Yangon, Myanmar: The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), once again electrified the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium with another blockbuster evening of authentic martial arts last November 3, 2017. ONE: HERO’S DREAM showcased the absolute best in local and international martial arts talent competing inside the ONE Championship cage.
Filipino female atomweight prospect Jomary Torres defeated Indonesian grappling specialist Nita Dea by unanimous decision after three rounds in a three-round atomweight contest served as the curtain-raiser. Torres employed an efficient strategy from start to finish, utilizing her speed and power to connect a multitude of thudding strikes on Dea. Torres also dominated Dea on the mat with her ground-and-pound, which was enough to earn the judges’ nod.
In the main event of the evening, ONE Middleweight World Champion and Myanmar’s national icon “The Burmese Python” Aung La N Sang clinched the most impressive victory of his career, defeating Muay Thai and kickboxing heavyweight champion Alain “The Panther” Ngalani in the promotion’s first ever Open Weight Super-Bout.
In the co-main event of the evening, local martial arts heroes Phoe Thaw and Saw Ba Oo figured in an inspiring display of heart and tenacity, exchanging their best offense in the full length of the ONE Championship cage. As the two poured their energy and left it all out on the biggest stage of martial arts, it was Thaw who came away with a hard-earned victory in a closely-contested three round affair. In the end, two of three judges saw the bout in favor of Thaw who bagged a split decision for his efforts.
Three other Filipinos did not fare well in their bouts.
Filipino striker Eugene Toquero. Toquero, a Muay Thai specialist and former celebrity fitness coach, would do his best to thwart China’s “The Southern Eagle” Ma Hao Bin’s aggressive takedown game, but was proven ineffective in doing so. Rhe charismatic Ma, with mere seconds left in the first round, caught Toquero in an armbar who soon tapped out. Ma’s continued his rapid rise through the ranks, notching the eighth victory of his professional career and his sixth straight overall with a first round submission
Jeremy “The Jaguar” Miado fell victim to Thai martial arts prospect Pongsiri Mitsatit’s masterful offensive performance. Mitsatit came out ultra-aggressive, looking to bring the action right to Miado who had other plans. Miado aimed to take matters to the ground to nullify Mitsatit’s striking advantage, but Mitsatit would have none of it. In the end, it was Mitsatit who effectively executed his gameplan, stopping Miado in the second round by forcing a verbal tapout.
Burn “Hitman” Soriano of the Philippines almost took out Bantamweight competitors “Rock Man” Chen Lei of China but just wasn’t meant to be. Soriano and Lei provided fans with a tremendous display of offense in a short contest that lasted just under two rounds.
After an incredible first round which saw Chen score major points for his cage control and powerful strikes, Soriano came back towards the end and nearly submitted the Chinese warrior with an armbar. Chen was eventually saved by the bell and in the second round, took Soriano to the mat and quickly secured full mount, stopping the Filipino with ground-and-pound.
Complete results of ONE: HERO’S DREAM:
Open Weight Super-Bout: Aung La N Sang defeats Alain Ngalani by Submission (Guillotine) at 4:31 minutes of round 1
Featherweight bout: Phoe Thaw defeats Saw Ba Oo by Split Decision (SD) after 3 rounds
Flyweight bout: Ma Hao Bin defeats Eugene Toquero by Submission (Armbar) at 4:51 minutes of round 1
Flyweight bout: Ye Thway Ne defeats Saw Thar Nge by Knockout (KO) at 3:50 minutes of round 1
Strawweight bout: Pongsiri Mitsatit defeats Jeremy Miado by TKO (Verbal Submission) at 4:23 minutes of round 2
Bantamweight bout: Saw Darwait defeats Sit Mhan by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 0:41 minutes of round 1
Bantamweight bout: Chen Lei defeats Burn Soriano by TKO (Strikes) at 1:06 minutes of round 2
Women’s strawweight bout: Miao Jie defeats Amira Hafizovic by Submission (Armbar) at 0:45 minutes of round 1
Lightweight bout: Zhang Ze Hao defeats Bala Shetty by TKO (Strikes) at 2:01 minutes of round 1
Women’s atomweight bout: Jomary Torres defeats Nita Dea by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
By: ARMANDO M. BOLISLIS
