We’re just over a month away from ONE Fighting Championship’s return to the Philippines and as expected, the fight card is starting to shape up rather nicely.
Headlined by a Featherweight World title fight between defending champion Honorio Banario and Koji Oishi, ONE FC 9: Rise to Power goes down on May 31st at the Mall of Asia Arena situated in Pasay, Philippines. Fans from around the world can also witness the action online via live streaming at www.onefc.livesport.tv. The first two undercard fights are available for viewing free-of-charge and the main card fights will be available for purchase at just US$9.99. ONE FC 9: Rise to Power is expected to air on Star Sports as well, although there hasn’t been any official word yet.
First announced by the folks at BloodyElbow, a Flyweight tilt pitting former UFC veteran Yasuhiro Urushitani (19-6-6) against Rey Docyogen (10-1-0) and a Welterweight bout between Nobutatsu Suzuki (9-1-2) and Phil Baroni (15-16) has been slated for the May 31st fight card.
Both Urushitani and Suzuki are some of the latest additions to the ever-expanding ONE FC roster, and with Matt Hume now on a recruiting spree, expect to see more stellar signings in the near future.
Following back-to-back losses against Joseph Benavidez and John Lineker under the UFC banner, Japanese-born Yasuhiro Urushitani will be looking to get his career back on track once again in ONE FC. The 36-year-old veteran has amassed a total of 19 wins in his professional MMA career thus far, and has faced some of the best Flyweight fighters in both the Asian and North American region. Urushitani went 11-1-4 for over 7 years, before his rough patch in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Rey Docyogen, in the meantime, will be looking to get back into title contention following his most recent submission loss at the hands of Japanese veteran Shinichi Kojima at ONE FC 7: Return of Warriors. Docyogen failed to capitalize on the opportunity to become the promotion’s #1 contender for the Flyweight strap. With that said, the URCC Pinweight champion is more than capable of hanging with the best that Asia has got to offer, so expect to see a decent scrap when the cage doors close with both Docyogen and Urushitani locked inside.
Phil Baroni looks set to fight for the 2nd time in the Philippines following his stoppage win over Evolve MMA’s Rodrigo Ribeiro at ONE FC 5: Pride of a Nation. The self-proclaimed ‘New York Badass’ now surrounds himself with the likes of Josh Thomson and Gray Maynard at the famed American Kickboxing Academy – home to UFC Heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez. Baroni is 2-3 in his last 5 outings, and following a tremendous performance last time out against Hayato Sakurai at DREAM 18, Baroni will be eager to get back in the winner’s circle.
Nobutatsu Suzuki will perhaps be facing his toughest test to date. After suffering the first set-back of his MMA career in his last outing at Vale Tudo Japan, the 35-year-old will be determined to get back on track and impress fans in the Asian MMA scene. All of Suzuki’s wins have come via KO, so expect fisticuffs to fly in this exhilarating encounter.
Keep it locked to MMASucka.com for more news and updates regarding ONE FC 9: Rise to Power.
As it stands, check out the updated fight card:
- Honorio Banario vs. Koji Oishi (For ONE FC Featherweight strap)
- Bibiano Fernandes vs. Koetsu Okazaki (For Interim ONE FC Bantamweight strap)
- Kevin Belingon vs. Masakatsu Ueda (ONE FC Bantamweight Grand Prix Final)
- Yasuhiro Urushitani vs. Rey Docyogen
- Kamal Shalorus vs. Eduard Folayang
- Phil Baroni vs. Nobutatsu Suzuki
- Andrew Leone vs. Geje Eustaquio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=g20erM_mt8o
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