Asian MMA

ONE: Conquest of Heroes begins to take shape with strawweight title fight and the debut of Yuya Wakamatsu

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Image for ONE: Conquest of Heroes begins to take shape with strawweight title fight and the debut of Yuya Wakamatsu

On September 22, the Jakarta Convention Center will once again play host to another spectacular ONE card. Yoshitaka Naito of Japan will defend his strawweight title against Joshua Pacio of the Philippines in the main event of ONE: Conquest Of Heroes.

Yoshitaka Naito vs. Joshua Pacio II

Reigning, defending ONE Strawweight Champion, Yoshitaka “Nobita” Naito is one of the most successful martial artists currently fighting out of Japan. In just four short years after debuting in 2012, Naito began to conquer the notoriously competitive Japanese martial arts scene, capturing the Shooto Strawweight Championship.

Since making his ONE Championship debut in 2016, “Nobita” has captured the ONE Strawweight Championship on two separate occasions. Dethroning champions Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke and Alex Silva. After recently winning back his title, Naito is set to defend the strap against former foe Joshua Pacio in what should be an epic rematch.

A former ONE Strawweight Title-Challenger, young up-and-coming stud Joshua “The Passion” Pacio of Baguio City, Philippines was inspired to take up martial arts since he was 12-years-old.

After an undefeated and wildly impressive amateur run, Pacio turned pro and won six-straight before making it to the big stage of ONE Championship. In 2016, he got his chance at gold against defending champion Yoshitaka Naito, and fell short of victory. Now, riding a three-fight win streak, Pacio has earned a rematch with the champion. He also earned the #2 Submission of the Month for July 2018, right here on MMASucka.

Yuya Wakamatsu vs. Danny Kingad

At just 23-years-old, Yuya Wakamatsu“Little Piranha” – is a mixed martial artist from Kagoshima, Japan. The young gun holds a pro record of 10-2, and is known as an aggressive knockout-artist with shocking power for his weight class.

With nine of his ten victories coming by way of knockout, Wakamatsu is an absolute force at flyweight. After winning ten of his last eleven bouts, Wakamatsu has decided to take his talents to the ONE Championship cage, this was hinted at following his last outing in Pancrase against Mamoru Yamaguchi. He makes his promotional debut against Danny Kingad. Check out Wakamatsu in MMASucka’s Fight of the Month for February 2018.

Danny “The King” Kingad is a premier flyweight talent fighting out of the famed Team Lakay of Baguio City. He is a proven wushu champion with a professional MMA record of 10-1. Much like his foe, Kingad is a young stud at just 22-years-old.

A true warrior from the mountains of the Philippines, the tremendous striker also possesses well-rounded and above-average grappling skills. In November of last year, Kingad challenged for the ONE Flyweight Championship against Adriano Moraes. He was, ultimately, unsuccessful. Most recently, “The King” took out rising Chinese star Ma Hao Bin.

Kairat Akhmetov vs. Ma Hao Bin

A former world champion, Kairat “The Kazakh” Akhmetov was initially inspired by his father, an amateur champion in Greco-Roman wrestling. Akhmetov began his martial arts training in 2000, and proved to be just as talented as his father, eventually becoming a three-time national Greco-Roman champion.

After this, Akhmetov joined the ONE Championship ranks in 2015, shocking former flyweight king Adriano Moraes to capture the gold. Eventually, he surrendered the belt back to Moraes in a rematch, but has since been on a quest to regain that gold. This journey back to the top begins with Ma Hao Bin.

“The Southern Eagle” Ma Hao Bin was unbeaten in ONE Championship prior to the recent defeat against Danny Kingad. Ma, a Chinese national freestyle wrestling champion, made his pro debut just two and a half years ago, and has since amassed a record of 11-3.

Since winning two bouts in his first night as a pro under the ONE Championship banner, the 24-year-old has done impressive things in the sport. Including picking up four wins by submission and two by knockout. He gets the biggest fight of his career against Akhmetov.

Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol vs. Jomary torres

A former SEA Games Wushu Bronze Medalist, the always fun Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol began training in wushu at the age of 17, this after taking up an opportunity to compete for the Indonesian national team. She was highly successful here, capturing multiple titles at a regional and national level. Her striking success has spurred her towards a career in MMA, she is set to face Jomary Torres in her next outing.

An undefeated talent out of the Philippines, Jomary Torres currently holds an unblemished 4-0 record. Currently, she is sharpening her standup skills under the watchful eye of famed Filipino wushu champ, and ONE veteran, Rene Catalan. Torres is riding a large wave of momentum after winning the first four bouts of his career, this includes three inside the ONE Championship cage. Most recently, Torres stunned Team Lakay star April Osenio with a first-round knockout.

Victorio Senduk vs. Sunoto

Besides capturing the IBC Featherweight Championship, striker Victorio Senduk competed in wushu at the Southeast Asian Games, medaling in 2007 and 2011. He first began training in karate at the age of 14, and was impressive enough to turn pro in mixed martial arts three years later.

His run of success in the cage, as well as multiple wushu arenas, brought him to the attention of ONE. And now, a few years after making his debut with the organization, Senduk will face taekwondo ace Sunoto.

WFK Indonesia Champion, simply known as “Terminator,” Sunoto is from East Java, but moved to Jakarta in 2012 to pursue his martial arts dream. He first started training in taekwondo as a child, but soon picked up other disciplines pivotal to MMA while traveling around the country competing in tournaments.

Besides becoming a regional sanda champion, Sunoto also currently holds a brown belt in Japanese jiu-jitsu, and is a member of the national sambo team. “Terminator” has put on many thrilling displays since signing with ONE Championship in 2015, and by all accounts he will continue to do so in September.

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