” Iniong at the Impact Arena, Bangkok this Saturday, 16 February.

ONE: CLASH OF LEGENDS is set to hold a spectacle for fans who will witness a match between two top women’s atomweight contenders making their own cases for a World Title shot. Radzuan, in particular, looks to continue her undefeated streak while the Filipina Iniong aims to claw her way up the divisional ladder.

Despite Iniong’s widely perceived advantage in the striking department, Radzuan remains unfazed as she is also confident in her stand-up abilities.

“We prepared specific drills such as cutting angles, combinations to counter her moves. I am quite confident in my striking also as I am a four-division K1 Muay Thai champ. I competed in boxing so distance management, angles, and all that is nothing new to me,” Radzuan said.

In addition, the Malaysian “Shadow Cat” is also excited to face Iniong because it is an opportunity to take on a representative of the famed Team Lakay — a team Radzuan has witnessed grow immensely over the years.

“Team Lakay is a respectful team and they have been around since 2000. My coach is a good friend of a few Team Lakay fighters and he told me that the Team Lakay Warriors are the nicest people he has ever met, and I believe him. I am glad that I have the chance to share the ring with their warrior,” Radzuan said.

Despite being undefeated, Radzuan admits that there’s still a lot of room for improvement in order for her to stay on top of her game. She is aware of her weaknesses, and is doing her best to correct them.

“I lack the ability to finish a fight. I try very hard, but either my opponents are really good or maybe I lack the KO power. I have been working very hard on that part and you can expect to see me finishing more fights in the future,” Radzuan said.

Though it’s her first time competing outside of her home country professionally, Radzuan is not affected and feels that she is on the same ground with Iniong.

“Competing with a non-Malaysian crowd won’t bother me because Gina will also be fighting in a foreign land so I think it is fair. It is good for me to show my skills and get new fans from another country,” Radzuan concluded.

She also believes that it is also about time for her to expand her fan base outside of Malaysia. And it all starts by Radzuan overcoming the Team Lakay star.

The post Jihin Radzuan Faces Toughest Opponent To Date In Gina Iniong appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

By Dan Paulo Errazo

For Gina “Conviction” Iniong, winning her next bout against Malaysia’s Jihin “Shadow Cat” Radzuan at ONE: CLASH OF LEGENDS is but another crucial task she needs to check off in order for her to reach her ultimate goal — to win the ONE World Title.

Ever since her Team Lakay stablemates brought home prestigious ONE World Titles to Baguio City, Philippines, where she is a native, Iniong too felt the urge to feel the golden strap around her waist and bring pride to her country.

However, as is the case in combat sports, things are easier said than done. The bout with Radzuan, which takes place this Saturday, 16 February in Bangkok, Thailand, is against an undefeated Malaysian who has beaten some of the top contenders in the women’s atomweight division in just a short period of time, contenders like Priscilla “Thathie” Hertati Lumban Gaol and Jenny “Lady Gogo” Huang.

Being a professional mixed martial artist for almost nine years, Iniong knows that the key to defeating a fellow top contender is to acknowledge their strengths and work on a strategy to overcome those.

“What I know of Jihin Radzuan is she is well-rounded,” says Iniong.

“Her ground game is good. I watched her last fight, and I was really amazed with her last performance.”

Despite being known first and foremost as a dangerous grappler with elite-level Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills in her repertoire, Radzuan is also a striker with an extensive background in wushu and Muay Thai. Iniong knows this and is preparing for all that Radzuan brings to the table.

“Some athletes are focused on striking only, while others only focus on whatever other aspects they are good at, like their ground game,” explains Iniong.

“But you can see that Jihin’s striking and ground game are both very good.”

In order to achieve victory, Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao has been closely monitoring Iniong’s training camp, working on both her offensive and defensive skills on the feet and on the ground.

Despite understanding full well the extent of Radzuan’s capabilities, Iniong feels she still owns the advantage in the striking department.

“Jihin’s weakness is her striking,” she states.

“My game plan in our bout is, if we end up striking, we will strike with each other. If we end up in the ground, I will also play on the ground.

“I trained very hard for this fight. I really prepared, and I am determined to win.”

Working on a sound game plan to bring into the bout, Iniong says that her knowledge and experience is one of the major factors that will contribute to her victory.

Joshua “The Passion” Pacio and Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio both submitted their titles early on this year in heartbreaking losses, and Iniong vows not to start the year off in the same way. She looks to capture a belt of her own, and is eyeing a shot at the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Title if she gets past Radzuan.

“My first impression of Jihin is that she is humble and a good sport, but I think she should watch out for me. I think I have the edge in experience.” says the 29-year-old.

“I predict that our match will end in the second round through ground and pound. I get my strength from seeing my teammates and my seniors with their own belts. I am the only one who is yet to have one, so I am really envious!”

With a stringent goal in sight and support from her teammates and coach at Team Lakay, fans can only expect that Iniong will bring her best into the ring this Saturday night.

“My ultimate goal is to also become a champion and become the pride of Baguio City. We don’t have a female champion yet, particularly in mixed martial arts,” Iniong concluded.

The post Gina Iniong Bares Plan On How To Overcome Jihin Radzuan? appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.