Askren, Aleksakhin ready to put on a show

Fans in the Philippines will witness all the action live as ONE Welterweight World Champion Ben “Funky” Askren returns to defend his title against hard-charging Russian opponent Nikolay Aleksakhin.

Former NCAA Division I All-American, Ben Askren is a collegiate wrestling legend and one of the finest mixed martial artists in the world today. In just a few fights in ONE, Askren was able to seize the ONE Welterweight World Championship with a resounding technical knockout victory over Nobutatsu Suzuki. The highly-skilled Askren is widely considered to be the absolute best in his division and one of the best fighters in the world pound for pound. His next challenge is a tough one, as he goes head-to-head with Russia’s Nikolay Aleksakhin.

Veteran welterweight from Russia, Nikolay Aleksakhin will make his highly-anticipated return to the ONE Championship cage in Manila this April. Aleksakhin was impressive in his debut for the promotion when he submitted Burenzorig Batmunkh with a rear naked choke within three rounds. Now, Aleksakhin gets the call to face ONE Welterweight World Champion Ben Askren and will look to surprise the crowd with intense action.

ONE Welterweight World Champion, Ben Askren stated: "When I’m in Asia for ONE Championship I am one of the few American fighters. I definitely feel a responsibility to represent America well because there are not a lot of other American fighters in ONE."

"I owe the Filipino fans. The last time I was in Manila obviously the bout didn’t have the outcome anyone wanted and my opponent was a lot less than courageous in faking his eye injury. The Filipino fans were unfairly robbed of a good fight. They lost the main event that night. I have to do an extra dominant job on April 15th to make sure the Filipino fans get a fight made up to them that they lost out on last year."

"You can look in my eyes, I’m honestly 100% not concerned about anything Nikolay [Aleksakhin] brings to the table. He’s not an elite striker. I face strikers who are twice as good as him on a daily basis at practice. He is not as good of a wrestler as me. Hell, I’ll let him take me down! He can take me down all he wants because once we get on the ground he’s in my world."

Challenger, Nikolay Aleksakhin stated:

"It was an honour to train with [Fedor Emelianenko]. He is a role model for me. I understood how much work coaches invested into him and I wanted to get that knowledge. I used to watch his fights when a child and wanted to be like him. He has many qualities of a real man, not just a fighter."

"Wrestling is [Ben Askren's] one and only strength, he is a boring fighter to watch. He has a very weak striking technique, I would like to play on that. I am a showman, I like exciting fighters and want to win beautifully."

"It is the most important fight in my career, so far. To win against Ben Askren means to move a level up and to demonstrate it to the whole world."

Askren and Aleksakhin are scheduled for a 5-round welterweight contest at ONE: GLOBAL RIVALS which takes place at the state-of-the-art Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Philippines. The bout will be for the ONE Welterweight World Championship.


*This is Press Release

Thai Fighters Lead Thailand into Modern Day Martial Arts

Former three-time Lumpinee champion in Muay Thai, Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke went home to Thailand recently after living and working in Singapore to grace a press conference for ONE Championship’s “Kingdom of Champions” fight card which takes

place May 27 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok.
The reigning ONE Strawweight World Champion is the first world champion in mixed

martial arts of Thai descent and is leading the charge for MMA in Thailand.

“I have waited a long time for this. Coming home to Thailand and performing in front of my people has always been my greatest dream,” said Dejdamrong, who won the strawweight title with a 5-round technical decision over Filipino stalwart Roy “The Dominator” Doliguez last year.

The unbeaten Dejdamrong is a Muay Thai master. He transitioned into MMA back in

2014 and hasn’t looked back since, stringing together six straight victories whilst capturing the title along the way.

ONE Championship has brought Dejdamrong to places like Manila, Dubai, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur to showcase his talent, to help boost MMA in Asian markets.

Backed by the Government of Singapore, and led by a world-class management team, the ONE is Asia’s largest sports media property with a global broadcast to over 1-billion homes in 75 countries.
Dejdamrong believes that like ONE’s successful expansion into other Asian nations, this event in Bangkok will create significant media coverage around the world and that Thailand will receive a lot of attention which bodes well for the overall economy and tourism in the country.

“Thailand is one of the greatest countries in the world, and this is our chance to show it,”  said Dejdamrong.

