ONE CHAMPIONSHIP : QUEST FOR GREATNESS - A NIGHT OF THRILLS, SPILLS AND DOMINATING WILL

KUALA LUMPUR 18 AUGUST 2017.
ONE CHAMPIONSHIP : QUEST FOR GREATNESS.

ONE returned to the city of Kuala Lumpur in the month of Malaysia's Merdeka month. Five Malaysian 'Tune Talk' Warriors enters the cage for their quest for greatness in which the night ended with mixed results.

ONE presents the fighters in the main cards in a show of glitzy videos and fireworks

In the main event of ONE: QUEST FOR GREATNESS, Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen of Australia completed his journey through ONE Championship’s featherweight ranks by upsetting previously-unbeaten Russian champion Marat “Cobra” Gafurov via knockout within two rounds to clinch the highly-coveted ONE Featherweight World Championship.

read my post on Martin's victory here

pix provided by ONE

In the co-main event of the evening, former world title challenger Ev “E.T.” Ting of Malaysia placed his name back in the winner’s column by overwhelming Japanese veteran and former ONE Welterweight World Champion Nobutatsu Suzuki to win by devastating technical knockout.

From the opening bell, Ting paced himself well, keeping Suzuki at range with his accurate striking before executing the end sequence. After staggering Suzuki with a combination counter, Ting lunged in with a jumping knee, backed Suzuki to the cage. He pressured him there and lifted Suzuki up in the air and slams him on the canvas. Suzuki tried to control Ev's head. Ev peppered him with short punches. Once his head got free, he postured up and rain rapid thunderous left & right which referee Olivier Coste have seen enough & stopped the fight.

watch the full fight here

Ev is hungry for a rematch with Eduard Folayang . In his victory speech, he call out again to Eduard, that he is ready anywhere, anytime.

Post fight interview, on when he wants the rematch, Ev said,
" I am ready to fight any month of the year. I am a fighter by nature and this is a luxury to fight in front of all of you. We are fighting everyday in the gym, this is just a glorified platform and we are very blessed to be here; Anytime, anytime ( for that rematch )

Ev dedicates this win to his grandmother in Sarawak. A lot of his family & relatives came to KL to support him for this fight and after this he will be visiting his grandma whom is not feeling well in Sarawak.

pix by YK TANG

pix by YK TANG

22-year-old Agilan “The Alligator” Thani, gave The "Shark" a good beating to give himself a good reeason to celebrate his birthday on 18 August 2017. His dominant performances placed himself back on the winning track with a unanimous decision victory over Sherif “The Shark” Mohamed of Egypt.

read about the pre fight story here

Showing off new skills and techniques that he learned from training with the world-famous Team Quest, Thani swamped Mohamed with his wrestling while stifling his opponent with submission attempts. The former world title challenger finished the three-round welterweight contest on a strong note, delivering crisp ground strikes to the delight of his roaring countrymen.

pix provide by ONE

Steve Dawson commented that facing Sherif whom used to fight as a heavyweight & light heavyweight presented a danger for Agilan; that his usual strength and power which he uses to great effect in his pass 6 wins will not be his strong point. But Agilan proofed him wrong when he easily lifted Sherif & slams in on the canvas a couple of times.

Even though it was a dominating performance but Agilan mentioned in post fight interview that he was not too happy as the plan was to win by a finish. His hydration was off the mark and he felt he could have done better. He will not be calling out anyone in particular for his next fight but will focus on sharpening his techniques to become a better fighter and leaving it to ONE's board to pick his opponent.

watch the hi-light

pix provided b y ONE

In a clash of high-caliber flyweights, Malaysia’s Gianni Subba captured a hard-earned victory in front of a jubilant hometown crowd by routing Japan’s Riku “The Outsider” Shibuya. Subba showcased his pinpoint accurate striking early on, peppering Shibuya with stinging right hands and spinning back-kicks in the first round.

Although Shibuya easily converted his take-down attempts in the succeeding rounds to avoid striking exchanges, Subba kept himself active on the canvas, fishing for submissions while landing the more telling blows. In the end, Subba’s efforts were rewarded with a unanimous decision.

pix provided by ONE

In post fight interview Gianni remark,
" This is my 3rd title contender fight. I just fought 3 guys who fought for the title, so I think I'm a step closer for the title. I really would like to go to Manila in November to get a victory. I'm hungry, I'm ready, I'm gonna go get it."

pix provided by ONE

“Mighty” May Ooi of Singapore disappointed the excited bunch of Malaysians supporters in Stadium Negara that night, as she scored a major victory in her ONE Championship debut by submitting Malaysian female martial arts superstar Ann “Athena” Osman in the first round.

