One Championship’s MMA Event: A Dream Comes True

By Christian Oh

 

As a teenager growing up in Roanoke Virginia, I was a wrestling fanatic. I was glued for hours to the TV set, watching superstars like Rick Flair, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant. But my hero at the time was Ricky Steamboat, the only Asian American wrestler. I cheered him on every time he had a match.

 

Soon after, these wrestlers faded into oblivion.  A new generation of WWE and Smackdown came to pass. Now fast forward to the birth of UFC, TapOut, and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). I started following the fighters from Korea, and those born and raised in the U.S. With monikers like “The Zombie” or “Old Boy,” these sports events gave fans new heroes.  The world of martial arts or mixed martial arts, however, started to evolve.

 

Instead of the sensationalism of violence and stirring up “beefs” between fighters, ONE Championship Founder and CEO Chatri Sityodtong, himself a world-class champion from Thailand, embarked on a journey to bring reverence and respect to the world of MMA. He wanted to highlight the honorable qualities of competition and martial arts. His dream to create a celebration of deep-rooted Asian values such as compassion, courage, discipline, honor, humility, integrity, and respect became his vision for ONE Championship.

 

That vision became a reality in 2011, when ONE Championship was founded. It is now Asia’s largest global sports media company promoting all disciplines of Martial Arts. Last October 13 in Tokyo, Japan, it celebrated a milestone, its 100th MMA “live” event.

 

Having been invited to this event, I arrived on October 10 in Tokyo. I headed straight to the press conference at the Park Hyatt Tokyo Hotel.  It was like a scene in Vegas:  Press galore, fight celebrities, and mega fans. There was a display case of the ONE Championship Belt, a press kit full of fight statistics and collectible trading cards of the fighters. Wow, 44 fighters in 22 matches to determine who was The Best of The Best! This was Chatri’s dream come true: Staging the largest televised and hopefully widest free viewership of this “Century” fight to celebrate One Championship’s 100th “live” fight, as well as over a century of martial arts growth and evolution.

 

The only issue besides the outcomes of these fights was Typhoon Hagibis, which threatened to create problems on October 12.  Hagibis is Filipino word for “speed.” October 12, Saturday, came and went, with me stuck in the hotel, wondering whether or not the competition would take place. But as I awoke on October 13, I saw the sun rising, though in my heart, I knew devastation had come to many parts of Japan.  Solemnly, we headed to the famous Sumo match arena, Ryokugan Kokuigan in Tokyo, where I could already feel an electric tingle in the air.

 

Part I

As the music started off booming, I began to get excited. The crowd was not yet impressive for PART I, and I was told that the trains did not start running until after 1:00 p.m. due to the typhoon.

 

This article will not cover the prelims and other fights in the Main Cards, but will focus on some of the highlights, including the Two-division ONE World Champion, “The Burmese Python” Aung La N Sang of Myanmar defending his ONE Light Heavyweight World Title against ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon “The Truth” Vera of the Philippines.

 

Also: ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion “Unstoppable” Angela Lee of Singapore (who is also half Korean) defending her World Title against the very outspoken, ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan of China.

 

 

Last but not least, ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes of Brazil putting his World Title on the line against Kevin “The Silencer” Belingdon of the Philippines.

 

As the day progressed, Jenny Lee defended her title against Xiong Jing Nan. The two Americans, Janet Todd and Demetrious Johnson, and two of the three Korean fighters won their fights.  Christian Lee, Angela’s brother, who also represents Singapore, won his Lightweight World Grand Prix Championship Final against his Turkey rival, Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev.

 

At the winners’ Press Conference for the first part, One Championship Founder and CEO Chatri expressed awe, saying how it was a miraculous day to have been able to complete PART I of the 22 fights. The much-needed generators came in at 4 in the morning and made the day possible. Otherwise, the competition would have been cancelled.

 

Part II

PART II had an excited and boisterous crowd, which is uncommon for a typical Japanese audience. As more and more fans entered the arena, the crowd’s high-octane energy rocked the arena, and the atmosphere became electric.

 

The Shooto and Pancrase battles reminded one of the old King Fu movies of different schools and styles. Without taking a tally, the outcomes were surprising. Some won in lightning finishes, while others went the distance.  In the end, two Shooto champions, Yosuke “The Ninja” Saruta and Shoko Sato, defeated their Pancrase rivals.  It became equalized with Pancrase champions, Hiroyuki Tetsuska and Takasuke Kume, making their marks defeating their Shooto opponents.

 

With the rivalry competition complete, it was off to the Main Cards, with a roller coaster ride of fights. Many of the Japanese hometown favorites succeeded in their bouts, notably, Mei Yamaguchi defeating Jenny Huang for the Atomweight division final. This was followed by Shinya Aoki winning in an explosive quick finish for the Lightweight ONE World Championship against Filipino former ONE Featherweight World Champion, Honorio Banario, a crowd favorite. Another notable finish was the South Asian fighter, Arjan Bhullar from India, defeating Mauro Cerilli, for the Heavyweight Division.

 

As for the final Main Card event, it was an incredibly respectful rhythm and flow of punches, energy, and combatant will.  In the end, youth and determination by Aung La N Sung from Myanmar defeated his idol and friend, Brad Vera of the Philippines in a fashion that almost spoke of the old guard unwillingly and reluctantly handing the torch to the next generation. The Filipino fans, though dejected, lauded “The Burmese Python” in his victory.

 

This 100th event in Japan came to a close, and it demonstrated Chatri’s championship way of prevailing over challenges through grit and determination, and yes, technology. Indeed, Chatri’s Dream came true against all odds.

 

As well, One Championship’s events pointed to the future of Japanese and international martial artists as vividly bright. For the nation devastated by the forces of nature, we can offer prayers, assistance or both. Doubtless, the Japanese amazing traits of resilience and tenacity will help them overcome Mother Nature’s recent big challenge. (Typhoon Hagibis was called the worst storm to hit Japan in 60 years.)  What about the MMA warriors? To be sure, like the admirable and formidable Japanese, they will persevere, adapt, rebuild and overcome challenges, regardless of victory or defeat.

 

For me, as an Asian American, not only did I feel the deep-rooted Asian values that Chatri Sityodtong, Founder and CEO of ONE Championship, had envisioned. I also truly became “one” with the tidal-wave like honor and pride that overcame many of the attendees and participants of this incredible event.  I look forward to many more ONE Championship competitions, and the continuing evolution and progress of all the represented martial arts.

 

For the full results, highlights and recaps of the competition and videos please visit www.onefc.com or One Championship on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/user/OneFCMMA