One FC fight of Honorio Banario hangs

WITH barely few days before fight night, Honorio Banario’s supposed featherweight title fight was put on hold after some unresolved issues by his opponent.

Despite the setback, Kevin Belingon will still be included in the undercard as he squares off against Russian Top Team Fight Club Champion Yusup Saadulaev in a Grand Prix that will culminate in late 2013, when the finalists will contend for the prestigious ONE FC Bantamweight title.

The One FC event slated October 6 dubbed Rise of Kings will feature Melvin “No Mercy” Manhoef who will return to the ONE FC cage when he battles the Middleweight King of Pancrase Ryo “Rambo” Kawamura in what is sure to be a fight for the ages.

Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki and French Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Champion Arnaud “The Game” Lepont will also be the main event of the night for the highly anticipated Lightweight Super Fight when ONE FC heads back to Singapore Indoor Stadium.

One FC will also see the crowning of two World Champions with Brazilian submission expert Zorobabel “Zoro” Moreira takes on top Japanese Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) veteran Kotetsu Boku for the lightweight crown and BJJ World Champion Leandro Issa battles former RisingOn Champion Soo Chul Kim for the bantamweight championship.

The Lightweight and Bantamweight divisions of One FC are both incredibly stacked with the largest roster of Asian champions.

"Moreira, Boku, Issa and Kim have proven that they are the best and most exciting prospects in the divisions and we are giving them the chance to earn themselves a World Championship Title Belt,” said One FC CEO Victor Cui.

Cui added the fight night also features one of the most exiting fights in the Middleweight division with Melvin Manhoef set to face one of the best in the division when he squares off against Ryo Kawamura in what is expected to be a slug fest.

The Belingon–Saadulaev will also be part of the eight-man Bantamweight Grand Prix which kicks off with American MMA legend Jens Pulver taking on China’s rising star Zhao Ya Fei while Korean slugger Min Jung Song clashes with Japan’s very own Masakatsu Ueda.

Plus, Singaporean striker Bruce Loh will replace an injured Radeem Rahman at One FC: Rise of Kings. Loh will battle Malaysian submission specialist Gianni Subba in what should be a classic battle of styles. (Roderick Osis)