The time has finally arrived to see who is the region’s top Bantamweight fighter.
On October 18th, ONE Fighting Championship returns to the Singapore Indoor Stadium for its 11th installment which will be headlined by a 135-lbs title unification bout between Soo Chul Kim (7-4) and interim champ, Bibiano Fernandes (14-3).
Fernandes vs Kim headlines 10-bout fight card for ONE FC 11: Total Domination
ONE FC 11: Total Domination will be aired on the Star Sports network all over Asia. An online PPV stream catered to fans all around the globe, can be purchased for a price of US$9.99. Preliminary bouts, in the meantime, will be available for viewing free-of-charge on YouTube.
The fight card is set to kick-off with Singaporeans that are set to dazzle on Asia’s largest Mixed Martial Arts platform in premier “Singapore vs. Malaysia” match-ups. Stephen Langdown (0-0) locks horns with Mark Marcellinus (0-0) at Bantamweight, Impact MMA’s Juan Wen Jie (2-0) takes on Alex Lim in a Catchweight contest, with Sherilyn Lim (0-0)-Ann Osman (0-0) rounding off the preliminary action in the only women’s bout of the evening.
Elsewhere, a rematch between Evolve MMA’s Mitch Chilson (4-1, 1 NC) and Thailand’s Shannon Wiratchai (2-1, 1 NC) has been slated to the October 18th event following the controversial ending that took place between the duo in their Featherweight meeting at ONE FC 5: Pride of a Nation. With the then bizarre “open attack” rule in place, Wiratchai was proclaimed the initial winner but the decision was changed to a No-Contest soon after. As such, ONE FC opted to amend the rules in place following the happenings in Manila, scrapping the “open attack” rule all together.
Jake Butler (3-0) will be hoping to continue his perfect start in the Mixed Martial Arts game, when he collides with French Judo champ, Sylvain Potard (5-3). While wrestling maestro Butler has never made it past the first round in any of his bouts thus far, Potard will be hoping to use his experience to his advantage in an attempt to get his first win under the ONE FC banner.
Former DREAM competitor Tatsuya Mizuno (11-9) returns to the ONE FC cage, against Rafael Silva (39-13) in an intriguing Middleweight contest. After back-to-back defeats at 205-lbs, the Japanese vet makes the drop to 185-lbs, hoping to re-establish himself once more under the bright lights of ONE FC. Silva, though, brings an impressive resume of over 50 bouts to his promotional debut, making him the most experienced Middleweight on the ONE FC roster.
Eddie Ng (6-1), a fan favorite among many Asian MMA enthusiasts, will be looking to get one step closer to a title shot when he contests Malaysian hot-shot, Peter Davis (6-2). Ng has long been considered as one of the region’s hottest prospects, and remains unbeaten in all his ONE FC outings. The same could be said of Davis too, however, the 32-year-old will be looking to bounce back from a defeat at the hands of Ariel Sexton in June of this year.
The clash of styles between Ng and Davis promises to deliver fireworks in a bout that has “Fight of the Night” written all over it.
Grappling magician and Asia’s no.1 fighter Shinya Aoki (33-6, 1 NC)) competes at 145-lbs for the first time in his illustrious MMA career, as he goes up against Tiger Muay Thai’s Cody Stevens (11-5-1). Unbeaten in his last three fights, the latter fighter will be the underdog heading into this bout given his opponent’s credentials. Aoki needs no introductions whatsoever, having, pretty much, done it all in the Asian MMA scene. He is the current ONE FC Lightweight champ, but his title will not be up for grabs in this co-main event 145-lbs tilt.
Bibiano Fernandes will be the heavy favorite in his title unification bout with South Korean starlet Soo Chul Kim but as evident in Kim’s upset victory over Leandro Issa, anything can happen in the sport of MMA. A victory for Kim will be a huge feather on his cap, but that will be easier said than done against an opponent like Fernandes. A title-holder in DREAM, the Brazilian continues to stake his claim as the world’s best 135-lbs fighter, training with the likes of UFC champ Demetrious Johnson and many more.
Here’s a re-cap of the fight card:
- Soo Chul Kim vs. Bibiano Fernandes (Bantamweight Title Unification bout)
- Shinya Aoki vs. Cody Stevens
- Eddie Ng vs. Peter Davis
- Rafael Silva vs. Tatsuya Mizuno
- Jake Butler vs. Sylvain Potard
- Shannon Wiratchai vs. Mitch Chilson
- Rene Catalan vs. Khim Dima
- Sherilyn Lim vs. Ann Osman
- Juan Wen Jie vs. Alex Lim
- Marc Marcellinus vs. Stephen Langdown
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Follow Thinesh on Twitter (@ThineshJohnMMA), and keep up with the latest MMA news from MMASucka via Twitter (@MMASucka) and Facebook
