If Taiwan’s Mixed Martial Arts pioneer Ming Yen Sung (2-1) thinks he’s set for an easy payday at ONE FC 18: War of Dragons later this week, Singapore’s Nicholas Lee (2-1) would love to have something to say about that.
The two are set to meet on Friday in Sung’s backyard of Taipei, Taiwan. Both fighters will be making their promotional debuts, with the bout taking place on the main card – a pretty elevated status for Lee, who had been competing in smaller, regional promotions since the launch of his career.
However, instead of being starstruck, the Singaporean has remained coy. He sees this as an opportunity to shine under the limelight, and enjoy the adulation of whatever support he receives.
“I will literally be flying the flag of my country, Singapore, over in Taiwan,” Lee said. “In the first few fights I had, for sure there were nerves. But right now, after a bunch of fights, I’m cage savvy. I hear my corner, I hear the crowd and I’m aware of the situation. That, in all honesty, makes me a much more dangerous fighter now because I know what I’m doing in the cage.”
Everything will fly out the window if Lee picks up a victory over Sung, who will be the odds-on favorite over the Singaporean.
Making matters potentially tougher on Lee is that he will be the youngest fighter, at 20, on the running order come fight night, and the first Singaporean to represent the outfit on foreign soil. While pressure tends to mount on fighters under vaguely similar circumstances, Lee, on the other hand, shrugged off all possible negative spans.
“I’ve fought a bunch of times especially in Thailand, where I’ve picked up many, many fights in the local circuits. They gave me lots of ring experience. I’m now used to getting in the ring and fighting,” Lee explained. “I’m just taking this as an opportunity to shine for my country. To be of this age and to be on one of the biggest stages in the world of MMA, it’s a huge accomplishment for me. And this is a record set for people who told me that a guy of my age will never be successful or find a goal in life.”
Lee’s opponent, Sung, a well-known face in the Taiwanese MMA circles, has primarily bounced from promotion to promotion in search of a paycheck during his short tenure as a fighter thus far. Lee will serve as a replacement opponent for the 34-year-old after his originally scheduled foe, Muhamad Haidar, was forced off the fight card due to injury.
Sung trained under Lee’s current coach and training partner, Major Overall, during the latter’s spell in Taiwan.
And, of course, it’s been Overall who’s been offering Lee the most advice ahead of Friday.
“Interestingly, he’s the former student of my current coach and training partner, Major Overall,” Lee admitted. “Major has obviously helped me out a lot throughout my career, and now at Juggernaut Fight Club. I’ve taken tips on Sung’s weak points, strong points and even his even points. Major and I go way back. He’s on my side, I’m on his side and we will do this as a team.”
With his sophomore ONE FC appearance just around the corner, Lee moved up a weight class from his natural build of 125-lbs, stating he had no qualms about the decision.
But while he respects the skill-set Sung brings to the table and believes their styles should mesh for a compelling and competitive affair, the 20-year-old knows all too well that he has rallied against an unyielding spirit and dedication toward achieving a goal that has gotten him to where he wants to be today.
“Sung is known for being aggressive, athletic and he loves the overall game in MMA. I’m just ready to do my thing. Ever since day one, when I started fighting in the sport, my mindset has been the same: To just fight. When the lights come on, I’ll put on my gloves, bite down my mouthpiece and we’ll go to work,” the Singaporean concluded.
“I’ve survived a tremendous amount of adversity to get to where I’m at right now, and it took me a while to know what I wanted to do in life. The amount of pain, the amount of sacrifice and the amount of experience I’ve gained is second to none. It’s really great for me to have been through it all. Opportunities like these don’t come by often. But when it did, I took it. I took the fight.”
Credit: Red Card Sports Radio, Nicholas Lee
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Guess he didnt take advice after all. Awesome performance ming yen sung really easy fight him nicholas never even stood chance! Better luck next time hopefully decent wake up call nicholas lee change his attitude inside outside cage do alot better
No offence but this guy Nicholas always had a bad reputation of spouting his mouth in the wrong time and wrong place. He has a bad reputation for messing up the Singapore Metal scene and I’m not surprised he has another downfall again if he doesn’t change his attitude.