ONE Championship chairman promises fireworks in organization’s return to Manila

With ONE Championship returning to Manila, Philippines on 21 April, Asia’s largest mixed martial arts (MMA) organization seeks to electrify the 20,000-seater SM Mall of Asia Arena once again.

Company chairman Chatri Sityodtong revealed that ONE Championship is preparing a blockbuster event for its tenth venture on Philippine shores.

“April 21st in Manila is going to be a massive, massive event. We are going to have a crazy card for the fans in the Philippines. You’ve got to come out and show your love. We’re going to see some fireworks. It will probably be our biggest event in the Philippines,” he stated,

Sityodtong confirmed that Filipino fighter Eduard Folayang will be defending the ONE Lightweight World Championship title for the first time against a yet-to-be-determined opponent in the main event.

Last November, the 33-year-old Baguio City native pulled off an upset victory over Shinya Aoki to become an MMA world champion after nine years of competing in the sport.

Folayang dethroned Aoki by way of third-round technical knockout, driving a hard knee to the head before unleashing a barrage of punches to coerce referee Yuji Shimada to wave it off.

“In order to become a legend, you have to beat a legend. He did that despite being dominated by Shinya Aoki in the first round. Eduard Folayang showed what it’s like to conquer the odds,” Sityodtong said of Folayang’s stunning victory over Aoki.

“He is going to defend it in his home country for the first time. I want the entire country, if you’re a Filipino or have a Pinoy heart, you’ve got to watch this fight,” he added.

Aside from Folayang, Sityodtong also confided that Ben Askren will make the third defense of his ONE Welterweight World Championship belt in the Philippines.

Widely regarded as one of the best welterweight MMA fighters in the world today, Askren is no stranger to fighting on Philippine soil as he already fought twice in the country.

Askren is coming off a unanimous decision triumph over Russia’s Nikolay Aleksakhin in April of last year, keeping his unblemished MMA record intact.

As for Askren’s challenger in April, Sityodtong bared that an announcement will be made in the coming weeks.

According to Sityodtong, ONE Championship’s matchmakers are working really hard in filling up the bout lineup for its trip to the Philippines on 21 April.

"We’re definitely going to have some of the biggest Filipino superstars back. I hope to see the best and the brightest from the Philippines. I also hope to see Geje Eustaquio and Kevin Belingon,” he shared.

Although the promotion plans to further extend its reach across Asia, Sityodtong admitted that the Philippines remains one of ONE Championship’s key markets in the region.

“The Philippines is a very important market for us. I truly believe that ONE Championship can become mainstream where every single Filipino is enthralled with what ONE Championship has to offer,” he stated.

Sityodtong stressed that ONE Championship sets its sights in cultivating more homegrown talents from the Philippines.

“The Philippines is a nation of warriors. There are still a lot of talents coming out of the Philippines. It has a very rich history of martial arts. So we will see a lot of great things,” he ended.

​For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

About ONE Championship™

ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia featuring the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Championship is broadcast to over 1 billion viewers across 118+ countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including FOX Sports, Setanta, MNC, Astro, Thairath TV, ABS-CBN, TV5, MYTV, HTV, OSN and more.

Burn Soriano targets another big win in upcoming bout

After scoring a highlight-reel finish in his last bout, Filipino homegrown talent Burn “The Hitman” Soriano looks for another scintillating performance as he is set to have his first scheduled match under the ONE Championship banner in 2017.

Soriano will be squaring off with Malaysian standout Saiful “The Vampire” Merican on the undercard of ONE: THRONE OF TIGERS, which takes place at the 12,000-seater Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 10 February.

The 30-year-old native of Narvacan, Ilocos Sur eyes a follow-up to his 15-second knockout win over Mario Satya Wirawan last August.

Soriano delivered a well-executed spinning backfist that instantly turned the lights out on Wirawan. His knockout victory was ranked as one of the jaw-dropping wins in 2016 by ONE Championship.

“I am a fighter who always looks for the finish. As much as possible, I want to give the fans what they want to see. They didn’t buy a ticket to see a boring fight. They came for an action-packed fight with an amazing conclusion,” Soriano said.

“In my upcoming fight, my fans should expect that I will have the same mentality. I will look for that finish,” he added.

Holding a mixed martial arts record of 3-2, Soriano has not gone the distance yet in his nearly seven-year prizefighting career. He owns two submission triumphs and one knockout win.

