REBEL FC 2: Battle Royale set with 10 fights, 8-man tournament spotlighted

The second event of REBEL Fighting Championship has been set.

REBEL FC 2: Battle Royale will showcase a four-fight main card and six fights on the prelims. A 145-lbs tournament will be highlighted at the top of the running order, with 8 men vying for the opportunity to be crowned the promotion’s first champion.

The event takes place August 1 at the Suntec Convention and Exhibition Centre in Singapore.

The tourney’s brackets feature former WEC champ Miguel Torres (41-7) vs. Takahiro Ashida (13-2-2) and former UFC competitor Will Chope (19-7) vs. Mauricio Dos Santos Jr. (10-8). Other match-ups include Michael Tobin (8-0) vs. Pat Promrangka (6-4) and Reydon Romero (7-4) vs. Yojiro Uchimaru (11-7-3).

The winners of the fights will go on to compete in two semi-final bouts at the next REBEL FC installment and subsequently, the grand final. The eventual victor will be crowned as the promotion’s inaugural Featherweight title-holder.

“This tournament is for the fighters at the top their game to come and compete until the last man who will be crowned the king of the battle,” said REBEL FC CEO, Justin Leong. “We aim to give fans of MMA an ultimate knockout show this year. There will be much action and many things to look forward to with this show.”

Torres, 33, is synonymous with MMA enthusiasts worldwide. A former WEC Bantamweight champion who was once considered the best fighter in the world at 135-lbs, the American recently snapped a rough patch in both the UFC and WSOF by picking up his first win in nearly three years several months ago. Japan’s Takahiro Ashida won for the fourth time this past June and stayed unbeaten under the Brave banner. Ashida is on a tear with a 11-1 run, and his resume includes fights in DEEP and Pancrase.

Chope, a lanky Californian, is a long-time staple in the Asian MMA scene. The 23-year-old looks to bounce back from consecutive defeats, including a UFC debut defeat to Max Holloway at UFC Fight Night 34. 16 of his 19 victories have come by stoppage. Dos Santos Jr., from Brazil, has fought some of the toughest fighters in his native country, including UFC veteran Wagner Campos and current Bellator champion, Eduardo Dantas. He’s 3-2 in his past five outings.

Michael Tobin, a decorated Judo athlete from Australia, puts in his unscathed record in jeopardy. The submission ace has a staggering 88% of his eight wins coming by stoppage. Adopted Australian Promrangka, a training partner of Dan Hyatt, is yet to go the distance in any of his ten pro bouts. He had his first fight of the calendar year just this past June, garnering a first round submission triumph.

Romero stands out as one of the Philippines’ most experienced Featherweights with notable bouts against the likes of Dave Galera, the aforementioned Chope, Ricardo Sapno and Jessie Rafols among others. The Filipino fighter will be making his debut on foreign soil come fight night. Uchimura, from Japan, is a former ZST Featherweight champion. While 10 all of his 11 victories have ended by way of KO or TKO, the 29-year-old will be looking to get back in the win column after an 0-2-1 stretch in the second half of 2013.

The prelims, meanwhile, will feature a mixture of fighters on both the local and international ranks. Rookie fighters Mohamed Ashraf (0-0), Syafiq Samad (2-1) and May Ooi (0-0) will be look to impress in their respective tussles in front of their own countrymen.

“This will make for an edge-of-your-seat experience for fans and casual viewers of MMA,” Leong concluded. “There is likelihood that most, if not all of the fights in BATTLE ROYALE will end up as spectacular finishes.”

Check out the entire fight card below and be sure to keep it locked to MMASucka.com for full coverage of the event:

MAIN CARD

Will Chope vs. Mauricio Dos Santos Jr. (Featherweight Tournament Quarter-Final bout)
Takahiro Ashida vs. Miguel Torres (Featherweight Tournament Quarter-Final bout)
Michael Tobin vs. Pat Promrangka (Featherweight Tournament Quarter-Final bout)
Reydon Romero vs. Yojiro Uchimaru (Featherweight Tournament Quarter-Final bout)

PRELIMS