In the early minutes, May survived a huge right hand from Osman and Ooi took matters to the canvas, where she maneuvered her cage counterpart with ease courtesy of her impeccable ground game. The 41-year-old Singaporean executed a flawless transition into a rear-naked choke that left Osman no choice but to tap out.

pix provided by ONE

Although sad that she didn't gave the fans a reason to cheer, Ann is taking the loss positively. It's a position she has been in before last year also in Stadium Negara, also losing by a rear naked choke. But Ann bounced back after that loss with a round 1 TKO victory in Feb this year. IT's a small bump in the road for her as she will be going back to the drawing board to correct her weakness and improve on her techniques & promise to be back stronger!

Christian “The Warrior” Lee of Singapore exhibited stellar form, proving himself a top featherweight contender in ONE Championship by scoring an impressive submission over Malaysia’s Keanu Subba. Both highly-touted prospects started out aggressively, but it was Lee who showed a more capable set of grappling skills. Lee spun a web of crafty grappling to overwhelm Subba as the 19-year-old Singaporean standout was able to get the submission finish in the third round, making Subba tap from a wrenching armbar.

pix provided by ONE

The rest of the results.

Filipino knockout artist Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon completed yet another scintillating finish, his second in a row, by defeating Australian submission specialist Reece “Lightning” McLaren by knockout. Belingon finished the job in just 62 seconds, dropping his Australian opponent with a hard right straight before punctuating with follow-up strikes on the ground to compel referee Olivier Coste to step in and halt the contest. The revered Team Lakay veteran recorded his seventh knockout win as a professional with the impressive triumph over McLaren.

pix by YK TANG

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Former ONE Strawweight World Champion Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke of Thailand brushed off a lackluster start to topple Robin “The Ilonggo” Catalan of the Philippines via second-round technical knockout. Showcasing tremendous power with every strike and drawing cheers from the crowd after each landed blow, Dejdamrong’s thunderous knees proved too much for Catalan as the Filipino lost his footing, forcing the referee to wave it off and award the victory to the celebrated Thai kickboxer.

pix by YK TANG

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Emilio “The Honey Badger” Urrutia of the United States made a triumphant promotional debut in ONE Championship by edging out Team Lakay stalwart Edward “The Ferocious” Kelly of the Philippines in their three-round featherweight encounter. Urrutia relied on his solid ground game to pacify his Filipino opponent’s firepower in the stand-up trade, wearing down Kelly and steering him to a decisive victory by way of unanimous decision.

pix by YK TANG

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Earlier on, kicking off ONE: QUEST FOR GREATNESS was a strawweight encounter between wushu practitioner Rene Catalan of the Philippines and Chinese grappling prodigy Bu Huo You Ga. After dropping his opponent with a clean left straight in first round, Catalan secured top control and went to work. With a dominant top game, Catalan notched his third straight victory, defeating Bu Huo as all three judges saw the bout in favor of Catalan to win by unanimous decision.

pix by YK TANG

ONE presented a night of  fireworks, gorgeous eye candy and glorious fights in KL

next stop is SHANGHAI!

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Keanu Subba's Quest for Greatness

ONE Championship: Quest for Greatness is set to take place at Kuala Lumpur on Friday 18 August night. 10 bouts will be competed with the main card featherweight title fight between marat Gafuroz vs Martin Nguyen.

But an exciting card in the prelims surely not to be miss is the highly anticipated fight between Malaysian Keanu Subba vs Singapore's Christian Lee. Not just because of the sports rivalry between the two country is on the line here, but also this fight will established the winner to become a true contender ONE Championship featherweight category.

Keanu is the product of the highly successful amateur tournament Malaysian Invasion MMA (MIMMA). In MIMMA's 2nd season in 2014, Keanu took a 1st round TKO win to become the featherweight champion.

Realising the talent this young kid possessed, ONE signed him up and he picked up two 1st round victory, before being match with Christian Lee for a April 2016 date. But that match up failed to materialised as Keanu suffered an elbow injury.

After a brief rest, hunger for a fight, Keanu agreed to fight China's raising star Li Ka Wen in July 2016. Not fully healed from his injury Keanu lost the fight but with a very commendable 3 round decision.

Keanu vs Li ( pix by Rough Asia )

It was back to the drawing board for Keanu as he put in additional training to up the ante of his game. 2 months after that fight Keanu is back in winning ways and has collected another two 1st round win to be matched up with Christian again this time. 

