ONE FC MMA announces explosive Manila fight card for May 2
Asia's biggest mixed martial arts promotion is set to dazzle the Philippines once again with ONE FC: Rise of Heroes on May 2 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The main event will be the title clash in the Bantamweight division between champ Bibiano Fernandes (15-3-0) of Brazil and challenger, Japan's Masakatsu Ueda (18-2-2). The Japanese veteran won the ONE FC Bantamweight Grand Prix competition to earn his title shot against the heavily favored Fernandes, who is a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu master.
Fernandes is a six-time world champ in BJJ and a four time Brazilian champion in that discipline. In MMA he sports a 15-3-0 record.
The undercards also show lots of potential, with Filipino Eugene Toquero slated to lock horns with fellow Flyweight Gianni Subba of Malaysia.
Toquero, from Alcantara, Cebu, is a 32-year-old Muay Thai specialist who switched to MMA in 2012. In his first ONE FC fight last year he fell to another Filipino, Geje Eustaquio, via a decision.
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“Pagdating sa stand-up, atin yun” (when it comes to stand-up fighting, the fight is ours/mine) stated Taquero at the press conference on Tuesday at the Mall of Asia atrium.
“Susugurin ko talaga yun. Walang atrasan.” (I'm really going to attack him, I will not back down) added Toquero, who has a degree in Criminology from the University of the Visayas and currently trains and instructs at the Ultimate Fitness gym in Metrowalk, Pasig. Toquero's, MMA record is 4-1.
Subba is a Malaysian-Nepalese currently fighting out of Kuala Lumpur. He was raised in the United States and attended Brigham Young University. Subba's background is wrestling, although he claims he also has his share of Muay Thai experience.
The 21-year old also expressed his concern for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 which vanished without a trace over the South China Sea.
“It's a tragic thing. I hope the plane is found so the family can have closure.”
According to ONE FC CEO there will be other Pinoys doing battle on May 2. He assured the press that we could expect the likes of Kevin Belingon, Eduard Folayang, and Geje Eustaquio in action that night. It is just the individual matchups that need to be settled.
Belingon fought in the ONE FC card in Singapore last March 14, succumbing to Dae Hwan Kim of Korea via rear-naked-choke in the end of the first round.
Another highly awaited bout scheduled for that evening will be the Featherweight encounter between Aussie Rob Lisita (13-5-0) and Japanese grappling wizard Yusuke Kawanago.
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The two first met in 2012 with the Japanese winning via unanimous decision.
Lisita announced himself to the Filipino crowd as a “proud Catholic” who will be “a changed man” against Kawanago. Lisita hinted that he has some surprises up his sleeve and that he is “prepared to die in there” in this fight. Four days after the fight, his wife is scheduled to give birth to the couple's third child.
Kawanago, (13-3-2,) who has fought at Bantamweight in the past, is similarly confident, bragging through an interpreter that “even if he challenges me one hundred times, the result will be the same.”
ONE FC has a new deal with Mall of Asia that will see them doing at least two fights a year in the arena for the next three years. It was learned that after the May 2 card, there will likely be another fight night in December.
Cui also intimated that there were other promotional activities in the works with the promotion's sponsors, like Petron, Resorts World Manila, Fairtex, Under Armor, and PAGCOR.
All ONE FC fight cards are broadcast live on Star Sports and are available on live stream as well on www.onefc.livesport.tv.
Follow Bob on Twitter @PassionateFanPH. Follow ONE FC @ONEFCMMA.
