Pinoy fighter to see action in One Championship undercard in China

MANILA, Philippines -- Filipino fighter Trestle Tan will go up against Jeff Hwang of Chinese Taipei in the welterweight division in the undercard of the One Championship: DYNASTY OF CHAMPIONS at the Gymnasium of National Olympic Sports Centre in Beijing, China on Saturday. 

Tan, who holds a 3-4-0 win-draw-loss card, will be looking to repeat against Huang (5-2-0), whom he disposed via TKO in the first round of their earlier match this year. 

In the main card, Narantungalag Jadambaa of Mongolia returns to the ONE Cage after more than a year away from active competition to defend his title against rising star and interim ONE Featherweight World Champion, Marat “Cobra” Gafurov of Russia in the in a scheduled five-rounder.  

The two fighters are set to unify the featherweight belts and determine who is the undisputed king of ONE’s stacked featherweight division.

“I am super excited to fight in Beijing, and I am more than ready to fight the fight of my life,” said Jadambaa, who appears ready to face the monumental task that lies before him. “Marat Gafurov is undefeated and a very tough opponent. I know he is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist with a distinctive style, so this will be a challenge for me but one that I am very excited to take on.”

Jadambaa captured the ONE Featherweight World Championship with a unanimous decision over Koji Oishi at ONE: REIGN OF CHAMPIONS in August of last year. Since then, he’s represented his country as the first internationally recognized champion in mixed martial arts of direct Mongolian descent.

Jadambaa excelled in many different martial arts before he found his way to MMA. Holding a black belt in both Karate and Judo, it was no surprise that he transitioned to maximize his experience in MMA.

“MMA is the hardest of all martial arts, as you are able to use all that you know and you never know what will hit you next. MMA is a tough sport and that’s why I chose it,” Jadambaa explained. “MMA has given me passion, it has given me life. My wish is to give back to the youth in our country. I hope I can inspire a future generation of world champions to come with my performance.”

Gafurov is currently regarded as the best in the division, bar none. The former M-1 Kickboxing champion has made waves in his tenure as a ONE Championship featherweight. He’s undefeated in his professional career and won the first three fights in his stint with ONE Championship by rear naked choke submission.

“ONE has some of the best MMA athletes in the world,” said Jadambaa. “Being the featherweight champion means a lot to me because it has legitimized me as one of the best fighters in the world among the other international MMA fighters.”

“There’s just no way I’m letting my opponent walk out of the cage with my title,” exclaimed Jadambaa.

The card will also feature an exciting co-main event as Adriano “Black Diamond” Moraes defends his ONE Flyweight World Championship against the undefeated Kairat Akhmetov.