Last night in the Philippines, One FC put on their 23rd MMA event headlined by the Bantamweight Title fight between champion Bibiano Fernandes and undefeated challenger Dae Hwan Kim. Fernandes was a huge favorite heading into the fight (-900), and. as expected, he finished the fight in the 2nd round with a rear naked choke. Fernandes, a ground fighting wizard, has now won nine fights in a row and you will see One FC push him as a premier bantamweight, perhaps the best in the world.
Making his One FC debut as a heavyweight was UFC veteran Brandon Vera. Vera is of Philippino descent and is looking to close his career out fighting with One FC. Vera was favored heavily (-705) over Ukraine’s Igor Subora and Vera did not disappoint, scoring a first round KO. Vera landed a big head kick early that stunned the Russian, and Vera just picked him apart with superior striking until he landed the punch that dropped Subora. Vera finished with soccer kicks, a technique that is banned in the UFC but is allowed under the rules of One FC.
Another big name making his One FC debut was Roger Gracie, who was facing veteran James McSweeney. Gracie was favored at (-260) and he ended the fight in the 3rd round with a nice sequence of strikes, but McSweeney was limping from the previous round, apparently hurting a knee or a foot.
Brazilian Herbert Burns came in and took out home town star Honorio Banario as he was expected to do, favored at (-350). Banario comes to fight, but he still lacks the ground game to compete with a ground fighting specialist like the undefeated Burns.
Eduard Folayang took a loss to Timofey Nastyukhin, despite being a (-210) favorite going in. Nastyukhin landed a big knee in the opening round that he followed with a soccer kick in a phenomenal display of aggression. The Russian paid at (+160).
The only one of the Philippino stars that had lines up at the books who won is Kevin Bellingon, who was in a basically pick ’em fight against Japan’s Koetsu Okazaki. He won the unanimous decision after three hard fought, technical rounds.
Check out this video of the Brandon Vera vs Igor Subora bout. It is long and features the walk outs, but it is a nice glimpse of the production value of the show, which is excellent. The events are available live on PPV at their website (www.onefc.com) and are usually about $10. For fans of the old school they use Lenne Hardt for the ring entrances, the crazy voice from the old Pride days.
