This isn’t a post to vilify, but it is still regardless a legitimate issue to discuss and resolve. Is fighter safety a concern in Chinese Mixed Martial Arts? As one who lives in Thailand, I know a handful of fighters who have fought in China, my own missus included. China fights are not as unavailable […]

I’ll bet that when the fifty-eighth DEEP card on June 15th was booked and scheduled, Shigeru Saeki didn’t imagine that it would be the most high profile event in Japan. The death of DREAM is perhaps the final death knell in the chronically stagnant scene of kakatougi in Japan. Not PRIDE, not K-1 in its […]

With a ban on professional Mixed Martial Arts in Thailand, the time is ripe! The progress of MMA in non-Japanese Asia has grown exponentially in recent years, as the spread of support combined with PRIDE’s death and the stagnation of the Japanese market, to the point where a relatively new promotion in One FC can […]

He is a Phuket Top Team standout, former NY state wrestling champion, 10-1 fighter currently contracted to One FC and about to take part in the finals of the Road FC Asia Bantamweight Grand Prix. His name is Andrew Leone. As for a nickname, we’re not sure. He once went by “Robin Hood”, but as […]

He holds more top 10 wins than any lightweight past or present, and his résumé stands him in good stead to be considered the #1 lightweight of all time. The “Tobikan Judan”, Master of Flying Submissions, Shinya Aoki. He is obviously on the brink of becoming a fully fledged One FC fighter, not merely participating […]

“A historic step for Asian Mixed Martial Arts”. So says Victor Cui, CEO and owner of One Fighting Championships, who are hosting a summit of movers and shakers in the Asian Mixed Martial Arts world. From sponsors to promoters to gym owners, the collective will network, talk and listen, and bear witness to a series […]

At the start of the century, two MMA promotions stood alone at the top of the mountain, leaders of the pack, promoting the world class talent the sport had to offer almost in its entirety, with rosters that American, English and European organisations could only dream of. They were the pinnacle, the peak, and their […]

Shooto 5th round came and went, another Shooto event with the usual (or perhaps very slightly less) lack of international fanfare, but be that as it may, it was another solid card to await a full download for – spoiler ridden as ever. Sigh. Nice one to my old partner in e-crime Stuart “Hello Japan” […]

Two juicy matchups for Phuket Top Team stars at One FC IV: Destiny of Warriors! It is heavily rumoured that the fights to be signed for Messrs Adam Kayoom and Rodrigo Praxedes are to be all-black-belt affairs. Kayoom, from Malaysia, is a former WPMF middleweight World Muay Thai champion, and a decorated Brazilian Jiu Jitsu […]

Having sat on this rumour for about three weeks, it’s good to finally put to paper. A bout between Evolve MMA’s superstar and the man with more top 10 wins at lightweight than any other, Shinya Aoki, versus pound-for-pound demi-God of Mixed Martial Arts and the pick of many longtime fans for the #2 spot […]