According to Soriano, his three-round encounter with Merican will have no shortage of firepower as he expects his Malaysian foe to stand and bang with him.

Merican, 24, is an explosive striker who starts bouts fast, always looking to end matters early. Moreover, he has had incredible success inside the ONE Championship cage with his fan-friendly fighting style.

“I know he also likes to strike and have the fight in a stand-up exchange. This is a favorable match-up for me because I love to trade and bang,” Soriano stated.

Aiming to continue his winning ways inside the ONE Championship cage, Soriano believes that win over Merican will push him into the upper echelon of the bantamweight division.

“I'm training hard for this fight. If I get the W, I know I will be in a better position because I can get to fight the contenders at the top of the food chain,” he said.

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For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

About ONE Championship™

ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia featuring the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Championship is broadcast to over 1 billion viewers across 118+ countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including FOX Sports, Setanta, MNC, Astro, Thairath TV, ABS-CBN, TV5, MYTV, HTV, OSN and more.

VITALY BIGDASH RETAINS ONE MIDDLEWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WITH VICTORY OVER AUNG LA N SANG

The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), returned to the Jakarta Convention Center for another evening of world-class mixed martial arts (MMA) action. ONE: QUEST FOR POWER set the tone for what will be an amazing 2017 for ONE Championship with a series of compelling bouts featuring the absolute best in local and international MMA talent. In the main event, ONE Middleweight World Champion Vitaly Bigdash retained his title, defeating top contender “The Burmese Python” Aung La N Sang by unanimous decision after five rounds.

Visit the official ONE: QUEST FOR POWER photo gallery by clicking: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ivh34n9pza3q94o/AADwuMwRg-gnDecd5AIBoQyTa?dl=0

In the main event of the evening, ONE Middleweight World Champion Vitaly Bigdash of Rostov-on-Don, Russia impressed with a great show of strength in a dominant performance over “The Burmese Python” Aung La N Sang of Myanmar. Throughout the bout, Bigdash kept N Sang at bay with his sharp combinations, while on the mat he connected with multiple elbows. After five rounds of action, it was a clear win for Bigdash who met very little resistance in outlasting the durable N Sang to remain undefeated, retaining his ONE Middleweight World Championship.

In the co-main event of the evening, 27-year-old Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen of Sydney, Australia authored one of the most spectacular finishes of the evening, stopping Japanese MMA veteran Kazunori Yokota with strikes to win by technical knockout just past the midway point of the first round. Yokota stalked Nguyen, looking to throw combinations but Nguyen timed Yokota with an overhand right that dropped him to the canvas. From there, Nguyen jumped on his foe and rained down punches from the top to earn the stoppage victory.

Lightweight contenders Vincent “MagniVincent” Latoel and Vaughn “The Spawn” Donayre put on an exciting show for fans in attendance, tagging each other with intense combinations for the majority of the three-round lightweight contest. On the mat, Donayre showcased his grappling skills, threatening with various submissions off his back. Latoel however was more consistent throughout and scored points with his takedowns and cage control. All three judges saw the bout in favor of Latoel to win by unanimous decision.

The highly-anticipated lightweight showdown between Georgi Stoyanov of Bulgaria and Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev of Russia ended on an unfortunate note, as the bout resulted in a No Contest ruling. Although Arslanaliev swarmed Stoyanov from the beginning of the bout and completely outclassed the Bulgarian, an ill-advised technical ground kick landed for Arslanaliev and Stoyanov was unable to continue.

Dutch featherweight standout based in Jakarta, Anthony “The Archangel” Engelen, put on a masterful performance, stopping Malaysian fight veteran A.J. “Pyro” Lias Mansor in under two minutes in the first round of a scheduled three-round bout. Engelen pressed Mansor up against the cage fence with a combination before a beautiful right hand felled Mansor, earning Engelen one of the most spectacular knockouts of his career.

Fans were treated to an action-packed clash of colossal light heavyweights as Igor Subora of the Ukraine and Sherif Mohamed of Egypt pushed each other to the limit in a tremendous three-round show of determination from both fighters. Subora effectively used his reach advantage to keep the smaller, stockier Mohamed at bay with his boxing throughout the bout. In the third round, both fighters fought through sheer exhaustion to make it to the final bell as Subora did just enough to outlast Mohamed to earn the unanimous decision.

