After months of anticipation and waiting, Rebel Fighting Championship got its first event underway on December 21st at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Titled “Into the Lion’s Den”, the event consisted of both Amateur and Professional MMA match-ups, with the promotion accentuating its focus on grooming talents within the local ranks and at regional level.
Video – Rebel FC 1: Into the Lion’s Den main card bouts
The featured attraction of the night stipulated a riveting Featherweight tussle between Australia’s top 145-lbs fighter “Ruthless” Rob Lisita (13-5), and former two-time Shooto champ, “Lion” Takeshi (21-9). Lisita did exactly what he said he was going to do by pushing the pace from the get-go, preventing Takeshi from mounting any offense. As the rounds progressed, however, Takeshi – in his methodical and analytical nature, settled into the contest where he started throwing feints and combinations. The finish came at the 3:19 mark of the second stanza, where a rare Bulldog choke submission maneuver applied forcefully by Lisita, forced Takeshi to tap. It was the Japanese vet’s first stoppage defeat in twenty-nine professional fights, and a huge statement made by Lisita.
The co-main event, though, ended on a sour note. And was short lived. Korean Top Team’s Gyo Pyung Hwang (4-3) silenced the home crowd’s raptures for his opponent Syafiq Samad (2-1) with a brutal first round flying knee knockout. Samad started the bout gingerly before Hwang unleashed the first flurry of punches. The Singaporean crashed onto the canvas, momentarily stunned, but managed to recover soon after. As “The Slasher” looked to return punches of his own, Hwang leaped upward with a menacing knee that connected flush on the Singaporean’s chin. It was immediate lights out for Samad.
Despite being an upstart promotion in Asia, Rebel FC still managed to secure the likes of Taiyo Nakahara (14-7), Alberto Mina (10-0) and former UFC vet Marcos Vinicius (20-6-1) to fight on its stacked main card.
The UFC’s Royston Wee (3-0) was scheduled to face Malaysia’s Sam Chan (5-2) but in view of the Singaporean’s opportunity to compete in the octagon, the match-up was scratched from the card altogether and replaced by Alberto Mina vs. Glenn Sparv (7-3).
Doo Hwan Kim (6-2) was originally pitted against Phuket Top Team’s Cristiano Kaminishi (8-1, 2 NC), but the Brazilian pulled out of the bout citing a back injury. He was replaced by the Philippines’ Chris Hofmann (0-1) in less than a week’s notice.
Check out the match-ups below (video and results) and be sure to keep it locked to MMASucka.com for updates and news in all things, Asian MMA:
- Rob Lisita def. Takeshi Inoue via Submission (Bulldog Choke) at 3:19 of Round 2
- Gyo Pyung Hwang def. Syafiq Samad via KO (Flying Knee) at 0:42 of Round 1
- Taiyo Nakahara def. Marcos Vinicius via KO (Punches) at 3:21 of Round 1
- Alberto Mina def. Glenn Sparv via TKO (Strikes) at 2:44 of Round 1
- Doo Hwan Kim def. Chris Hofmann via TKO (Punches) at 4:35 of Round 1
*Picture Credit: Sigmund Seah
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