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.

Interview with a MMA Warrior – Raymond Tiew

Interview With A Mixed Martial Arts Warrior – Raymond Tiew

Published on November 23, 2011 by The Editor in Opinion

Interview with a MMA Warrior – Raymond Tiew

The Malaysian MMA scene is really taking off with a series of small scale shows launched which have showcased some of the country’s best up and coming fighters. With Asia’s biggest MMA show, ONE Fighting Championship, scheduled to take place in Kuala Lumpur in April the race is on to see which local mixed martial artists will make their way onto the card.

One fighter who has been making waves is 22 year old Raymond Tiew. He has a background in Taekwondo and Sanshou and has impressed a lot of people in the process of accumulating a 5-2 amateur record.

He spoke to MMA News Asia about his reasons for getting into martial arts and his ambition of becoming a world class fighter.

When did you first start martial arts and why?

I first started when I was 7 years old and Taekwondo was the first martial art I learned. I got involved in martial arts because of my bad discipline when I was young. I got in my first fight when I was 5 years old and after that, I fought all the time, even when in primary school. The only reason I fought was because I was getting bullied but my dad saw the talent in me and wanted me to have more discipline, so he took me to learn martial arts.

What is your competitive martial arts experience?

I took part in my first competition fight when I was 15 years old, the Taekwondo KL open tournament in 2005. I won a bronze medal and then I joined a lot of Taekwondo competition, even the international open. When I was 19 I started to learn Chinese Sanshou kickboxing and in 2011 I won the bronze medal at the Hong Kong Wushu open in San Shou.

How would you describe your style?

I’m a stand up fighter, I like to strike more, and I am good at counter attacking and I always like to keep a distance. If I get taken to the ground, I will try to get away from the opponent unless I am on top of him and have a chance on ground and pound.

Why did you decide to start competing in MMA?

I decided to get involved in MMA because I love a challenge and want to fight with every martial art in the world, you can see every famous martial art in MMA like Muay Thai, BJJ, Karate, kick boxing, pure boxing, wrestling etc. I love martial arts and I want to get involved and learn and challenge myself against every martial artist I can.

How often do you train and who do you train with?

 I train 3-5 hours a day 6 days per week. I often train with my Sanshou Sifu Alex Loh in Puchong, he is the KL under 18 Sanshou coach and Peter Davis who is an MMA champion from the UK and I do condition and endurance training with Jasper Chai and Tiger from Muayfit.

Is MMA popular in Malaysia? Do a lot of people understand it?

MMA is not popular in Malaysia, yet, but its growing because of shows like Mayhem and Fight Night and because of One FC which is very famous all over Asia. People in Malaysia are not familiar with MMA yet but they are interested in Taekwondo, Karate, Boxing, Wushu and Muay Thai which is famous because of the movie ‘Ong Bak’ and because our country is near to Thailand.

People are used to the the punching, kicking and wrestling or throwing but don’t understand ground skills and BJJ so people in Malaysia still don’t fully understand MMA.  A lot of people have gone to watch the Mayhem and Fight Night shows which Muayfit have promoted and I think they are learning about MMA and are starting to really like it.

Do you have a full time job and if so how do you fit your training around it?

I don’t have a full time job, just a part time job as a fitness instructor in Muayfit. My time in my job is quite flexible so it is easy to arrange my time to train myself and spend time with my family as well. My family give me a full support in my martial arts career.

Is there a lot of excitement in Malaysia about One FC next year?

ONE FC will bring a big event with professional fighters from around the world to fight in Malaysia, they will introduce a new sport to Malaysia, it is very exciting. I saw the first ONE FC event and it was amazing, I can’t wait for this show to come to Malaysia.

How much have you enjoyed competing at the Mayhem and Fight Night events and how much do you think the experience will have helped you?

The Muayfit events, Mayhem and Fight Night, have given me a lot of opportunity to gain more experience. They don’t just have local fighters, there are also fighters from other foreign countries like Russia, Africa, Hong Kong and the middle east who have experience of fighting in their own country so I can study how they fight. Not only that but I get to use on myself in the environment inside a cage with an audience and pressure so I can learn how to focus and calm myself for every fight I have. I want to get involved as much as I can to make myself a better fighter, a world class fighter.

Who are the other MMA fighters to look out for in Malaysia?

The other fighters who you need to look out for are Adam Kayoom from Q23 Academy, Peter Davis from Muayfit and Jian Kai Chee from TNT kick boxing Gym who has an excellent standing fight style.