Local martial arts hero from Jakarta, “The Terminator” Sunoto, brought the crowd to its feet with a riveting performance to defeat Cambodia’s Chan Heng by technical knockout just a little under three minutes into the first round. Sunoto wasted no time in taking the fight directly to Heng, challenging the Khun Khmer practitioner to a striking showdown at the center of the ONE Championship cage. Sunoto however, proved too much for the Cambodian after he gained mount and unleashed the ground-and-pound.

Unbeaten Indonesian flyweight prospect Stefer Rahardian defeated Jakarta-based Liberian fighter Jerome S. Paye via unanimous decision in the second preliminary bout of the evening. Rahardian showcased tremendous cage-control for the majority of the fight, smothering Paye with a consistent attack that left the Liberian stifled throughout the contest. The 30-year-old Rahardian left very little openings for Paye who just couldn’t get his offense going. In the end, Rahardian had just enough in the tank to complete a comprehensive three-round performance, earning the nod on all three judges’ scorecards.

Strawweights Rene Catalan of the Philippines and Adrian Matheis of Indonesia kicked off ONE: QUEST FOR POWER with a spirited display of mixed martial arts action, on a bustling Saturday night in Jakarta. After a dominant first round from Catalan, one that saw the Filipino attempt various finishes, the end came swiftly in the second when Catalan was able to execute an armbar to earn the submission victory.

Official results for ONE: QUEST FOR POWER

ONE Middleweight World Championship bout: Vitaly Bigdash defeats Aung La N Sang by Unanimous Decision (UD) after five rounds

Featherweight bout: Martin Nguyen defeats Kazunori Yokota by TKO (Strikes) at 3:36 minutes of round 1

Lightweight bout: Vincent Latoel defeats Vaughn Donayre by Unanimous Decision (UD) after three rounds

Lightweight bout: Georgi Stoyanov, Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev (No Contest)

Featherweight bout: Anthony Engelen defeats AJ Lias Mansor by Knockout (KO) at 1:42 minutes of round 1

Light Heavyweight bout: Igor Subora defeats Sherif Mohamed by Unanimous Decision (UD) after three rounds

Bantamweight bout: Sunoto defeats Chan Heng by TKO (Strikes) at 2:30 minutes of round 1

Flyweight bout: Stefer Rahardian defeats Jerome S. Paye by Unanimous Decision (UD) after three rounds

Strawweight bout: Rene Catalan defeats Adrian Matheis by Submission (Armbar) at 2:08 minutes of round 2

In case you missed the action log on to www.onefc.com/livestream for the full replay of the fights at only US $9.99.

For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

About ONE Championship™

ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia featuring the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Championship is broadcast to over 1 billion viewers across 118+ countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including FOX Sports, Setanta, MNC, Astro, Thairath TV, ABS-CBN, TV5, MYTV, HTV, Esporte Interativo and more.

P-PasseUniversity of the Visayas wins SBrelle Sportsmanship Award

University of the Visayas (UV) got to take home the much-coveted Sportsmanship award in the SBP division of the prestigious SBP-Passerelle Twin Tournament. This award is based not only on the fair play shown by the players, but also among the coaches, school officials and parents, and aims to develop values, discipline, team work and sportsmanship among all participants. The SBP-Passerelle Twin Tournament is organized by the multi-awarded school for basketball and volleyball, BEST Center, sponsored by Milo, and supported by Chris Sports and Rain or Shine. Now on its 31st year, SBP-Passarelle is the longest running and most prestigious annual interschool basketball competition for children where students ages 9-11 compete in the SBP division, while students ages 12-14 compete in the Passarelle division. For more information about BEST Center’s classes and tournaments, email bestcentersports@gmail.com or follow its official Facebook page BEST Center Sports Inc.

Anthony Engelen credits supportive MMA team for recent success

The sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) is about individuals, but most of its highly-regarded world champions are forged in strong camps that bring in many great fighters.

In a very different atmosphere from boxing, MMA hardly sees any high-profile competitors building training camps around one man or woman as it often centered around a gym where several coaches work in conjunction with each other to train a stable of fighters of varying skills and weight classes.

These gyms often take on a close-knit and team-based environment, which is very unusual for an individual combat sport like mixed martial arts. However, it leads to an effective outcome.

