After announcing all eight competitors, REBEL Fighting Championship officials today unveiled the brackets for the opening round of its 145-pound championship tourney set for REBEL FC 2: Battle Royale later this year.
The first round of match-ups will be held on August 1st, with the subsequent round and finale taking place just a day after.
Brackets announced for REBEL FC 8-man tourney, Will Chope & Miguel Torres feature
The winner of the tournament will be awarded a hefty paycheck along with a 10-lbs strap on their waist.
The bouts include Miguel Torres (41-7) vs. Takahiro Ashida (12-2-2), Will Chope (19-6) vs. Mauricio Dos Santos Jr. (10-8), Michael Tobin (8-0) vs. Pat Promrangka (5-4) and Reydon Romero (7-4) vs. Yojiro Uchimura (11-7-3).
The bouts were determined through a LIVE draw held at a press-conference at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre on Thursday afternoon. REBEL FC’s own May Ooi, a fighter who recently turned pro with a one-year contract, drew the lots and picked the fighters’ names at random.
Former WEC champ and superstar, Torres (pictured), is the most experienced of the lot and will be a heavily touted favorite to garner the tourney crown. Once considered the best fighter in the world at 135-lbs, the American remained unbeaten in almost a decade at one point in time, in a spell that saw him pick up a stellar record of 30-1. Torres recently snapped a rough patch in both the UFC and WSOF by picking up his first win in nearly three years just two months ago. He will be moving up a weight class, to Featherweight, for this tournament.
The tournament tree for REBEL FC’s 145-lbs tournament in August.
“Before the draw today, I was personally hoping to face one of the Japanese guys. And I got my wish. I think them and Red (Romero) are the toughest guys in the tournament,” Torres said. “The other guys are tough, but they’re a little bit inexperienced.
“Everybody will look at me as the favorite to win this thing but in my mind, I’m the underdog. But, I can assure you that the Singaporean fans are going to see what the once pound-for-pound best fighter in the world has to offer in Mixed Martial Arts.”
Former UFC fighter, Chope, 23, will be also be fancied by many to claim the title. The Asian MMA staple is looking to rebound from his first defeat in over two years, in which he was on a tear with a 14-fight win streak. He is scheduled to fight in PRO FC 9 on May 25, as well as compete under the Ultimate Beatdown banner in June before fighting in the tournament.
REBEL FC 2: Battle Royale takes place August 1 & 2 at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre. Keep it locked to MMASucka.com for all updates and exclusives leading up to fight night.
Here’s an update on the fight card thus far:
- Miguel Torres vs. Takahiro Ashida
- Will Chope vs. Mauricio Dos Santos Jr.
- Michael Tobin vs. Pat Promrangka
- Reydon Romero vs. Yojiro Uchimura
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