Tag: one fc

Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral to Face Melvin Manhoef at One FC 3

Filed under: News, ONE FCFormer Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Renato “Babalu” Sobral will meet K-1 veteran Melvin Manhoef in the main event of One FC 3 on March 31 in Singapore, promoters announced Tuesday in a press conference.

Sobral inked …

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Former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Renato “Babalu” Sobral will meet K-1 veteran Melvin Manhoef in the main event of One FC 3 on March 31 in Singapore, promoters announced Tuesday in a press conference.

Sobral inked an exclusive deal a month ago with One FC after missing the entire 2011 due to a shoulder injury and time off for his family. Sobral was last seen in action in a first-round KO loss to Dan Henderson at Strikeforce in St. Louis in December 2010.

Manhoef, who has lost his last three MMA fights in the first round, fought over the weekend in a losing effort
under kickboxing rules against Tyrone Spong at “It’s Showtime” in Amsterdam.

Also announced for One FC’s first partnership event with DREAM is a co-main event with leglock expert Masakazu Imanari taking on undefeated Filipino prospect Kevin Belingon.



Imanari competed six times in 2011, five of which as part of the two DREAM bantamweight tournaments. Imanari fell short in the Japan tournament final against Hideo Tokoro by decision. On New Year’s Eve, Imanari lost in the world tournament semifinals to Antonio Banuelos by split decision. Belingon is a 24-year-old who made his name fighting for the URCC and Legend FC promotion, in the Philippines and Hong Kong, respectively.

Singapore’s first professional female MMA fighter Nicole Chua will also compete at One FC 3 at
the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

During the press conference, One FC announced its intention to make Singapore the Asian headquarters for MMA. One FC recently announced a 10-year deal with ESPN STAR and on Tuesday added 17 more gyms to its One FC network of fight camps.

 

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Filipino Featherweight Eric Kelly Aims to Make His Mark With One FC

Filed under: ONE FCFilipino featherweight Eric Kelly’s background is in striking, but you wouldn’t guess it from looking at his MMA record.

As Kelly heads into his co-headlining bout against Shooto veteran Bae Young Kwon (6-2) at One FC 2 on Feb. 11 …

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Filipino featherweight Eric Kelly‘s background is in striking, but you wouldn’t guess it from looking at his MMA record.

As Kelly heads into his co-headlining bout against Shooto veteran Bae Young Kwon (6-2) at One FC 2 on Feb. 11 in Indonesia, Kelly is carrying a 6-0 record in MMA all by submission.

Kelly wanted to showcase his standup last September at the inaugural One FC card in Singapore, but his opponent Mitch Chilson turned the fight into a grappling exchange. And so, Kelly recorded his fifth first-round rear-naked choke win of his career.

“People think I am only a ground fighter because all my wins are by submission but I like fighting standing up as well,” Kelly said to MMAFighting.com Tuesday.

Born and raised in the Philippines, Kelly started training boxing at 19 after graduating high school and then further developed his standup game by studying the Filipino kickboxing art “Yaw-Yan.”


“All I know that Yaw-Yan is like kickboxing and Yaw-Yan originated in Philippines, I have also trained in Pencak Silat (Indonesia self-defense style) and done some boxing,” Kelly said. “I first started out as a boxer because I left school and I didn’t have a lot of money and it was a good option for me but I only did one boxing match which I won.”

Kelly’s journey in martial arts next led him to Wushu and San Shou. From 2001-2004, Kelly competed for the Phillippine’s Wushu and San Shou team and his experience was highlighted by a Southeast Asian Games Gold medal in Wushu.

It wasn’t until an injury directed Kelly to take a break from his striking to begin training jiu-jitsu. MMA soon followed and he began his competitive MMA career fighting for the Phillippines-based MMA promotion URCC. In his fifth appearance for URCC, he won the company’s featherweight title and landed a deal with One FC, a fledgling Singapore-based promotion.

One FC, which aims to revitalize the Asian MMA industry, draws fighters from all around the world, allowing Kelly to challenge himself against competition outside of the Philippines. At One FC 2, Kelly meets Kwon of South Korea in a battle of prospects. Kelly admits he feels the extra pressure of fighting under international exposure, but he knows this is what he needs to realize his goal of fighting for the UFC.