Dutch-Indonesian standout Anthony “Archangel” Engelen credits his current stature as an international MMA competitor to his team.

The 31-year-old standout trains at Tatsujin Dojo, an MMA training facility that is established in Jakarta, Indonesia. The gym was founded by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and martial arts guru Martijn de Jong in 1995.

Ever since he started his prizefighting stint in 2013, Engelen has been training at Tatsujin Dojo under the tutelage of De Jong.

Although he aced his first three assignments as a professional fighter, Engelen encountered mix results when he directed his career path to ONE Championship in 2015.

Engelen fell short in his December 2015 promotional debut against grappling world champion Bruno Pucci. Even though he managed to redeem himself with a win over ex-Filipino boxer Rocky Batolbatol in February 2016, he suffered another setback at the hands of Singaporean prospect Christian Lee a month later.

Despite going through ups and downs in his budding MMA career, Engelen did not lose hope as De Jong and the entire crew of Tatsujin Dojo never left his side.

Engelen trusted the entire process and eventually reaped the fruits of his labor. To cap off his 2016 campaign, he scored a sensational victory over Sami Amin in August, submitting the Egyptian journeyman with a second-round armbar.

“My last fight has only made me feel a lot stronger and more confident in my training,” Engelen shared.

As to whatever he has achieved lately inside the ONE Championship cage, Engelen quickly gives the recognition to his coach and training partners.

“I have a tremendous support system in my training, especially with the help of my coach Martijn de Jong. He knows how to bring out the best in me. It is always exciting to prepare for a fight,” he said.

Engelen and his team will be tested once more as he is set to square off with AJ “Pyro” Lias Mansor on the undercard of ONE: QUEST FOR POWER in Jakarta, Indonesia on 14 January.

Mansor is one of the finest MMA coaches in the Southeast Asian region. Based out of Borneo Tribal Squad in Sabah, Malaysia, Mansor is responsible for training athletes like female fighting sensation Ann “Athena” Osman.

His opponent might have a remarkable team behind him, but Engelen is confident that his support system has geared him up splendidly for his three-round featherweight meeting with the seasoned veteran.

“I have an outstanding support system for this fight. I have the best coach in my corner. I also train with the best fighters in the region. With that said, I’m confident coming into this fight because I have them behind me,” he stated.

​For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

About ONE Championship™

ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia featuring the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Championship is broadcast to over 1 billion viewers across 118+ countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including FOX Sports, Setanta, MNC, Astro, Thairath TV, ABS-CBN, TV5, MYTV, HTV, Esporte Interativo and more.

Manila-based heavyweight Igor Subora seeks career revitalization in upcoming bout

Ukrainian fighter Igor Subora sees his upcoming three-round encounter with Sherif “The Shark” Mohamed as an opportunity to bring back the luster of his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career.

Both highly-decorated combatants are set to collide on the undercard of ONE: QUEST FOR POWER, which takes place at the Jakarta Convention Center in Jakarta, Indonesia on 14 January.

Subora is one of the few foreign nationals who opted to make a run for the money and compete professionally in the Philippines.

Although he acquired his Combat Sambo pedigree overseas, Subora decided to train as an MMA competitor when he migrated to the country in 2008, honing his skills in neighboring gyms around Metro Manila.

Subora remarkably conquered the local MMA scene in the Philippines, attaining four first-round knockouts and one submission victory.

In addition, Subora captured a local MMA promotion’s heavyweight championship belt by way of a 49-second knockout in 2011 and reigned for three years with ease.

His success in the Philippine MMA circuit led him to be noticed by ONE Championship, which is widely regarded as the largest MMA organization in the Asia region.

Despite his triumphant run in the local ranks, he struggled to translate it in his first two ONE Championship assignments.

Subora yielded to future ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon Vera in his December 2014 promotional debut before suffering the same fate at the hands of Cameroonian brute Alain Ngalani in November 2015.

The 36-year-old Ukrainian stalwart stressed that is determined to break his losing spell inside the ONE Championship cage and regain his reputation as one of the top-notch MMA competitors in Asia.

“I am very focused, motivated and doing everything right this time around to get the win. It’s my chance to redeem myself. I can tell everybody that my hand will be raised this January 14,” he stated.

The man standing in Subora's re-entry to the winner's column is the debuting Mohamed, a well-versed kickboxer and wrestler who has eight of his wins coming by finish.