Christian Lee is the sibling of Angela Lee, ONE Championship female Atomweight Champion. He works as an Assistant Instructor at Evolve Mixed Martial Arts in Singapore on a seasonal basis. Christian is a multiple-time Junior Pankration World Champion with a Purple Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and was voted ‘Most Outstanding Athlete’ at the 2013 FILA World Championship after winning five World Titles across the disciplines of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Pankration, MMA, and Submission Grappling. He also holds a 1st degree Black Belt in Taekwondo and TDS.

When he turned pro, he picked up 5 straight win all via first round and well known for his aggressive and blitz style. Christian suffered his first lost in August 2016 at the hands of Martin Nguyen. The loss gave him a very good learning more than his first 5 victories, and he made a promise to return better than before.

He returned to winning ways in April this year defeating Wan Jian Ping, which sets him up on a head on collision with Keanu.

As always for his fight preparation, Keanu together with his brother Gianni trains at Bali MMA & when he is back in KL, sharpens his tools of trade at Monarchy MMA. Keanu also was involved in helping the founder of Bali MMA , Andrew Leone in his last 5 August title fight vs Bibiano Fernandes. Andrew lost in that fight.

Keanu recalled, 

"Andrew looked great going into the fight and prepared well. Just got caught with a good knee. Sometimes you don't see it coming."

Ask on wheter that lost affected Bali MMA's morale,

"Andrew is a beast and great example to the whole team. Anyone that has trained with him knows he is a high level athlete. Sometimes we get caught, these things happen just have to learn and move on."

On what he thinks of Christian's first lost last year,

"He was wild in that fight. You can tell from his last fight he learned to be more patient with his strikes. I'm glad I will be fighting a better Christian Lee from the last he fought. I'm excited for this fight and I can't wait to show the world what I can do."

Ask on the Merdeka spirit & Malaysia hosting of the SEA Games,

"I am very excited to watch the SEA Games I'm sure Malaysian athletes will excel and do us proud. I always look forward to watching the fire works every Merdeka."

Tune Talk Warrior Keanu Subba

Always in Tune with his fellow Tune Talk Warrior & elder brother Gianni Subba, whom will also be fighting in the cards on Friday

ONE:Unbreakable Warriors Recap - the night that former MIMMA champ shines

2 September 2016 – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), electrified the Stadium Negara once more with another spectacular showcase of world-class mixed martial arts action. ONE: UNBREAKABLE WARRIORS featured eight Malaysian MMA superstars defending their home turf in front of a packed crowd cheering them on. In the main event, Malaysian-Kiwi sensation Ev “E.T.” Ting emerged victorious over Australian stalwart “Ruthless” Rob Lisita to win by unanimous decision in an exhausting lightweight contest.

The sweetness of getting your hand raise after a brutal 3 round war

photo credit: ONE C FB

photo credits: Eddie Chan

photo credits: Eddie Chan

In an action-packed main event bout at ONE: UNBREAKABLE WARRIORS, Ev “E.T.” Ting of Malaysia and “Ruthless” Rob Lisita of Australia completely depleted each other’s resources in an exhausting three-round lightweight bout. In a display of pure willpower, the two warriors repeatedly tagged each other with devastating blows that would have dropped and finished lesser men. Each minute of action kept the crowd on the edge of their seats. In the end, Ting simply had more in the tank, earning the unanimous decision by outlasting Lisita who was thoroughly defeated but remained unbowed.

After the bout, Ting took the chance to thank the fans in attendance and called for a title shot.

Ev, calling out a title shot at a post fight interview

In a tremendous show of pure heart and determination, top lightweight contender Shannon “One Shin” Wiratchai of Bangkok, Thailand went shot for shot with Malaysia’s Peter Davis in a highly entertaining clash of elite strikers. The two fighters gave everything they had and blasted each other every minute of the bout for the duration that it lasted, much to the delight of the packed Stadium Negara crowd. Past the midway point in round two however, a Wiratchai uppercut dropped Davis and an ensuing volley of punches effectively ended the bout.

Shannon being the showman, walk in dress up in Pokemon Go theme

22-year old April Osenio of Baguio City, Philippines delivered her most impressive performance yet, submitting top Malaysian female fighter Ann “Athena” Osman in the first round of a scheduled three round women’s strawweight bout. Osenio and Osman wasted no time striking and immediately went into the clinch as soon as the bell sounded. The two scrambled continuously on the mat, trading positions on numerous occasions until Osenio caught Osman in a Guillotine Choke to force the tap.

April being presented the prize by Jason Lo, TuneTalk CEO

The beginning of the guillotine choke that Ann tap out to...photo credits to Eddie Chan

In a clash of veteran middleweights, Gilberto Galvao of Brazil made a successful ONE Championship debut with a unanimous decision victory over crafty Japanese MMA fighter Tatsuya Mizuno after three grueling rounds. Galvao owned a slight edge in damage inflicted and striking superiority, often landing powerful combinations that Mizuno took very well. Mizuno on the other hand scored repeatedly with highly accurate knees to the body. Towards the end of the bout, Galvao was able to land a couple of takedowns which the judges deemed enough to award him the victory.