MMA is a collection of various martial arts in history, taken from different locales and all brought together in a single sport with a global unified ruleset which depict values of honor, courage, humility, work ethic, mental strength and confidence. Asia has been the home of martial arts for the past 5,000 years, and Muay Thai -- a combat discipline with origins in 16th century Thailand -- is one of the main styles in MMA.

“It’s become a reality,” said Dejdamrong, about his dream of competing in front of his friends and family in his home country.
“I vow to protect the title and bring the belt back home to Bangkok again as champion. It is an honor and a privilege to receive this opportunity,” he said.

Although an opponent is yet to be announced, it is widely considered by experts that Dejdamrong is perhaps the most talented fighter in his division. With ONE always on the lookout for fresh talent the world over, finding a worthy challenger for the 37-year old Dejdamrong has proven to be a challenge in itself. Dejdamrong faced his toughest opponent last November in Brazil’s Yago Bryan.

Although the Thai national defeated Bryan by unanimous decision in 5 rounds, Bryan pushed Dejdamrong to the limit and forced him to dig deep to showcase his championship mettle.

As a result, Dejdamrong put in one of his finest performances to date, of course led by his world-class Muay Thai skills honed in the heart of his hometown of Bangkok.

MMA has grown in popularity in recent years, and is the fastest expanding sport in the entire world. As major MMA organizations in the west have taken the sport’s profile from cult following to mainstream, ONE Championship has done the same in Asia, boosting the participation of gyms and raising awareness of ancient martial arts like Muay Thai.

Aside from Dejdamrong, Thailand’s local Muay Thai community also welcomed the news of ONE’s expansion into the country with excitement.

Sangchai, currently the biggest name in Muay Thai, has expressed his interest in competing at ONE in MMA. Khun Boat of PetYinDee, one of the biggest Muay Thai promoters in Thailand is also delighted that MMA is finally making its way into the country.

Being an integral part of MMA, Muay Thai fighters now have an international platform for athletes to transition into MMA and advance their professional careers.

“Thai fighters have conquered combat sports such as Muay Thai in the east and in the west, and also in Olympic boxing,” said Thai featherweight contender Shannon “One Shin” Wiratchai, who is a big part of the local combat sports community.

“In Thailand, we have a big contingent of great Muay Thai fighters and a ton of great non-mainstream ones too. ONE Championship in Thailand is a call out to unite all the great fighters to step out from the shadows and let the world see the greatness of Thai athletes!
“I am really excited and all the Thai people are more than ready for MMA. We’re coming for you, world.”

*This is Press Release

EXCITING AZKALS VS. AZKALS MATCH

4 March 2016 – Manila: Two-time United Football League (UFL) Champion GLOBAL FC sent a powerful message to its opponent Ceres FC last Thursday night at Rizal Memorial Stadium, that they are out for glory.  Defending Champion Ceres FC was undefeated until their GLOBAL FC match.

GLOBAL FC won 2-1 against Ceres in a match where everyone was on the edge of their seats.  GLOBAL FC players Milan Nikolic and Matthew Hartmann scored 1 goal each.

Coach Leigh Manson predicted it right when he said after the Loyola win that, “In a game wherein Azkals play against other Azkals, nobody wants to lose that game.”

Azkals players from GLOBAL FC Misagh Bahadoran, Daisuke Sato, Dennis Villanueva, Amani Aguinaldo and Patrick Deyto went against Ceres’ Stephan Schrock, Martin Steuble, Patrick Reichelt, Manny Ott and Kevin Ingreso.

“We are continuing to have a formula and a plan that works for the team.  The players know their jobs when they go out, they also know what we expect from them.  You know with these last 2 games it wasn’t just about the technical abilities, it is about heart”, Coach Leigh Manson says.

Manson continues, “Our chances are good as anybody now.  There’s nobody that we fear, respect yes, fear no.”

GLOBAL FC will be preparing for UFL’s knock-out stage this April.

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About GLOBAL FC:


GLOBAL FC was founded in year 2000 and was described in AFC Quarterly’s July 2015 issue as “One of the leading sides in the Philippines and pioneers in football’s fast-growing development in the archipelago.”

Among its notable achievements are 2 UFL League Championships for 2012 and 2014.  It was also the first Filipino Club to qualify for both the AFC President’s Cup in 2

*This is Press Release