Of his total victories, Mohamed owns four submission wins and four knockout wins, proving his versatility and well-rounded fight game.

“My opponent had great wins in the past, but I don’t know if he is ready for what I am bringing on fight night. I consider myself as the experienced fighter in this match-up,” Subora said.

“I fought the best in the Philippines and in ONE Championship. I don’t think he is ready to play with the big boys,” he added.

Subora knows that he has a tough task ahead of him, but he remains optimistic that he will walk away with the victory.

“I am hungry to win this fight. I learned a valuable lesson from my last two fights. I am very excited to get back. I feel like I haven’t shown my true from in ONE Championship. This will be a great platform to show the world the real Igor Subora,” he ended.

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For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

About ONE Championship™

ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia featuring the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Championship is broadcast to over 1 billion viewers across 118+ countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including FOX Sports, Setanta, MNC, Astro, Thairath TV, ABS-CBN, TV5, MYTV, HTV, Esporte Interativo and more.

​​Burmese countrymen motivate Aung La N Sang to win world title

Burmese mixed martial arts (MMA) superstar Aung La N Sang will have the opportunity of a lifetime as he gets a deserving shot at the ONE Middleweight World Championship belt.

Aung La challenges division kingpin Vitaly Bigdash in the main event of ONE: QUEST FOR POWER, which takes place at the Jakarta Convention Center in Jakarta, Indonesia on 14 January.

Marcin Prachnio was originally penciled to lock horns with Bigdash for the gold-plated strap, but the highly-touted Polish combatant was forced to withdraw from the middleweight championship clash due to an injury.

Stepping in to replace Prachnio is Aung La, who is riding high on a remarkable four-fight winning streak.

2016 has been a big year for the man known as “The Burmese Python,” who got his nickname due to his constricting style of fighting. Aung La won three consecutive fights in impressive fashion last year.

Returning from a nearly two-year hiatus, Aung La showed that he did not have cage rust in him by outstandingly submitting Egyptian stalwart Mohamed Ali with a first-round guillotine choke in March.

Aung La followed it up by handing Aleksei Butorin his first career defeat last August, forcing the Russian standout to tap with an arm-triangle choke in the second round.

The 31-year-old Burmese fighter capped off his 2016 calendar by carving a unanimous decision win over ex-light heavyweight title contender Michal Pasternak with a masterful striking and wrestling performance this past October.

Aung La stressed that he has done more than enough to vie for Bigdash’s intricately-crafted championship belt.

“My last two fights have been against a guy who was supposed to fight for the title and an ex-title contender. For sure, I deserved my position to challenge Vitaly Bigdash for the title. I am not going to waste this wonderful opportunity,” he said.

Aung La has a tall order in front of him as Bigdash brings an immaculate record of 8-0 into the scheduled five-round title tilt.

The 32-year-old Russian brute has not gone the distance yet in his nearly five-year prizefighting career, owning four knockout victories and four submission triumphs.

Although Bigdash poses to be the roadblock to Aung La’s path to becoming the first Burmese MMA world champion, the latter is confident that he will walk away with the world title belt around his waist.

Aung La shared that his countrymen are his source of strength and motivation to claim the ONE Middleweight World Championship title.

“I feel very honored to be able to represent my people. They love the sport. I am very surprised to how much support I get from the people. They are my inspiration every time that I compete. Now, I am so motivated to win the title for the people of Myanmar,” he stated.

According to Aung La, winning the ONE Middleweight World Championship is important to him as he sees it as his chance to repay the nation’s steadfast support throughout his career.

“I would like to repay the unwavering support that they gave me all throughout the years by winning the ONE Middleweight World Championship belt. It’s my way of saying thank you to them,” he asserted.

Even though it was given to him on a short notice, Aung La remains grateful that ONE Championship awarded the title shot to him.

“My Christmas gift came late, but I am happy that ONE Championship gave me this chance to compete for a world title. I have been working so hard to reach this stage. This is it,” he declared.

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For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

About ONE Championship™

ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia featuring the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in 

Asia. ONE Championship is broadcast to over 1 billion viewers across 118+ countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including FOX Sports, Setanta, MNC, Astro, Thairath TV, ABS-CBN, TV5, MYTV, HTV, Esporte Interativo and more.