THAT'S THE SPIRIT!

Received an email from ONE Fighting Championship™ (ONE FC), Asia’s largest mixed martial arts (MMA) organization with a 90% market share, presented by Tune Talk. Finally, we can reveal the other four fights to the Malaysia card, which set to take place on 15 November at the iconic Stadium Putra!

As much as I'd not want to see Malaysians fighting Malaysians, I am super excited to have all our Malaysian fighters back in the cage really. We are also super damn proud that our very own Malaysian, Adam Kayoom will be the first ever to be given a Main Event and a Title Fight. He will be fighting for ONE FC's Inaugural Welterweight Championship and that is huge really! I've heard so much about Kayoom and he has become some sort of a legend. Everyone I know admires him and I can't wait to meet him in person and see him in action!

The following shall be a copy and paste of the press release as it was beautifully written by the PR personnel at ONE FC. In brackets are my own comments.

The Malaysian National Featherweight Champion will be crowned when Melvin Yeoh meets AJ ‘Pyro’ Lias Mansor in the tournament final. Also, rising stars Gianni Subba (woohoo Subba!) and Chen Yun Ting (my junior in college, can you believe it?) will meet in a showdown of Flyweight contenders. The main event of the evening will feature an inaugural ONE FC Welterweight World Championship battle between Malaysia’s own Adam Kayoom and Japanese veteran Nobutatsu Suzuki.

(Time to do some promo) Tickets for ONE FC: WARRIOR SPIRIT, presented by Tune Talk, are on sale now at www.AirAsiaRedTix.com. Tickets are priced at RM348 for the complete VIP experience that includes exclusive red carpet entrance, access to the VIP lounge and premium cage-side seating. The categories that follow are priced at RM248, RM148, RM98 and RM48 respectively. Booking fees and service charges apply. (What are you waiting for? Buy now and come to Malaysia!)

Fans around Asia can catch all the action live on STAR Sports. Check your local listings. Also, fans from around the world can witness the action online via live streaming at www.onefc.livesport.tv. The first two undercard fights are available for viewing free-of-charge and the main card fights will be available for purchase at just US$9.99.

CEO of ONE Fighting Championship™ Victor Cui stated, “MMA fans in Malaysia are about to be blown away by this fight card! It is stacked with the most exciting fighters from start to finish. I can’t tell you how excited I am that Malaysia has produced such elite talent and now they get to showcase their skills on the world stage on 15 November .”

Melvin Yeoh is a pioneer in mixed martial arts in Malaysia, having started mixed martial arts more than seven years ago. He possesses deadly kicks from his Muay Thai background and has a very underrated submission game. Yeoh has toiled hard to grow the sport and hopes to be rewarded on 15 November by being recognized as the best Featherweight in Malaysia.

Yeoh was originally slated to face Jian Kai Chee in the final of the tournament, but Jian was forced to pull out after suffering an injury. AJ “Pyro” Lias Mansor steps in to take his place in the final. A national Silat champion and a powerful grappler, Lias Mansor will be looking to represent his home state of Kota Kinabalu and defeat Melvin Yeoh.

(Met both fighters Melvin and AJ, and I love them both as a fighter. Both are tough contenders and this will definitely be an interesting fight! Both of them have so many similarities and it will be really hard to tell who will take it. Both fight with a lot of heart and spirit and I'd say, they are the two fighters that looks the most serious in the cage. If serious looks could kill, they would both be murderers in the cage hahaha. And then, when you hang out with them, they are both like the sweetest men in the world. Just two awesome fighters.)

Gianni Subba is considered an emerging prospect in the Flyweight division and one of the best prospects in the whole of Malaysia. His first MMA bout ended when he pulled off one of the most impressive debut performances in ONE FC history as he knocked Singaporean Bruce Loh out with a perfectly timed left hook in the opening seconds of the fight. Subba went on to defeat Saiful Merican at ONE FC: RETURN OF WARRIORS via submission at 4:08 of round two. At the age of 21, he has showcased immediate potential and has already established himself as the most dangerous Flyweight in Malaysia. Subba now faces a heavy handed brawler in Chen Yun Ting.

Chen is coming off an impressive win over Singaporean Ronald Loh at ONE FC: KINGS & CHAMPIONS, finishing the fight in the first round with a well timed hook. As one of the most highly touted prospects coming out of Malaysia, he is looking to extend his winning streak by emerging victorious in this bout that will determine who the top Flyweight in Malaysia really is. 

(In my own opinion, both were sent in to lose but both of them emerged victorious in their debut fight against the Singaporeans, in Singapore. This fight would be interesting to watch as I really want to see who will take the win. I like Subba a lot as I think as a fighter, he is very passionate and very dedicated for such a young lad. In addition, Subba is one of the most helpful, well-mannered and responsible fighter I've known because on multiple occasions had filled in to help me out with media interviews. Makes my job real easy as Subba can also talk and he is always on time, if not early. We always establish Subba as the guy who KO-ed his opponent within seconds and that he is so good in fights that I tend to forget that he has only fought 2 fights! haha. I always felt like he is an MMA veteran despite his young age of 21. Ting is also another fighter that I got to know when I hooked him up with some media interviews, only to find out that he is actually my junior in college. We practically studied the same thing in college and went through the same tortures from the same lecturers. I wish them both all the best in the cage. Can't wait to see them both in action and see how much they've grown from the last time they fought.)

Exciting Malaysian Welterweight Nik Harris will also make his much-anticipated ONE FC debut on 15 November when he battles Indonesian veteran Zuli Silawanto. The young Malaysian is relentless in going for the finish, having never gone to a decision in all his victories. Training out of one of the best gyms in Malaysia, Muayfit, he will look to fly the Malaysia flag high by emerging victorious in this battle. Zuli Silawanto is an Indonesian MMA veteran who has more than 10 years of professional mixed martial arts experience. He will be looking to bounce back after falling short against Adam Kayoom in his last ONE FC bout. He has a diverse martial arts arsenal that includes kickboxing, Pencak Silat and submission wrestling. He will be looking to silence the home crowd when he takes on Harris. (Heard a lot about Nik Harris and we shall see what he has to offer.)

Samir Mrabet is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu purple belt originally from Brussels, Belgium, who trained in three continents before deciding to reside in Malaysia. His gym, Monarchy MMA, is one of the fastest rising gyms in Asia. The former runway model is set to put his undefeated record on the line when he meets Steven Durr. Originally from Tennessee in the United States, Steven Durr relocated to Malaysia to pursue a mixed martial arts career in Asia’s largest mixed martial arts organization, ONE FC. He fights out of T-REX gym in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. A self professed trouble maker while growing up, mixed martial arts helped him to find an avenue to express himself. He has an impressive amateur record, winning 22 bouts with only four losses. Durr also has professional Muay Thai experience and a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He will be looking to springboard his career in Asia with a victory over Mrabet.

The main event of the evening will crown the inaugural ONE FC Welterweight World Champion. The bout features a battle between the top mixed martial artist to ever come out of Malaysia, Adam “Shogun” Shahir Kayoom, against Japanese slugger Nobutatsu Suzuki.

For more updates on ONE Fighting Championship™, please visit www.onefc.com and follow on Instagram and Twitter @ONEFCMMA and Facebook at www.facebook.com/ONEFCMMA.