ONE Championship: Quest for Greatness - Gafurov vs. Nguyen 2 - August 18 (OFFICIAL DISCUSSION)

One FC  58
August 18, 2017
Stadium Negara
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Main Card:
Marat Gafurov (15-0)             vs.                (8-1) Martin Nguyen  
Main Event |  Title Fight | Featherweight | 145 lbs (66 kg)

Nobutatsu Suzuki (11-2)        vs.                         (13-4) Ev Ting  
Co-Main Event | Lightweight | 155lbs (70 kg)

Sherif Mohamed (8-3)            vs.        (6-1) Agilan Thangalapani  
Main Card | Middleweight | 185lbs (84 kg)

Kevin Belingon (15-5)             vs.               (9-4) Reece McLaren  
Main Card | Bantamweight | 135 lbs (61 kg)

Asuka Mikami (7-3)                 vs.                 (8-2) Gianni Subba  
Main Card | Flyweight | 125 lbs (57 kg)

May Ooi (2-2)                         vs.                    (5-3) Ann Osman  
Main Card | Female Flyweight | 125 lbs (57 kg)

Robin Catalan (5-3)                 vs.  (7-2) D. Sor Amnuaysirichoke  
Main Card | Strawweight | 115 lbs (52 kg)

Christian Lee (6-1)                   vs.                 (5-2) Keanu Subba  
Main Card | Featherweight | 145 lbs (66 kg)


Edward Kelly (9-3)                    vs.                (9-4) Emilio Urrutia  
Main Card | Featherweight | 145 lbs (66 kg)


Rene Catalan (2-2)                    vs.              (3-2) Huo You Ga Bu  
Main Card | Flyweight | 125 lbs (57 kg)

ONE Championship, has just announced another blockbuster evening of authentic martial arts action. ONE: QUEST FOR GREATNESS is set to return to the iconic Stadium Negara on 18 August for another spectacular showcase of Asia’s top martial arts talent. In the main event, undefeated ONE Featherweight World Champion Marat “Cobra” Gafurov of Russia puts his world title on the line against top contender Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen of Australia.In the co-main event, the former ONE Welterweight World Champion Nobutatsu Suzuki will face the former lightweight title challenger Ev "E.T." Ting in a lightweight bout.

Marat “Cobra” Gafurov of Dagestan, Russia, is the reigning ONE Featherweight World Champion. An undefeated martial artist with 15 wins and no losses, Gafurov is a high-level grappler with 11 of his wins coming by impressive submission over top-caliber opponents. Rarely challenged and always dominant, Gafurov captured the featherweight title in 2015 with a gutsy victory over former champion Narantungalag Jadambaa in an epic battle. In his last bout, Gafurov defeated Jadambaa once again in a rematch a year later to cement his claim as the undisputed ONE Featherweight World Champion. He will defend his title next against Australia’s Martin Nguyen.

28-year-old Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen of Sydney, Australia, is a former featherweight title challenger with a 8-1 professional record. His only loss came at the hands of reigning ONE Featherweight World Champion Marat Gafurov, when he stepped up to accept their first showdown on just a few days’ notice. None of Nguyen’s victories have gone to a decision, giving him five solid knockout wins as well as three victories by submission. In his last bout, Nguyen defeated Japanese veteran warrior Kazunori Yokota via first-round knockout. Nguyen’s all-around skill set allows him to compete at the highest level as a professional. In a highly-anticipated rematch, Nguyen once again receives a shot at the ONE Featherweight World Championship when he takes on Marat Gafurov for the second time.

Ev “E.T.” Ting is a professional martial artist with deep roots in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Living and training out of Auckland, New Zealand, Ting owns a stellar 13-4 professional record, including four wins by submission and four exciting knockouts. A winner of four of his last five bouts over top-caliber opponents, Ting is one of the most talented competitors to come out of Malaysia. In his most recent bout, Ting challenged ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard Folayang, falling by unanimous decision in a gruelling five-round matchup. Ting now returns to Kuala Lumpur to face another challenge in Nobutatsu Suzuki.

A 39-year-old Japanese veteran from Tokyo, Nobutatsu Suzuki is the former ONE Welterweight World Champion. With a professional record of 11-2-2, Suzuki is adept in both striking and grappling, also possessing well-rounded wrestling ability. He first captured the inaugural title with a victory over veteran competitor Brock Larson, only to succumb to now-reigning champion Ben Askren in the bout following. After a break from competition, Suzuki now returns as a lightweight to face Ev Ting.

Good card.

Gafurov lost his belt.

CDF47 wrote:Gafurov lost his belt.

I hope they will give him a rematch

Kingfedor wrote:

CDF47 wrote:Gafurov lost his belt.

I hope they will give him a rematch

Yeah, hopefully. That was a bit of an upset.

Probably will since there's a big story there as it would be a rubber match and both hold wins over the other while they've only lost once in their careers and that was to the other man.

Rocksoldier84 wrote:Probably will since there's a big story there as it would be a rubber match and both hold wins over the other while they've only lost once in their careers and that was to the other man.

Rubber match is definitely needed. They should make that the next fight for both guys.