One Fighting Championship “Champion vs. Champion”
Saturday, Sept. 3
Singapore Indoor Stadium
Kallang, Singapore
www.Sherdog.com will stream the event live at 7 a.m. ET/4 a.m. PT
With the UFC planning to further expand into Asia beyond the UAE in 2012, it was a matter of time that an entrepreneurial-minded Asian person would attempt to put on another promotion. Enter the Asian Dana White. He goes by the name of Victor Cui (click here for more background about Victor). So far it looks like he’s made the right moves. He has a solid mix of veteran and up and coming fighters, an almost sold out venue, and the right TV deal/webcast. He even admits to take the UFC rout in using actual sound business principles to expand the company (Who would have thunk it?).
The only down side is the time difference. Its in Singapore… The event is on Saturday September 3rd at 7 a.m. ET/4 a.m. PT. WHY IN HELL SHOULD I WAKE UP SO EARLY TO WATCH THIS??!! Well… Here are five reasons:
1. Hybrid PRIDE / Unified MMA Rules.
“ONE Fighting Championship uses a combination rule set of global MMA best practices, blending Asian and non-Asian rules.”
So basically its the unified rules (including elbows strikes) that we know and sometimes get annoyed with because of the stalling opportunities that it creates, with the addition of soccer kicks and stomps to the head in a caged arena. With the exception of Colosseo Championship Fighting in Edmonton Alberta and a few other smaller promotions, no one recently has had the guts to try these rule changes, especially on a promotion as big as One FC. Aside from the atheistic stands point, as the techniques admittedly look brutal, I don’t really understand why no one else had tried to challenge the unified rules. I don’t remember a time in Pride where someone was hurt beyond what you would expect from a typical UFC bout. Soccer kicks, and head stomps are what brought validity to Wanderlei “the Axe Murderer” Silva’s nickname and fame to the rest of the Chute Boxe descendants. They are what kept the action going in the PrideFC days, as you would think twice about pulling guard or hanging out on your backside like Werdum Vs Overeem. These rules have the potential of creating the next round of exciting fighters outside of the UFC.
2. Great Fighters (full fight card)
One FC brought a great mix of fighters from many different walks of life. Unlike the other Asian promotions which are predominately filled with Japanese fighters, other Asian countries are represented on the card. A Sol Kwon, a MMA champion from Korea and Eduard Folayang, a Wushu and MMA champion from the Philippines headline the card. If you haven’t seen these guys fight, you are in for a treat. Both fighters come to fight at a hard pace for all three rounds. The co-main event features veterans Phil Baroni Vs Yoshiyuki Yoshida. Both fighters are known to only swing for the fences until they get a knock out or get knocked out. Also on the card Andy Wang’s fighting BJJ Blackbelt Zorobabel Moreira. We might see Andy decide to “stand and Wang” and that might not be such a bad thing as 2 of his last 4 fights were won by TKO.
3. ESPN Star Sports
ESPN and Victor Cui have done their homework. It was pretty smart of them to start small with the Martial Combat Fight series last year to learn the ropes of producing a quality MMA show. With ESPN behind the production, we can expect a well run well produced product. Also, they will be showing the event in most countries in Asia witch will also help the sport grow. This is a great deal for the sport as this will spark interest and develop new fighters in markets which have yet to be touched by the UFC.
4. Bas Rutten, Matt Hume, and Yuji Shimada
One FC took the best parts of Pride FC when they took Rutten, Hume and Shimada. Bas’ commentary is always knowledgeable and entertaining. With Hume running the judging and the reffing, you can be assured of the fighter’s saftey. Shimada is probably the best ref to come out of Asia. He stands up fighters when they should be stood up, and he stops fights when they should be stopped.
5. It’s Free!
UFC cost 69.99 every time I want to watch the fights a home. www.Sherdog.com is saving us MONEY by streaming it live for free for us North Americans. I’m sure if you really wanted to, you could probably find a later streaming recording some where on the internet that you can watch at a normal hour… but how hardcore of an MMA fan are you?? up to you… at any rate… if you decide to join me, make yourself a fresh cup of coffee and feel free to hit me up on Twitter @jplasaleta so we can share our reactions to the fights.
