Posts about: ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLD
Monday, November 6, 2017
A tough test awaits Roy “The Dominator” Doliguez in his third trip to the ONE Championship cage this 2017, but the Filipino veteran believes that he will be the roadblock to Joshua Pacio’s re-entry to the winner’s column.
Doliguez squares off with a fellow former world title contender like Pacio on the undercard of ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLD, which takes place at the 20,000-capacity SM Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines on Friday, 10 November.
Pacio is being touted by numerous cageside pundits as one of the most promising competitors in the sport today, owning an impressive 9-2 professional record with five wins by submission and three by knockout.
The 21-year-old Baguio City native is looking to place himself back on the winning track after yielding to Japanese prospect Hayato Suzuki last August, but it will not be an easy task against a seasoned combatant such as Doliguez.
Doliguez, who is also an ex-ONE Strawweight World Championship title challenger, scored the biggest win of his mixed martial arts career last September by stopping Brazilian stalwart Yago Bryan via third-round knockout.
Although he only has 11 matches as a mixed martial artist, Doliguez had a satisfactory run inside the boxing ring with 46 bouts it total.
During his stint as a boxer, Doliguez captured the WBO Asia Pacific light flyweight belt in September 2002 before he unsuccessfully challenged Fernando Montiel for the WBO super flyweight championship in January 2003.
When he transitioned to mixed martial arts in 2011, Doliguez aced six of his first seven assignments, defeating great local talents such as Leo Occena, Alvin Ramirez, Lito Adiwang, Franklin Donglay, Jerome Wanawan and rival Dennis Salazar.
Doliguez stressed that his experience will play a pivotal role in trumping Pacio in their three-round strawweight encounter at ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLD.
“My advantage coming into this fight is my experience. I’ve face the best both in the ring and in the cage. I am battle tested, and on November 10, my experience will have an important factor,” he said.
Knowing that Pacio has gone the distance once in his young career, Doliguez seeks to test his endurance.
“He has a bright future ahead of him, but this is a different territory for him. Meanwhile, I’m not new to this. I’ve been here before. If he wants to go full three rounds with me, I am ready. I am best in deep waters of the fight,” he stated.
Doliguez admitted that he is fully aware of who Pacio is and what he can bring inside the ONE Championship cage.
Despite the worthy praise that he has given Pacio, Doliguez is confident that he can handle the versatility of his Filipino foe.
“For this fight, I’ve trained as hard as ever. I have continued to improve my overall game. I’ve also worked on my ground skills, both offensively and defensively. I'm very excited to test these out in the cage in my upcoming bout against a talented fighter like Joshua Pacio,” he mentioned.
Even though the 35-year-old boxer from Malungon, Sarangani has his hands full at ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLD against Pacio, he is more fired up than ever to deliver a winning performance.
“People ask me why I am still competing at the age of 35, and I tell them that I just like to do it. I will go on as long as I can because I love martial arts. I love competing. I love training. This is my life,” Doliguez justified.
“Joshua Pacio is a human like me, and everyone is beatable. I always put that in my mind. That’s why I confident and focused. I know on November 10 that I will prevail over him,” he ended.
For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONECh ampionship.
Thursday, November 2, 2017
Kevin “Old Boy” Chung may be a fresh face to ONE Championship, but the promotional newcomer showed his immense talent and had an impressive debut this past June.
The 24-year-old Korean-American standout kicked off the main card of ONE: LIGHT OF A NATION with an exciting performance, defeating Chinese grappling ace Zhong Qing Ya via second-round technical knockout in their catchweight contest.
Chung got the job done in the second round, where he landed crisp punches and kicks from side control, and when Zhong turtled up, “Old Boy” took advantage of the position and delivered a pair of knees to the head.
It was all over from there as veteran referee Yuji Shimada stepped in and called a halt to the bout to award the stoppage victory to Chung.
Chung is taking the greatest risk of his budding young career in his next trip to the ONE Championship cage as he has an opportunity to establish himself as one of the premier bantamweights under the promotion’s banner.
In his upcoming bout, Chung is set to test his mettle with former world title contender Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon on the undercard of ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLD, which takes place at the 20,000-seater SM Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines on 10 November.
“I am super excited to visit the Philippines and put on a show. I know I am in his backyard, but I have no pressure on me like I did when I competed locally. It is going to be a wild night,” Chung said.
With a professional record of 16-5, Belingon is known as a fierce competitor with the ability to finish opponents in a variety of methods.
Moreover, the 29-year-old Baguio City native owns seven huge knockouts on his resume and is one of the most feared strikers in ONE Championship’s deep bantamweight division.
Although a mere glance at their records shows a sizeable gap in experience between the two bantamweights, Chung is confident in his own talent.
“To the common eye, it may be a mismatch on paper due to records and experience. But I am confident in my skills and feel like this is my time. Anything can happen, and I have the skills to finish him,” he stated.
Chung believes that great risks result to great rewards as a decisive win over Belingon could instantly catapult him into a championship clash with division kingpin Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes.
“I am not looking past Belingon and am just focused on the task at hand. However, when my hand is raised, I would like to challenge Bibiano Fernandes in Korea,” he expressed.
Like Chung, Belingon is looking to get a crack at Fernandes’ ONE Bantamweight World Championship once again, separating himself from the rest of the weight class’ pack with his three-bout winning streak.
Belingon aced his last three outings, dominating Tajikistan’s Muin Gafurov via unanimous decision in October of last year before stopping fellow title challengers Toni “Dynamite” Tauru and Reece “Lightning” McLaren in the first round earlier this year.
Even though Belingon has the upper hand in the striking department, Chung has no qualms when it comes to trading kicks and punches with the ferocious Filipino striker.
“A lot of people will look at us and say he has the striking advantage. But I have a slight height and reach advantage,” he explained.
“I feel like I can stand with him. A lot of guys do not believe they can and look to wrestle, but I think I can hurt him on the feet. It is a great feeling knowing that. If there is any point in the bout when I am in trouble, I know that I have other weapons to go to,” Chung added.
Chung asserted that he has a fair share of knowledge in terms of delivering blows from a toe-to-toe stance, but if the marquee match-up hits the canvas, he is prepared to exploit the Filipino foe’s perceived vulnerability.
“I know what his weaknesses are. I am sure he is working hard to correct that. Learning the proper mechanics of BJJ takes longer than a few months. Once we get in there and start throwing hands and it hits the ground, he is going to see that,” he mentioned.
With a gritty opposition in front of him, Chung stressed that he is motivated to shock the world at ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLD.
“It will be a barnburner, and I promise it will be the bout of the night. I wil
For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONECh ampionship.
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