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| A bloody Bashir Ahmad wins via unanimous decision over Shannon Wiratchai. My fight of the night. |
This appears in the Monday, April 8, 2013 edition of the Business Mirror.
One fight night in Singapore
by rick olivares
One FC: Kings and Champions lived up its billing in many ways.
First of all, all the fights (save for the undercard match
between Jake Butler and late replacement Swain Cangco -- who was hopelessly
overmatched and thankfully sent out of there in no time at all -- as well as
the Jens Pulver-Masakatsu Ueda bout) were thrilling, explosive, and intense.
Yes, even the Brock Larsen-Melvin Mahoef fight that had the two pacing and
stalking each other before pouncing before they began to pound each other into
ground beef.
Some fighters who previously were not impressive such as
Russian Yussup Saddulaev came out in terrific shape and fought magnificently
even though he lost.
I loved it when the crowd went back and forth chanting for
either Eddie Ng or Arnold Lepont (although the cheers for the latter were by
far louder). Ditto with Brock Larsen and Melvin Mahoef when small group of
American fans began to egg the former on while other fans implored the latter
to fight his way out of trouble.
Of the eight bouts in the televised event (not counting
the two preliminary cards), there was only one fight that ended in the first
round and that was the loss of Filipino One FC debutant Rene Catalan to
Brazilian Alex Silva. Four fights ended in the second round while two went the
distance.
Second was the terrific atmosphere at the Singapore Indoor
Stadium. This was my fourth One FC event and the second one I attended in the
Lion City. I thought that the previous Singapore card, One FC: Rise of Kings,
was the best thus far (and will be remembered for its spectacular knockouts)
that I’ve watched and that includes the succeeding Kuala Lumpur event but this
one shoots right up to the top of the charts.
From the opening card to the last one, the crowd was in to it.
They loved the how most of the fights shifted momentum from one fighter to
another so that you never knew who was going to win. Well, maybe except for Shinya
Aoki.
I am certainly sure that the crowd did not know some of the
other fighters yet they showed their appreciation by applauding not only after
a sensational fight but even as the fighters made their way to the cage. That
was pure class.
Third, One FC: Kings and Champions was a show. There was trash
talking (Vietnamese Thanh Vu against Filipino Kevin Belingon), there was
showmanship from the irrepressible Frenchman fighting out of Malaysia in Arnold
Lepont (who could forget his taunting Aoki in Manila with his faux book, Beating
Aoki for Dummies, that he waved during the weigh in). There was the Dutchman
Manhoef entering and dancing to the famous Argentine tango “Por una Cabeza” and
Thahn Vu boogieing to The Jackson Five classic, “Blame it on the Boogie”.
There was some dark comedy when Brock Larsen literally ran from
Melvin Mahoef when he got rocked. Larsen recovered and defeated the hulking
Dutchman. But I bet you no one is going to forget Larsen running for dear life!
And there was the revenge factor as Aoki defeated Boku after the latter defeated Zorobabel Moreira, the former's best friend, in One FC: Return of Warriors in Kuala Lumpur last February. Aoki cried unabashedly after the fight not just because he was the new light heavyweight champion but also because he was able to avenge his friend Moreira.
Fourth, I loved One FC: Kings and Champions because of how the
sport of MMA was in full display. In the early days of MMA, it was to initially
test which discipline or fight style was better than the other. Now it is not
enough that one is solely good at striking or boxing or even wrestling. Should
the fight go to the mat, then you’re cooked or bound to tap out. One must know
more if he wants a shot at the big time.
One FC: Kings and Champions sent a clear message to the fighters
and even the fight fans: you must train hard like it’s the fight of your life
but more importantly, you need a game plan and you need to impose it on your
foe.
Most will pooh pooh Shinya Aoki’s one-sided victory over former
One FC Light Heavyweight Champion Kotetsu Boku. But the truth is, Aoki, who
isn’t great at striking, opted to not to trade strikes with Boku. He took Boku’s
strength away and brought the fight to the canvass where is he dominant. Aoki
took one good shot from Boku then decided that he had enough. When Aoki, the
“Grandmaster of Flying Submissions” said, “I’m not giving you a chance to get
more licks in”, he took down Boku in the second round and like an anaconda with
its prey all tied up, it was all over.
This was very similar of the Vuyisile Colossa-Lowen Tynanes
match in the previous One FC: Return of Warriors held in Kuala Lumpur. Tynanes,
who was impressive in his destruction of Eduard Folayang in URCC Dekada, was
rocked by Colossa when they stood toe-to-toe, but Tynanes, whose strength is in
wrestling and submission took down Colossa and once it got there, a rear naked
choke finished off the South African Muay Thai fighter.
Once on the floor, it doesn’t mean certain doom. Catalan
engineered fantastic submission defense and nearly pulled off a win in his MMA
debut but inexperience showed.
Kevin Belingon, who was maligned by Vietnamese fighter Thahn Vu
in the days leading up to fight night, was aggressive from the moment referee
Kenichi Serizawa called both to “fight”. He landed powerful leg and body kicks
then threw some mean shots that rocked Vu. Belingon never let up, never allowed
Vu to settle down or even counter, and ended up with an impressive victory.
For me, the match of the night was Pakistani Bashir Ahmad
against Thai Shannon Wiratchai. The latter opened up a cut on the former early
in the first round that it had to be momentarily stopped for a ring doctor to
check if Bashir could go on. While the Pakistani was being attended to
Wiratchai gestured to his opponent as if to say, “What’s going on? Let’s fight
or call it off.”
The fight continued as Bashir showed that he was far from done.
He was a bloody mess but he battled back and won a unanimous decision. In a
post match interview with Bashir, he was not only eloquent but event
magnanimous in his victory.
Placing second to that fight is the Eddie Ng-Arnold Lepont match
that went back and forth before Ng, who just returned from a yearlong recovery
from an injury, defeated the colorful Frenchman via armbar submission.
I used to write only about UFC and the URCC. One FC helped me
broaden my MMA horizons.
Now here’s to One FC: Rise to Power on
May 31 in Manila.
------------------
Supplementary reading:
Shinya Aoki vs Kotetsu Boku: The death stare
Fil-Australian Christine Hallauer as One FC Ring Girl
Post-match interview with Bashir Ahmad
http://youtu.be/P9VIs15lXjQ
Fil-Australian Christine Hallauer as One FC Ring Girl
Post-match interview with Bashir Ahmad
http://youtu.be/P9VIs15lXjQ
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