ONE FC: Title-contenders and Prospects
People are still buzzing over ONE FC 4: Destiny of Warriors, and rightfully so. It was an action-packed night full of knockouts, submissions, and excitement. It seems as though ONE FC won’t be stopping anytime soon, with their next event happening in the Philippines at the end of August. But what did we learn about the fighters that night?
First off, we learned that Renato Sobral still has it, even after being out of the cage since his lost to Dan Henderson back in December of 2010. Despite being knocked down early, he caught Mizuno in his guard and worked a beautiful armbar off his back, forcing the early submission.
Eventually ONE FC will have their own championship titles, and one can assume that Renato Sobral is very close to a title shot, maybe only one fight away. At 36, this is probably his last chance at a run at a title shot; and with a performance like that he is off to a good start.
We also learned that Zorobabel Moreira is by no means a chump – he picked Roger Huerta apart, a seasoned fighter of the sport, in the stand up game and was not only able to hold his own, but quickly tired out Huerta.
The soccer kick Zorobabel Moreira landed will be talked about for a long time. It is one of the more controversial issues of the night, but no one can deny it brought back memories of Pride.
With his win over Roger Huerta, Moreira’s record improves to 7 – 1. It’s easy to see that he could fight in either the lightweight or welterweight division, and be a force in the division. He probably isn’t that far away from a title shot either.
It would make some sense for Moreira to stay in the welterweight division, as his gym Evolve – highly considered one of the best in Asia by far – has Eddie Ng, Brian Choi, and Shinya Aoki in the lightweight division.
Adam Kayoom improved to 3 – 1 with his win over Brazilian prospect Gregor Gracie. While he probably isn’t as close to a title shot as some others on the card are, he certainly made a name for himself being able to hold his own off his back against Gracie, and absolutely dominated the standup game.
Eric Kelly maintained his unbeaten streak, improving to 7 – 0 with his closely contested fight against Bae Young Kwon. Kelly landed the cleaner, heavier strikes, and was still very active off his back despite being tossed around by the Judo expert. He has established himself as a force in the featherweight division, and a title shot makes sense, seeing as he is the URCC Featherweight Champion right now.
Arnaud Lepont had probably the toughest fight he has had thus far against Brian Choi. From the moment the fight started, he went in for the kill and traded bombs with Choi before being taken down.
Off his back, Lepont was working for a kimura and at other point seemed to be looking to set up a guillotine choke. He was very busy off his back, but it looked as though Choi was going to walk away the victor.
In the third round, Lepont managed to come from behind and caught Choi in a deep rear naked choke, making it a spectacular comeback. His record improves to 9 – 1, winning four of his last six fights by submission.
Immediately after the fight he called out Shinya Aoki, and while the matchup seems unlikely, Lepont seems to really want this fight and it would certainly be a fight many fans would like to see. It would give Aoki a chance to avenge his teammates loss, and gives Lepont a chance to really make a name for himself.
Peter Davis and Mitch Chilson both walked away with quick wins, proving they are not in this short term. Peter Davis quickly took apart Kim Hock, winning by TKO in the first minute. Mitch Chilson submitted Malaysian prospect AJ Vaa by rear naked choke with almost no trouble at all.
The rankings of the fighters in ONE FC seem to be shaping up nicely, and you can expect title shots to be announced later this year, or early next year. Expect to hear the names of Zorobabel Moreira, Renato Sobral, Shinya Aoki, Eric Kelly, and Arnaud Lepont.
