ONE FC impressed the packed crowd in attendance at Istora Senayan for ONE FC: Champions & Warriors. Fans were treated to a night of exhilarating action, culminating in a clash of two of the best strikers in the lightweight division, Kotetsu Boku and Vuyisile Colossa.
CEO of ONE Fighting Championship Victor Cui stated, “ONE FC put on another night of exciting world class MMA action that captivated the Indonesian audience and the millions of viewers around the world. Local heroes emerged while international stars staked their claims for a title opportunity with impressive finishes. ONE FC: CHAMPIONS & WARRIORS proved to be a resounding success and ONE FC will be back in Indonesia very soon.”
The main event was a standup battle. The opening stanza saw Vuyisile Colossa land several leg kicks while former ONE FC Lightweight World Champion Kotetsu Boku regularly switched stances to land several big punches. The second round was largely dominated by Colossa whose devastating leg kicks and precise punches had Boku retreating on several occasions. Colossa landed a devastating barrage of elbows and knees in the third round, but the resilient Boku fought hard to survive the onslaught and made it out of the round. The judges awarded the unanimous decision victory to Colossa, who will surely be moving up the ranks in the Lightweight division with a win over the former titleholder.
In the co-main event of the evening, Dutch-Indonesian striker Vincent Latoel showed off his grappling abilities when he submitted Willy Ni of the Netherlands. Both fighters came out swinging and after an intense back-and-forth scramble, the opportunistic Vincent Latoel squeezed in a guillotine choke that saw Willy Ni tap out in the first round.
The three representatives of the famed Evolve MMA Fight Team in Singapore also staked their respective title claims in the Light Heavyweight, Featherweight and Flyweight divisions. Jake Butler demonstrated his signature wrestling skills as he pulled off two successive suplexes against James Kouame. He advanced from the slam to secure an arm triangle and extend his winning streak in ONE FC to three. Bruno Pucci also won via submission in the first round as the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt defeated Bashir Ahmad via rear naked choke. Almiro Barros had to work harder as he smothered Australian Kian Pham to a three round unanimous decision.
The night also saw one of the most electrifying knockouts of the year. Heavyweight monolith and kickboxing champion Alain Ngalani wasted little time in his mixed martial arts debut. He displayed remarkable speed when he knocked out Egyptian boxing champion Mahmoud Hassan in less than a minute in the first round with a spinning heel kick that will go down as a huge favourite for knockout of the year.
Indonesia’s own hometown warriors, Max Metino and Vincent Majid, emerged with key victories in front of the raucous hometown audience. Metino received a standing ovation when he walked out and the crowd roared at his every move. He managed to control most of the first round by taking Long Sophy down. After a takedown in the second round, the grappling specialist earned the submission victory via keylock. National Judo champion Majid was knocked down early by his opponent Eugenio Tan, but managed to turn it into a dominant position and finished his opponent with the same submission as Metino.
