ONE FC return to Kuala Lumpur

ONE FC: Return of Warriors

Putra Indoor Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Feb 2nd, 2013

ONE FC's latest announcement for the show in Kuala Lumpur - Return of the Warriors promises much excitement especially for fans of local fighters.

Also at this bout was an announcement about TuneTalk sponsorship of the event, you can read our exclusive interview with TuneTalks CEO Jason Lo HERE

The big bout is between URCC Champions - Lightweight champion Honorio Banario and fellow Philippine (although Malaysian based) ex URCC Featherweight Champion Eric Kelly. This will be for the ONE FC Featherweight Championship belt.

It seems strange that ONE FC would have a fight between two of the Philippines most popular fighters in Malaysia, surely a chance missed for a future ONE FC in Manila event. But the Philippines loss is our gain.

Kelly has just recovered from a tough bout at the recent celebration of ten years of the URCC: URCC 22 Dekada. In this bout Kelly fought a very tough Brad Terrey and was taken to a deciding third round by which time Kelly was fighting with one eye completely closed, somehow he managed to pull off and armbar showing once again why he is one of the best fighters in Asia, his record still stands at a perfect 9-0.

Barario rocks a 7-1 record and sits at 1-1 in ONE FC with a loss (ONE FC 2 Feb 2012) to Bae Young Kwon as his only loss in his career. Kelly beat Kwon at ONE FC 4. Banario however has a soilid record and is a submission specialist. This should lead to an explosive match-up.

Also announced was the bout between big Malaysian favorite Peter Davis who will be fighting the Indonesian Leo Krishna a man who I am sure will be expecting a massive barrage of boos as he walks to the cage as the Malaysian crowd will be right behind Davis.

Gianni Subba burst onto the MMA scene at ONE FC 6 when he defeated Singapores Bruce Loh in just 33 seconds, now he faces  Saiful Merican is an established Mauy Thai fighter.

There is also to be a four man 145lbs tournament featuring four Malaysian warriors.

Melvin Yeoh will make his debut against Raymond Tiew, this will be an interesting fight as Yeoh is a very well respected MMA coach who has already defeated Tiew back in September 2011 at the Malayisan Fighting Championship 2.  Since then Yeoh has gone 4-1, but his step up into the ONE FC cage whilst long deserved will be a major step up. He may have beaten Tiew once, but, Tiew has gone 3-1 since then as well, his only loss being on his ONE FC debut at ONE FC 2.

The winner of that fight will face the winner of:

AJ Vaa vs Jian Kai Chee. Vaa is a well known and respected MMA coach from Malaysian Borneo who will be looking to put on a good show after suffering a first round loss to Mitch Chilson at ONE FC 4. He has been training hard and also has been part of fast rising PXC fighter Mark Striegl (12-0) coaching team, so expect to see a different AJ Vaa facing Chee. Chee has fought a high level of opponents including losses to Ole Laursen, Arnaud lePont and Eddie Ng. All of his wins come at the Malaysian Fighting Championship, it will be important for him to prove that he can actually step up and compete at a higher level. These two are well matched.

That's all that is known of the Fight Card for now, as with all these things expect changes and additions over the coming weeks, we will try to keep you up to date.

ONE FC 6: Rise of Kings

ONE FC 6: Rise of Kings 

Two title shots going down in Singapore

Published on September 3, 2012 by The Coffee Boy in ONEFC

Last weekend we saw Eric Kelly smash a very game Jens Pulver at ONE FC 5, and it earned him his title shot with the budding promotion. Undefeated in his professional mixed martial arts career, Kelly has beaten MMA prospects Mitch Chilson and Bae Young Kwon, and is the reigning URCC featherweight champion. His TKO victory over the former UFC Lightweight Champion extends his record to 8 – 0.

The man he’ll be facing is Honorio Banario. He is the reigning URCC lightweight champion, and has beaten Alcer Lozada and Patrick Manicad, amongst others. Last weekend, his win over Andrew Benibe was apparently enough to get a title shot. His win over Benibe extends his record to 7 – 1, and he is currently 1 – 1 with ONE FC.

The matchup is a little strange, as Eric Kelly is 3 – 0 with ONE FC, while Banario has one win and one loss with the promotion. A title fight for Kelly against Tatsuya Kawajiri would have probably gone over a little bit better with the fans, however, they will have to settle for this matchup for now.

The other title fight going down will be Zorobabel Moreira against Ole Laursen, as was confirmed on Twitter by Victor Cui (although the Tweet was removed several hours later).

Moreira is 7 – 1 with ONE FC, putting on stellar performances beating Andy Wang, Felipe Enomoto, and Roger Huerta in dominant fashion. Clearly one of the best prospects under the ONE FC lightweight roster, it’s no surprise he was given this opportunity.

