Colossa wins, pays
tribute to Mandela & calls out Shinya Aoki
by rick olivares
On the heels of a South African legend who passed
away, Vuyisile Colossa, Muay Thai specialist from Welkon, Free State, defeated
via unanimous decision Caros Fodor, then called out One FC’s brightest star –
Shinya Aoki.
At One FC: Moment of Truth held last night at the
Mall of Asia Arena at Pasay City, Colossa, who was emotional from the passing
of former South African president and anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson
Mandela earlier in the day, stayed focused all throughout his fight with Fodor.
Despite being taken down by Fodor, a former US Marine, in the second round,
Colossa held his opponent at bay with his strikes, elbows, knees and leg kicks
especially while in the clinch. He battered Fodor en route to his second
consecutive victory to raise his record to 7-4 as well as his second
consecutive victory (also a unanimous decision over Kotetsu Boku in One FC:
Champions and Warriors last September in Jakarta, Indonesia).
“When a man like Nelson Mandela passes away,” said
Colossa after the fight while holding back the tears, “how can you not be
affected? I am from South Africa. You cannot not know what he has done for our
people and all people from the region if you are not from there.”
Colossa came out to the South African National
Anthem, Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika, that is sung in five languages (Xhosa, Zulu,
Sesotho, Afrikaans, and English), with a black shirt that had Mandela’s name on
the back. The huge crowd at the MOA Arena stood to pay their respects and
applauded him on.
After his win over Fodor who was making his One FC
debut and fell to 8-4, Colossa called out, Aoki, Tobikan Judan (The Grand
Master of Flying Submissions): “I am the best in what I do. I can adjust
against any opponent that you put in front of me. I have losses but they are in
the past. I am here to stay. Shinya Aoki, the Cheetah (Colossa) is calling you
out. Give the people the fight that they want to see. Let’s make it legendary.
Let’s be legendary!”
Aoki, is 11-2 since 2010 and is on a four-match win
streak. He has an overall record of 36-6-1. The Japanese fighter is 3-0 in the
One FC with two submissions (against Arnaud LePont and Kotetsu Boku) and one
unanimous decision (Cody Stevens). He took Boku’s Lightweight belt after One
FC: Kings and Champions in Singapore but relinquished the belt to drop to the
Featherweight Division.
When asked if Aoki will answer his challenge, Colossa
said, “He will. He has pride. He will want to fight the best and that is me.”
The South African went on to predict that he will
knock out Aoki. “First round. Second round. Maybe. But I will knock him out.”
“I am not afraid,” added Colossa. “I am from South
Africa. I know of hardship. I know of struggling in life. I know pain. If a man
like Nelson Mandela could face and win against tough challenges then I can do
the same.”
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