By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Reporter
MACAU — ONE Championship made a successful second foray in Macau, China, at the weekend with two Brazilian champions and a soft-spoken but courageous Filipina fighter going away as big winners.
Dubbed “ONE: Kings & Conquerors” and held at the Cotai Arena in The Venetian Macao last Saturday, ONE Macau saw world bantamweight champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes of Brazil retain his title and compatriot Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes reclaim the undisputed ONE flyweight world championship title.
Also victorious was women’s atomweight Jomary Torres of the Philippines, who made it a successful ONE Championship debut with a submission victory over a more regarded Thai opponent.
Making his seventh defense of his title in Asia’s largest sports media property, Mr. Fernandes, 37, maintained the status quo in the bantamweight division with a quick work of challenger Andrew Leone of the United States in their main event bout, stopping his opponent hardly two minutes into the fight.
Mr. Fernandes had it in the bag as soon as he hit the younger Leone in the midsection that quickly zapped the energy out of the latter, who showed little resistance when he went down to the mat after, prompting the referee to stop the contest at the 1:47 mark of the opening round.
The Brazilian, who was coming off a narrow split decision victory over Australian Reece McLaren in his previous fight, said he was very happy to make another successful defense and that his latest victory is a testament to kind of fighter he has always been.
“I really trained hard for this fight. I believe I have the best team and best coach. Every time I step into the cage my mind-set has always been to prove myself. I always look for the opportunity no matter what it is, and tonight is no different,” said Mr. Fernandes, whose record improved to 21 wins and three losses, at the post-event press conference.
“For me, my life is my motivation. I’m a proud of what I have become and how I have overcome the challenges in my life. That keeps me going both as a person and as a fighter,” added Mr. Fernandes, who dedicated his record ONE Championship seventh successful title defense not only to his motherland of Brazil but also to the “people who believe I can do my job,” including his Filipino fans.
BACK ON TOP
Mr. Fernandes’ compatriot Mr. Moraes, for his part, won back the flyweight world title by taking it away from the man who dislodged him from his spot as champion two years ago — Kairat Akhmetov of Kazakhstan.
Much like in their first encounter, where Mr. Akhmetov did just enough to edge Mr. Moraes, their latest fight was also tightly contested but this time with the Brazilian making sure the tide would go his way with a unanimous decision win.
Mr. Moraes shed the” interim” in his world title by outgunning erstwhile defending champion Akhmetov.
The Brazilian flyweight controlled the majority of the action with his grappling just as Kazakh Akhmetov tried his best to fend off his opponent’s advances with his wrestling.
In the end though, all three judges scored the bout in favor of Mr. Moraes, who unified the flyweight titles to become the undisputed king of the division.
“I’m not surprised [with the victory]. Thank you very much, one more time, for the opportunity, ONE Championship. I want to thank my coach, my family and my friends. I’m very grateful,” said Mr. Moraes (16-2-0), who incidentally dealt Mr. Akhmetov (20-1) his first professional defeat.
He went on to say that he is willing to fight Mr. Akhmetov for a third time but the Kazakhstan fighter has to earn the rematch much like he did.
“I’m willing to fight again but he has to earn it like I did. After I lost to him, I had to fight twice (including for the interim title last year as Mr. Akhmetov recovered from injury) to be in a position again for a title shot. I’m now the champion and I’m ready,” Mr. Moraes said.
ACTION DOES THE TALKING
Equally impressive at Kings & Conquerors was Filipina Torres, who stopped Thai fighter Rika “Tinydoll” Ishige by submission through a rear-naked choke in the second round of their women’s atomweight battle.
Vowing to let her action do the talking, the reserved Torres delivered accordingly with a very convincing stoppage win over the more touted Ishige.
The Filipina fighter, fighting out of Catalan Fighting System, showed no letup when she clipped her Thai opponent in the second round with a booming right that signaled the end as she finished things with a barrage of punches before going for the choke from which Ms. Ishige could not recover from.
“All of these things are new to me. But inside the cage I know what I have to do because that is what I’m trained for,” said Mr. Torres, who admitted she is still getting used to all the attention she is getting as part of ONE Championship.
“I’m happy with the win and the opportunity to fight here. This is just my first time but it is something that I believe I can get the hang of doing eventually,” she added.
Other winners in ONE Macau were lightweight Timofey Nastyukhin over Koji Ando by unanimous decision; Shannon Wiratchai over Rajinder Singh Meena by knockout in round one; strawweight Hayato Suzuki over Filipino Joshua Pacio by Submission (rear naked choke) in round one; featherweight Kotetsu Boku over Filipino Eric Kelly by technical knockout (strikes) in round three; and bantamweight Chen Lei over Saiful Merican by submission (armbar) in the third round.
Next stop for ONE Championship is Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Aug. 18 for “ONE: Quest for Greatness.”