Malaysian flyweight sensation Gianni Subba by way of Bali MMA in Bali, Indonesia overcame a spirited performance from enigmatic counterpuncher Yago Bryan of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The 23 year-old Subba employed a tactical gameplan, working with his long reach to keep Bryan at the end of his kicks all fight long. The biggest weapon for Bryan was the straight right hand which he threw behind a counter left jab but Subba came well-prepared for the fight and knew he had to stay away from Bryan’s deceptive power. All three judges scored the bout in favor of Subba who took home the unanimous decision victory after three rounds.

Gianni knowing Yago likes to shoot for take down keeping him at bay with his kicks

More kicks...snappy and fast, even when Yago try to time it with a counter, Gianni was able to move out of harm's warm fast enough. Photo credit to Eddie Chan

And more kicks...Gianni broke his fist on the 2nd round...which brings him to focus more on using
his leg to earn the unanimous decision win

In the best shape of his career, Malaysian welterweight prospect Agilan “Alligator” Thani extended his win streak to six and kept his unblemished record intact with a methodical victory over the Philippines’ Trestle Tan. Thani dominated the fight from start to end, successfully taking Tan to the ground where he worked to finish with brilliant transitions. After taking Tan’s back, Thani slid his arm underneath the Filipino’s neck and squeezed until his opponent tapped out.

Malaysia’s Keanu Subba via Bali, Indonesia returned to his winning ways with a spectacular victory over Pakistan’s Waqar Umar. The 22-year old showcased his well-known striking prowess, bringing the fight to Umar who looked to take matters to the ground. After Umar caught a missed kick by Subba, he used the momentum to get the Malaysian prospect on the mat. Subba however executed a sweep shortly after and delivered his trademark elbows and fists from top control to force the Pakistani fighter to tap out.

Chinese featherweight warrior Nuerdebieke Bahetihan shocked the crowd in attendance at Stadium Negara with a scintillating eight second one-punch knockout of Evolve MMA’s Bruno Pucci. Pucci came out of the gates looking to throw a combination but a single right hook counter felled the proud Brazilian. The victory earns Bahetihan his third straight win as a professional mixed martial artist.

Female atomweight competitor Jenny Huang of Chinese Taipei clinched her third straight victory inside the ONE Championship cage and fourth straight victory overall with a first round submission of Delhi, India’s Jeet Toshi. Despite Toshi’s usual willingness to engage, Huang put her grappling skills on full display, submitting Toshi by Arm Triangle Choke just past the midway point of the first round.

Rene Catalan of Manila, Philippines dominated Chinese fighter Zhang You Liang to win by unanimous decision in a three-round strawweight contest to kick off ONE: UNBREAKABLE WARRIORS. Catalan utilized his world-class wushu skills to keep Zhang honest throughout the bout. In the end, Catalan’s work rate and accurate striking earned the judges’ nod.

In a clash of Malaysian MMA prospects, former MIMMA featherweight champion Muhammad Aiman scored his first victory inside the ONE Championship cage by routing former professional boxer Hisyam Samsudin to win by unanimous decision. After three rounds, Aiman used his superior striking and grappling to convince the judges to score in his favor.

ONE : Unbreakable Warriors is also the third show that feature live music performance. DJ Christine and DJ Jung Jumi provide some hip moving dance tunes in between fights. Meanwhile Malaysian newcomers, Nik Qistina & Natasha Sass entertain the crowds with their new tunes. Before the main card starts , Natasha sang the Malaysian national anthem. Her soulful voice really moved the crowds which gave her a standing ovation. After fight, Malaysian singing veteran & rock queen Ella gets the crowds going with her iconic balladic rock. Followed by Faizal Tahir whom rock the stadium with his fast tempo pop rock. It was certainly a night to remember, good fights and great entertainment.

Natasha Sass singing the Malaysian National anthem 

Nik Qistina doing her dance numbers

Rockstar - Faizal Tahir

Malaysian Rock queen - Ella

Official results for ONE: UNBREAKABLE WARRIORS.

Results sheet from Tapology

For those still haven’t got enough of MMA, get your tickets to ONE Championship: State of Warriors at Yangon Myanmar on 7 OCT 2016. New strawweight champion Yoshitaka Naito will make his first title defend vs undefeated Filipino Joshua Pacio.

Next up...7 OCT at Yangon