WITH MANILA proving to be a solid market for ONE Championship, it should not come as a surprise that it has decided to bring in a stacked card for its latest event here later this week at “ONE: Dawn of Heroes.”
Thus, said, local fight analyst Nissi Icasiano, who also underscored that Dawn of Heroes is a must-see event for Filipino combat sports fans.
Happening on Aug. 2 at the Mall of Asia Arena, the latest ONE event is touted to be the biggest from the promotion for the Philippines, boasting of a lot of star power from champion and highly accomplished fighters from different parts of the world.
ONE: Dawn of Heroes is to be headlined by the world featherweight championship fight between Vietnamese-Australian champion Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen and Japanese challenger Koyomi Matsushima.
Co-headlining it is the flyweight muay thai world championship fight of champion Jonathan Haggerty of England against Rodtang Jitmuangnon of Thailand.
It also marks the Manila fight debut of mixed martial arts legend Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and Eddie “The Underground King” Alvarez of the United States.
Also fighting are five stalwarts from top local MMA team in Team Lakay, namely, Eduard “Landslide” Folayang, Danny “The King” Kingad, Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio, Honorio “The Rock” Banario and Edward “The Ferocious” Kelly.
“It’s an appreciation night for ONE Championship because since 2012 it has been all-out support from the Manila crowd. It started at the Araneta Coliseum then it moved to the Mall of Asia Arena and it has been well-received throughout. To compare, if Marvel Studios gave fans something to celebrate about in Endgame it is the same for ONE with Dawn of Heroes,” said Mr. Icasiano when asked by BusinessWorld for his thoughts on the latest Manila offering of ONE Championship.
“Back in the day, Filipinos would spend a lot of money to travel and watch top-caliber combat sports action but now ONE Championship looks to showcase what the international brand of mixed martial arts action is all about in our backyard. It’s a stacked fight card with a lot of star power,” he added.
MUST-SEE
Mr. Icasiano said Dawn of Heroes has everything for every fight fan and is truly a must-see event.
Among the fights he is excited about is the one involving Messrs. Folayang and Alvarez in a lightweight grand prix semifinal bout.
Both fighters are coming off losses in their previous fights and are out to bounce back big time in a high-stakes contest.
“For Folayang-Alvarez, the storyline says it all — the best in the East against the best lightweight from the West. Had you asked me years back if such was possible to happen I would have said it’s farfetched because one is at the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) and the other at ONE. Now it’s happening and the thing about it is their style of fighting which can very explosive and will be a joy to watch,” Mr. Icasiano said of the Folayang-Alvarez fight.
He is also high on the main event between Messrs. Nguyen and Matsushima.
“Another interesting fight is that between Nguyen and Matsushima not only because it’s the main event but also because there is a lot going in it,” the analyst said.
“Matsushima lost in his last fight here in Manila a couple of years back. He is here for redemption and at the same time out to get the world featherweight championship belt from Nguyen. On the other hand, you have Martin Nguyen who is out to establish himself as the best featherweight fighter in Asia. And to do that he is facing a dangerous knockout artist in Matsushima,” Mr. Icasiano added.
The analyst went on to share that the flyweight grand prix semifinals between Mr. Johnson versus Japanese Tatsumitsu Wada and Filipino Kingad against Australian Reece McLaren carry much excitement as well.
Dawn of Heroes is the 18th fight card of ONE Championship in Manila since 2012. It will be broadcast live over the ONE app and ABS-CBN S+A as well as online on iWant. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