“I have never been in an MMA event as big as One FC before, there were so many people at my fight and to hear them cheering for me made me know I must win the fight for them,” he said of his One FC debut. “I am honored to fight for One FC and to have everyone in Asia see me fight but to fight for the UFC is my dream. I hope one day it can come true.”

 

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This Poster is Probably the Only Time You’ll See the Words ‘Prestigious’ and ‘Bob Sapp’ Next to One Another

Now this…makes us nervous. Many of you probably remember the inaugural ONE FC: Champion vs. Champion event that took place back in early September, which featured a plethora of previously unheard of talent in addition to a ton of great fights. Shortly thereafter, CEO and owner Victor Cui announced that his promotion had big plans for 2012, which included adding over 23 gyms and 15 promotions to their partnership and scheduling three events in three different countries. Though it wouldn’t do much to detract from the UFC’s ever-expanding market, many of us looked at ONE FC as the spark that could possibly reignite the Asian MMA scene, a flame that had long been quelled since the demise of PRIDE.

If the above poster for ONE FC’s second event, entitled Battle of Heroes, says anything, it’s that PRIDE is back. Unfortunately, it might not the epic, blood soaked glory PRIDE that we were all hoping for, but rather, the ridiculous, freak show fight filled PRIDE that we both loved and silently resented for all those years.

Now this…makes us nervous. Many of you probably remember the inaugural ONE FC: Champion vs. Champion event that took place back in early September, which featured a plethora of previously unheard of talent in addition to a ton of great fights. Shortly thereafter, CEO and owner Victor Cui announced that his promotion had big plans for 2012, which included adding over 23 gyms and 15 promotions to their partnership and scheduling three events in three different countries. Though it wouldn’t do much to detract from the UFC’s ever-expanding market, many of us looked at ONE FC as the spark that could possibly reignite the Asian MMA scene, a flame that had long been quelled since the demise of PRIDE.

If the above poster for ONE FC’s second event, entitled Battle of Heroes, says anything, it’s that PRIDE is back. Unfortunately, it might not the epic, blood soaked glory PRIDE that we were all hoping for, but rather, the ridiculous, freak show fight filled PRIDE that we both loved and silently resented for all those years. 

Featuring none other than perennial punching bag Bob Sapp pasted atop its logo, it’s safe to say that this poster has surpassed Lindsay Lohan’s Playboy photos as the most disappointing thing we have seen in quite some time. No, we are not providing a link to Ms. Lohan’s photos. They’re really not worth your time anyway.

Now, we understand that ONE FC is in the early stages of its life, and that bringing in wider audiences is the number one goal of any promotion; you have to get your name out there, one way or another, and bringing in someone like Bob Sapp is surefire way to get you some attention. But Bob Sapp does not bring the kind of attention that a young organization may necessarily want. The man is a black hole (no pun intended) in the MMA universe, a publicity stunt of a fighter if there ever was one. Let us not forget that this is the man who once fought a Japanese cartoon character.

Worst of all, Sapp is scheduled to face Rolles Gracie. Yeah, the same Rolles Gracie who disgraced his family’s name in one of the most pathetic octagon appearances of all time back at UFC 109. So, not only do we get Bob Sapp, but now we have to sit through a match in which he won’t even be dispatched via some satisfying form of KO or TKO? To quote Will Ferrell, “WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?!”

Battle of Heroes is set to go down February 11th in Jakarta, Indonesia.

What do you think of this, Potato Nation? Bad idea, or worst idea?

-Danga

One FC 2 Fight Card: Laursen vs. Enomoto

Filed under: ONE FCOle Laursen vs. Felipe Enomoto headlines One FC 2 as part of a five-fight main card, the promotion announced Wednesday.

The event, dubbed “Battle of Heroes,” takes place Feb. 11 at the Sports Mall Kelapa Gading in Jakarta, Indonesia…

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Ole Laursen vs. Felipe Enomoto headlines One FC 2 as part of a five-fight main card, the promotion announced Wednesday.

