Finally – One FC Destiny of Warriors!

First of all, my apologies for the lengthy time with no posts. My other life (aka my job) took me to varied places with limited access and even less time. However, The Diesel Diva is back and with an EPIC event to share with you!!

In April I started to mention One FC Destiny of Warriors. Well, last night was the historic event and I had the honor of being there to watch. In a stadium that seats 8,000-10,000 people, this MMA championship was by far the biggest ever to have been held in Asia. MMA is growing and if last night is any indicator, with a full house, One FC owner Victor Cui has himself a winner!! The house was packed and the atmosphere was festive outside the stadium.

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I arrived in Kuala Lumpur in the afternoon and zipped over to Muayfit, where a number of the headliners for One FC fight, and met with my good friend Arnaud The Game Lepont and a number of others. I picked up my Agressionz t-shirt so that I could show support for The Game. Next stop was hotel, then directly to the stadium. Outside were a number of sponsor booths with temptations such as Uppercut Combat Energy Drink (I had far too much and I blame it for my 0530 bedtime) and Twisted Fight Gear.

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Entering the stadium, the excitement was palpable. But also noticeable was how incredibly well organized the event was. I’ve been to other large events lately and this was so very… civilized. Happily. I had a seat in the VIP section and there was a lot of room to move around. Coffee stands were in the corner (although they didn’t start serving until the fight started and by then I wasn’t interested). However, it didn’t seem to matter where you were seated — both the seating arrangement and the large live monitor helped to ensure that everyone could see what was happening in the cage at all times.

PRELIMS

Unfortunately the fight between Filipino Roldan “The Executioner” Sangcha-an and Turkmen fighter Allamurad “Pretty Boy” Karayev was called off due to injury. I was looking forward to seeing Pretty Boy fight, but perhaps we’ll see him in Manila??  Insha’allah.

The first fight between Malaysian Muayfit Peter Davis and Singaporean Quek “The Hulk” Kim Hock was quick and decisive with the referee calling the fight in the first round in favor of Davis.

This was followed by the debut of Marco Escobar in a Brazilian vs Brazilian fight with Rodrigo “The Professor” Praxedes. Escobar is 36 years old and while neither are seasoned in MMA, both are blackbelt BJJ. While they exchanged punches and kicks, Escobar was clearly in control finally succeeding in a submission by choke hold early in the third round.

Featherweight fighters Mitch “The Dragon” Chilson (US) and AJ “Pyro” Lias Mansor of Malaysia faced off next. While Mansor came out strong, Chilson took control with some good takedowns followed by a rear naked choke, causing Pyro to tap.

MAIN EVENT

This was why I was here… my friend, Frenchman Arnaud “The Game” Lepont vs Korean fighter Brian “The Polar Bear” Choi in the lightweight fight of the evening. Arnaud entered with a strong 9-1-0 record,  and while Choi is less seasoned in the cage, he is a notable fighter. These were also opposing personalities with The Polar Bear known to be quiet and The Game known for his charismatic and sometimes brash style!

Earlier in the evening, Arnaud honored me with inviting me to take part in his entrance. His entrance matched his personality, pumping the crowd with electronic music and a masked and chained Arnaud surrounded by his entourage. This was marred only by the yellow card he received for a taped knee.

This was truly the start of the real adrenalin producing excitement for the night. Both fighters came out swinging and while Choi dominated by the end of the round, Arnaud was not near being finished. I saw him fight in DARE in Bangkok earlier this year and I could see the parallel. Both fighters were taking hits that would have put lesser men down quickly. The oohs and ahhhs of the audience and the sometimes silence was palpable. For the most part there was cheering and yelling for both sides.

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Round 2 started with the indomitable spirit of good will and respect for each other, with both tapping gloves, hugging and tapping gloves again. The crowd was roused! Choi continued to dominate but Lepont could taste victory and was not going to be finished. Round 3 started with Choi takedowns, but Lepont is wily and managed to escape. Although looking tired, he always remained calm. He was looking for submission and after a couple of strong attempts managed his specialty of the rear naked choke, finishing Choi in the third.

Muayfit’s strength continued in the next fight between Filipino Eric “The Natural” Kelly and Korean fighter Bae Young Kwon. The fighters exchanged blows and submission attempts, but Eric finally rendered a submission from Bae in the third round via a rear naked choke.

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The next fight promised to be great with Brazilian Gregor Gracie fighting Malaysia’s own Adam Shahir Kayoom with his background in Muay Thai, BJJ, Karate and Taekwondo. Both were forces to be reckoned with. Adam came out fighting but Gracie was clearly in control through the first round. While Gracie managed to keep Kayoom on the ground for some time, that was it. He struggled to make it more than that and was clearly tiring. In round 3, Adam was clearly paying attention to keeping the fight upright and although Gracie took him down a few more times, Kayoom clearly had control. The unanimous decision was supported by the crowd.

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The final fights of the evening were also promising but the earlier fights set the pace for excitement and power. Next up were Bantamweights Brazilian Leandro Issa vs Japanese Masakazu Imanari. This fight was more subdued with the fighters scoping each other out and taking their time. While a measured approach might be good in the cage, it did not have the same audience draw. Nevertheless there were some moments that sparked excitement with Imanari seeming to have control in the first two rounds. However, Issa seemed to get control at the end of the second, but without actually inflicting much damage. The third round was much of the same, and the fight went to the judges who rendered a unanimous decision in favor of Issa.

Welterweight Brazilian Zorobabel “Zoro” Moreira vs American Roger “El Matador” Huerta were evenly matched in the first round. However round 2 saw Moreira clearly taking charge and putting a brutal pummelling to Huerta which had even those of us in the crowd wondering if the judge had fallen asleep. Huerta was clearly dazed and a final kick to the head finally prompted a stop to the action.

Light Heavyweights Brazilian Renato “Babalu” Sobral vs Japanese Tatsuya Mizuno were pitted against each other in the final match. However, it was over almost before it started, with a few hits from Mizuno and Sobral quickly finishing the game with an armbar.

It was an amazing evening and now we’ll just be waiting for the next One FC — coming to Manila in August!!

For the full meal deal, check out this Destiny of Warriors video!

Many thanks to Jason Lim for “The Game”‘s entrance photo.