Japanese star struts ONE FC wares against Kim

SINGAPORE – Japanese star Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki finally gets to compete anew as he slugs it out with French champion Arnaud “The Game” Lepont in the ONE FC 6: Rise of Kings at the Singapore Indoor Stadium tomorrow here.

Aoki, who failed to see action in the Manila stop last August due to lack of worthy opponents, is expected to have his hands full against Lepont in the event, which also headlines Filipino fighter Kevin Belingon against Russian brawler Yusup Saadulaev in a bantamweight clash.

Belingon, who swept his first nine mixed martial arts bouts in the URCC, is out to bounce back from back-to-back defeats in the ONE FC, including one against MMA legend Masakazu Imanari of Japan last March, also here. He also bowed to Korean Soo Chul Kim in ONE FC: Pride of a Nation in Manila.

The 24-year-old Belingon, a native of Ifugao fighting out of Baguio’s Team Lakay, has vowed to give it his best shot to defeat Saadulaev.

The ONE FC is staging an eight-man Bantamweight Grand Prix, starting in ONE FC: Rise of Kings and culminating late next year with the finalists disputing the championship.

Also on tap is the fight between ONE FC returnee Melvin “No Mercy” Manhoef and middleweight champion Pancrase Ryo “Rambo” Kawamura.

In other matchups, American legend Jens Pulver, the UFC’s first lightweight title-holder, will take on China’s rising star Zhao Ya Fei and Korean slugger Min Jung Song will clash with Japanese Masakatsu Ueda.

Belingon hopes to follow in the footsteps of compatriots Eric Kelly, Eduard Folayang and Honorio Banario, who were promised a title shot by ONE FC chief executive officer Victor Cui following their impressive victories in ONE FC’s Manila meet.

Kelly, a former taxi driver, bodyguard and movie stuntman, stretched his win run to eight after stopping Pulver in one of the highlight fights while Banario, also a Team Lakay mainstay, knocked out another Filipino, Maics Gym’s Andrew Benibe.

Folayang, an Asian Games and Southeast Asian Games gold medalist and another Team Lakay stalwart, pulled off a unanimous win over Japanese Felipe Enomoto and is expecting to get a crack at the vacant lightweight title versus Brazilian Zorobabel Moreira in future ONE FC cards.

ONE FC: Rise of Kings will be available on pay-per-view in the US on Oct. 6 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on iN DEMAND, Avail-TVN, DIRECTV and DISH for a suggested retail price of $29.95. 

Fans from around the world can also witness the action online via live streaming at www.onefc.com/livestream. The first two undercard fights are available for viewing free-of-charge and the main card fights will be available for purchase at $9.99. 

Also, this September and through October, fans can also catch the previous two ONE FC events, ONE FC: Destiny of Warriors and ONE FC: Pride of a Nation, on Video on Demand (VOD) and on regional sports networks in the US.