The event, dubbed “Battle of Heroes,” takes place Feb. 11 at the Sports Mall Kelapa Gading in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Laursen, a Danish Muay Thai striker, was set to headline the inaugural One FC event last September, but was forced out due to injury. Felipe Enomoto is another standup fighter and the younger brother of M-1 welterweight champ and Sengoku veteran Yasubey Enomoto.

The lineup is below.

Lightweight: Felipe Enomoto (Enomoto Dojo) vs. Ole Laursen (Legacy Gym)
Featherweight: Bae Young Kwon (Team Posse) vs. Eric Kelly (URCC)
Welterweight: Rodrigo Ribeiro (Evolve MMA) vs. Rustam Khabilov (Jackson’s MMA)
Bantamaweight: Soo Chul Kim (Team Force) vs. Gustavo Falciroli (Mach 1)
Heavyweight: Rolles Gracie (Team Renzo Gracie) vs. Bob Sapp (Team Beast)

The preliminary card, consisting of around five bouts, is to be announced.

 

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Rolles Gracie to Face Bob Sapp at One FC 2

Filed under: News, ONE FCOne-time UFC competitor Rolles Gracie will aim to extend his win streak to three when he faces former Japanese MMA superstar Bob Sapp at One FC on Feb. 11 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Gracie announced the matchup late Sunday and She…

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One-time UFC competitor Rolles Gracie will aim to extend his win streak to three when he faces former Japanese MMA superstar Bob Sapp at One FC on Feb. 11 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Gracie announced the matchup late Sunday and Sherdog.com was first to report of the matchup.

All five of Gracie (5-1)’s MMA wins have come by either an arm-triangle choke or a rear-naked choke. In February 2010, Gracie made his UFC debut at UFC 109 and was released shortly after the disappointing loss to Joey Beltran. In 2011, he scored first-round wins by arm-triangle choke against Braden Bice and Lee Mein.

More than ever, Sapp (11-9) in recent years has been fighting strictly for the paycheck. He lost all of his fights in 2011 (three in MMA and three in kickboxing) and has dropped seven of his last nine MMA fights. Outside of his epic fight against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in 2002, all of Sapp’s MMA fights have ended in the first round.

Igor Gracie, Ole Laursen, Kevin Belingon, Yodsanan Sityodtong, Yuya Shirai and Youne Victorio Senduk are also slated to compete on the Feb. 11 card.

ONE FC held its inaugural event last September in Singapore and in November announced a partnership with DREAM to co-promote and exchange fighters.

 

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DREAM, ONE FC Announce Deal to Co-Promote Events, Exchange Talent

Filed under: DREAM, News, Sports Business and Media, ONE FCOn the same day when the UFC officially announced its return to the Asian market with a press conference in Japan, two of the area’s biggest promotions announced that they would team up to incr…

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On the same day when the UFC officially announced its return to the Asian market with a press conference in Japan, two of the area’s biggest promotions announced that they would team up to increase their visibility and bolster their star power.

DREAM and ONE Fighting Championship have declared an intention to co-promote events and exchange fighters between them, the heads of both promotions announced on Monday.

The change is effective immediately. In a press release, the sides said fighter exchanges are expected to happen quickly, and that a joint promotional effort has been tentatively scheduled for March 31 at Singapore Stadium with the name “ONE FC/DREAM in Singapore.”

“DREAM and ONE Fighting Championship will work together to lead the sport of MMA in Asia to a better future,” DREAM event producer Keiichi Sasahara said in a release. “DREAM has some of the best fighters in the world and we also have deep experience of putting on world-class events. ONE Fighting Championship has the largest media platform in Asia and many other assets. I see many great synergies with this partnership. It is certainly a new era for everyone in Asian MMA.”

Of the two promotions, DREAM has the longer history, producing over 20 events in its 3+ years of existence. It also has the deeper roster, with highly regarded veterans including Shinya Aoki, Gegard Mousasi, Katsunori Kikuno and Gerald Harris. ONE FC has only been in business since early 2011 and produced just one fight card with other scheduled into early 2012. Thus far, however, ONE FC has swiftly penetrated the Asian market, reportedly signing deals that make its future shows available in 500 million households across Asia.

 

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