BusinessWorld Online covers OneFC's rise in Asia

Thu Aug 16, 2012 5:27 pm

Just add it to the list. With their sudden rise to the top of the heap, OneFC has a knack for coverage amongst top media brands throughout Asia. Be it ESPN, Men's Health, and now BusinessWorld, the promotion seems to be taking the continent by storm and doing the job of bringing mixed martial arts to the mainstream.

In the current issue, BusinessWorld highlights the promotions first jump into the Philippines as OneFC prepares for their "Pride of a Nation" event, August 31st in Manila. The event will bring a number of Filipino bred fighters to the cage in front of a crowd of nearly 17,000 fans. This is something that has only been seen one time in the history of combat sports in the Philippines, when Ali and Frazier duked it out in the Thrila in Manila.

One similar vibe that all the major media outlets are quick to pick up on is the fact that the OneFC promotion has gained an awe-inspiring amount of popularity at a rather fast clip. Signing not only some of the biggest names in the world of mixed martial arts, they're also sticking to their roots and giving those fighters that make their home in Asia a chance at the big stage. While a promotion can start off well capitalized and go out and sign a few good fighters to put on a show or two, OneFC has diversified themselves quite well. The promotion has done a superb job organically building their own stars, fighters highlighted in the article such as Eduard Folayang. While fighters such as Eduard were beginning to pick up names for themselves, OneFC has pushed them to the forefront of mixed martial arts and given them the chance to shine on the world's stage.

BusinessWorld highlights the popularity of the sport in the Philippines as well as it's wild spread throughout all of Asia. Focusing on the Filipino fighters, BusinessWorld is quick to pick up on the fact that this sport is here to stay.

Slated for Aug. 31 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, "Pride of A Nation" marks the first time that ONE Fighting Championship, the biggest MMA organization in Asia, is making a foray in the Philippines. And headlining the historic ONE FC event here are five Filipino fighters, led by Folayang and Belingon, champion combatants of the Philippine-based Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC), which incidentally is helping mount the much-anticipated MMA fixture.

Fighting out of Team Lakay in Baguio, Folayang and Belingon saw their respective winning streaks halted earlier this year at ONE Fighting Championship 3 "War of the Lions" in Singapore.

Folayang (11-2-0) lost in a controversial decision against Fil-Danish Ole Laursen in one of the marquee fights of the night while Belingon (9-1-0) absorbed his first defeat by way of a reverse heel hook from Japanese Mazakazu Imanari in the first round of their scheduled three-rounder.

"I don’t want a repeat of my previous fight where I lost," Folayang, who is set to meet Japanese Felipe Enomoto (6-4-0), said in an interview with BusinessWorld in Makati City last week. Adding, "I learned a lot of lessons from the previous fight and I am using them so that when I step into the ring again the result will be a different one."

"At this point, we are at hard training already so we can give the fans a good fight and in the end win," said Belingon, who is out to redeem himself against South Korean fighter Soo Chul Kim (5-4-0), in the same interview.

"Even before the cards were announced we were already training. And when it was announced who are our opponents were, we just stepped up our training and so far it has been good," Folayang continued.

Both fighters expressed their excitement over "ONE FC: Pride of A Nation" which they labeled as "historic" and something significant to the MMA scene in the country. "It is very significant for the MMA scene here in the country because the biggest martial arts event in Asia is coming here to Manila and it validates the kind of fans and fighters we have here," said 27-year-old Folayang, who is also a bemedalled wushu artist.

They, however, noted that amid the excitement some pressure is riding on their backs being the hometown bets. "We cannot avoid feeling the pressure as we know the local fans expect us to win having the home court advantage. But we are channeling that pressure as a motivation for us to do good in the ring, to push ourselves to the limit and to do everything we can to win," Folayang said.

To which 24-year-old Belingon seconded: "There is definitely pressure being the home town bets but I just try not to focus on it too much and instead concentrate on my training and game plan."

Recognized as the faces of the local MMA scene, Folayang, the most popular fighter in the country right now and considered the "Manny Pacquiao of Philippine MMA," in particular said he embraces the responsibility given them.

"I handle those [responsibilities] in a positive way. I can never really compare myself to Manny Pacquiao but it really means a lot to me when they say I’m the ‘Manny Pacquiao of Philippine MMA.’ That means I’m doing something for the sport. That I’m putting not only myself on the world MMA map but the entire country for that matter," Folayang said.

Apart from Folayang and Belingon, other Filipinos seeing action at "ONE FC: Pride of A Nation" are Honorio Banario (6-1-0) and Andrew Benibe (4-2-0) who will battle each other in the opening match, and Eric "The Natural" Kelly (7-0-0) who faces American fighter Jens Pulver (26-16-1).

Other marquee fights include Rolles Gracie (6-1-0) vs. Tony Bonello (16-1-1), Andrei Arlovski (17-9-0) vs. Tim Sylvia (31-7-0) and Bibiano Fernandes (11-3-0) vs. Gustavo Falciroli (12-3-2).

http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Sports&title=Filipino-fighters-out-for-redemption&id=56776

Thu Aug 16, 2012 8:59 pm

ONE convinced me, it´s the next big thing in mma. First it looked like any other promotion but they´re doing all the right moves and the promotion is classy.

Thu Aug 16, 2012 9:14 pm

^I agree, they really do look like they have staying power. I look forward to their events.

BusinessWorld Online covers OneFC's rise in Asia

BusinessWorld Online covers OneFC's rise in Asia

Re: BusinessWorld Online covers OneFC's rise in Asia

Re: BusinessWorld Online covers OneFC's rise in Asia

Re: BusinessWorld Online covers OneFC's rise in Asia