One victorious night for Filipino mixed martial arts athletes
One Fighting Championship, Asia’s largest mixed martial arts (MMA) organization with a 90-percent market share, rocked the sold-out crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena with ONE FC: Rise of Heroes.
Local fans were treated to an unforgettable night capped by the successful title defense of the ONE FC Bantamweight World Championship by Bibiano Fernandes over Masakatsu Ueda.
But the Filipinos had even more reason to cheer, as all five Filipino mixed martial artists won their respective bouts.
Eduard Folayang and Kotetsu Boku went to battle in the co-main event, but it was Folayang’s improved wrestling skills that swung the bout in his favor.
Rey Docyogen chalked up another win for the Philippines by defeating Joshua Alvarez via a unanimous decision.
In one of the most awaited fights of the night, Rob Lisita extended his winning streak to four by overcoming Yusuke Kawanago in his ONE FC debut. The pair fought two years ago, with Kawanago emerging victorious, but in the run-up to the fight, Lisita made it clear that he will have his revenge in this battle, and that is what he got right in the first round.
The heavyweight clash between Chris Lokteff and James McSweeney pitted two of ONE FC’s best strikers against each other, and this one brought the house down! The bout was contested entirely on the feet, with both fighters having their share of shots landed, until Lokteff was backed up against the cage and McSweeney threw a perfect knee that landed flush on the chin of the Australian, knocking him out.
Leandro Ataides extended his impressive professional record to eight wins and no losses with a knockout victory over Tatsuya Mizuno in just 47 seconds into the fight.
World Boxing champion Ana Julaton received the loudest ovation of the evening, and proceeded to prove why she is one of the most popular sportswomen in the Philippines.
Julaton demonstrated her newly acquired grappling skills in the first round, and then went on to battle Aya Saeid Saber in the second, until finally besting her opponent in the third round with the referee halting the affair.
The flyweight bout between Gianni Subba and Eugene Toquero was also highly anticipated, because the two kept trash talking even months before the fight. Toquero proved to be the superior mixed martial artist over three rounds, ending Subba’s three-fight winning streak in ONE FC with a unanimous decision victory.
The first fight of the night featured two hard-hitting females in local Jujeath Nagaowa against Jeet Toshi, where the Filipina won via TKO.
ONE FC just had another successful event at the Singapore Indoor Stadium last Saturday, with the next card slated for June 14 at the Mata Elang International Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia.
They return to Manila later this year, and the fans are eagerly awaiting the event.
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