His opponent will be none other than Ole Laursen. Despite reports that Laursen had cut ties with the promotion, he’ll be facing Moreira for the title, stepping in for Eduard Folayang (who was originally announced to fight for the title). Laursen is 6 – 3, having beaten Eduard Folayang, Jian Kai Chee and Nick LeConte, to name a few.

One wonders what might happen after Shinya Aoki makes his debut with the promotion, facing top French fighter Arnaud Lepont. If Aoki is victorious, he would be a clear no. 1 contender in that division, but seeing as Moreira is a training partner of his at top Asian MMA gym Evolve, who knows what is going to happen.

Make sure to catch ONE FC 6: Rise of Kings going down in Singapore on the 6th of October.

ONE FC MMA Fighter Raymond Tiew: The Underdog Among Lions

ONE FC MMA Fighter Raymond Tiew: The Underdog Among Lions

Published on April 7, 2012 by The Coffee Boy in ONEFC, Opinion

Raymond Tiew: The Underdog Among Lions – ONE FC MMA Fighter

 Another Story from our thoughtful ONE FC insider: The Coffee Boy

In every organization there are young, up and coming martial artists working their way up the ladder of success. Among those young fighters, there are the submission artists, the knock out artists, the ones who barely get by, and then there are people like Raymond Tiew. People like him are fun to watch, fast-paced, and unpredictable – a recipe for an exciting fighter. That said, however, this young man still has a ways to go to be able to face the giants – well, relatively big giants – in ONE FC’s featherweight division.

The featherweight division is still growing, and new fighters will probably be signed throughout the year. So far, they have signed up and coming stars such as Honorio Banario, Mitch Chilson, and Bae Young Kwon. They have also signed elite featherweight fighters such as King of the Cage champion Donald Sanchez, and DREAM and Shooto hero Tatsuya Kawajiri.

Let me get right to it: What’s the right next step for Raymond Tiew. He is coming off a disappointing loss against SEA Games medalist and MMA newbie Victorio Senduk, losing by way of TKO due to a knee injury. The injury came as a result of both of them ending up on the ground attempting some sort of a leg lock (to be honest, it did look rather amateur-ish). He did demonstrate some very fast and heavy striking early on, like he usually tries to. But the question begs an answer: Whom should Raymond Tiew face next? It would be a waste to put him against an amateur, yet you certainly can’t justify him fighting the likes of Tatsuya Kawajiri or Donald Sanchez.

I have thought it over, and here are three people whom I believe could bring out the best in Raymond Tiew.

Mitch Chilson

This man fights out of one of the best gyms in Asia over at Evolve in Singapore. He currently has a record of 2 – 1, his last fight losing against the URCC Featherweight Champion Eric Kelly by submission, after a very tough back and forth fight.

Mitch Chilson is pretty well rounded and has sets a good pace that could match the aggressiveness of Raymond Tiew. If there’s one area Raymond Tiew needs improvement on it is his ground game, and Chilson will be well prepared to take him down. However, if Raymond plays his cards right, this could turn into a slug fest and has the potential for a very exciting fight. I like this match-up mainly because I believe it will clearly show us what Raymond Tiew has in his arsenal, and where he is in terms of rankings in the featherweight division.

Honorio Banario

This reigning URCC Lightweight Champion dropped to the featherweight division when he signed with ONE FC. He currently stands at 6 – 1, losing his last fight to Bae Young Kwon. He has a good set of skills in his standup arsenal, and has a decent ground game, having submitted opponents by armbar, rear-naked choke, and a kimura.

Why this opponent? This champion definitely wants to get back in there and get back on a winning streak, but after losing his ONE FC debut, one doubts just how good he is, and what his record really says about the level of opponents he has had. Pitting him against Raymond Tiew is a good matchup because this gives Raymond a fighters chance to strike with this Team Lakay Wushu star, and it might give Raymond a chance to demonstrate how he has developed his ground game thus far, if at all.

Victorio Senduk

Why do I want a rematch? Simple: their first fight was close enough until they both locked each other in an amateur move and Raymond walked away with a bum knee. Senduk has a professional record of 1 – 0, his only win being against Raymond. Senduk did look comfortable standing with Raymond, and while he did come off a little stiff, he was able to hold his own.

This rematch would give us the opportunity to see what would have happened had Raymond not get taken down – while he was in a dominant mount position by the way – by Victorio’s unorthodox leg hooks pushing the front of Raymond’s body backwards. I believe the fight will go more or less the same, with Raymond ending up on top again, but this time not getting caught in an embarrassing rooky situation. And this time, we’ll get to see what kind of ground and pound Raymond possesses, and how Victorio Senduk has improved since his win.

We don’t know whom ONE FC has signed besides the ones listed on their website, but if I had to pick from just that list, it would be these 3. They are tough, they are fresh, and they are hungry to win, make an impact, and put on an awesome show for the biggest MMA stage in Asia right now. Whatever happens, I hope they give Raymond Tiew a game opponent – someone with a good set of skills, and not someone for him to walk over.