CAROS FODOR SIGNS WITH ONE FC
UFC veteran Caros Fodor (7-3) has announced that he is set to compete in Asia after signing a multi-fight deal with ONE Fighting Championship. Fodor, who made a name for himself as a contender in Strikeforce, was released by the UFC after just one loss with the promotion, a close decision loss against Sam Stout.
He now joins a lightweight division which is currently reigned by DREAM and ONE FC champ, Shinya Aoki.
Fodor says he chose ONE FC over offers from WSOF and Bellator because of their ruleset which allows elbows, knees and soccer kicks on the ground. It is also interesting to note that he trains at AMC Pankration under Matt Hume, who also happens to be ONE FC’s Matchmaker and VP of Operations.
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PETER DAVIS LOSES AT MIMMA GRAND FINALS, EDWARD KELLY MOVES TO 2-0
Malaysian Invasion MMA, or MIMMA, was held in Kuala Lumpur this past weekend and it crowned several Amateur champions at different weight classes. It was a great program to build up talent at a grass roots level in the country, and it also provided the fighters with great exposure in front of a large crowd and on an Asian broadcast all over Star Sports.
Apart from crowning these Amateur champs who will “graduate” to ONE FC, the event also had three professional fights to headline the card. In the main event, lightweight contender Peter Davis lost to Ariel Sexton, as the BJJ blackbelt was able to dominate on the ground against the popular Malaysian actor and model turned fighter. After going 3-0 with ONE FC, this loss snapped Davis’ 5-fight winning streak and effectively derailed the immediate title hopes for this creative striker.
Also among the 3 professional bouts featured on the MIMMA Grand Finals was Eric Kelly’s brother Edward Kelly. The Wushu-based fighter defeated a highly experienced Muay Thai fighter in Tanaphong Khunhankeaw and improved to 2-0 on his young MMA career.
Just a few years ago, MMA was basically non-existent in Malaysia, but the sport has been rapidly growing. This event reportedly drew thousands, and with its success, even Kuala Lumpur’s Youth and Sports Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin was interested in helping create and fund a Mixed Martial Arts Association in the country. If all goes according to plan, the development of the sport in Malaysia could boom and speed up exponentially.
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DOO HO CHOI BRAWLS FOR 9TH STRAIGHT WIN
Deep Cage Impact 2013 was also held this past weekend, and seeing action in the main event is the fan favorite in Doo Ho Choi. Widely considered as Korea’s top prospect, the 22-year-old featherweight fighter improved his record to 11-1 after an intense back and forth brawl with former lightweight King of Pancrase Shoji Maruyama. Choi cited a shoulder injury that hampered his performance on a fight that could lead to a call up from the big leagues, but nonetheless he was still able to extend his winning streak to 9 bouts.
Check out the fight below:
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AMATEUR MMA IN BANGKOK
While MMA is technically still “banned” in Thailand, War in the Cage 4 was hosted earlier this month which featured Amateur MMA bouts from fighters in the region. It wasn’t a huge or fancy event by any stretch of the imagination, but with the sport still at it’s infancy in Thailand, it is nice to see more shows popping up in different areas in the country. Here are highlights from the event which was held at the Thammasat University.
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TEAM LAKAY HIRES OLYMPIC WRESTLING COACH
After officially going 0-5 at ONE FC 9 in Manila, Team Lakay vowed to get better and promised to round out their overall MMA game. The Philippines’ top MMA camp recently made a huge step towards their goal by hiring Ali Heydarabadi, a former Olympic Wrestling Coach from Iran to help shore up their ground game.
These Wushu-based fighters have displayed excellent striking, but 3 out of the 5 fighters on the last ONE FC card were controlled on the ground by high level wrestlers, and went on to lose decisions in front of their home town crowd. Team Lakay coaches have said that it was a huge learning experience for them, and it’s nice to see them making moves to continue to improve.
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ROAD FC 12: BWGP FINALS & FWGP OPENING ROUND ON STACKED CARD
Korea’s top promotion, Road FC hosts their 12th event this weekend, and they have a stacked card prepared. Headlining the card is Kil Woo Lee vs Min Jung Song, the finals of their Bantamweight Grand Prix which is set to crown a new champion.
Also on the card is a stacked line up which includes a welterweight bout between Legend FC Champion Bae Myung Ho and DREAM vet Andrews Nakahara, along with the opening round of their Featherweight Grand Prix. One of the bouts in that tournament includes an intriguing match up between UFC vet and Japanese star Michihiro Omigawa, and ONE FC contender, Bae Young Kwon.
Check out the full line up below:
ROAD FC 12
June 22, 2013 — Wonju, South Korea– Kil Woo Lee vs Min Jung Song [BW Championship]
– Myung Ho Bae vs Andrews Nakahara
– Takafumi Otsukavs Yun Jun Lee
– Michihiro Omigawa vs Bae Young Kwon [FWGP]
– Masako Yoshida vs Celine Haga
– Ryuta Noji vs Ji Hoon Kim
– Dool Hee Lee vs Ryo Kawamura
– Chang Hyun Kim vs Kosuke Umeda [FWGP]
– Young Bok Gil vs Won Gi Kim [FWGP]
– Mu Kyum Choi vs Hubert Geven [FWGP]
– Hyun Song Chang vs Byung Ok Cho [FWGP Reserve match]
– Song Jae Kim vs Yi Moon Han
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