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DREAM Champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes is ranked amongst the best bantamweight fighters in the world. Training out of AMC Pankration, Fernandes is well-known as an astounding athlete. Fernandes’ seemingly never-ending gas tank, explosive take-downs and lighting fast strikes have garnered him a huge fan base amongst Asian and international fans alike. In his ongoing quest for global Bantamweight supremacy, Fernandes will now take on Asia’s best on ONE FC.

CFC Champion Gustavo Falciroli is a second degree BJJ black belt and one of the most accomplished ground fighters in Australia. The reigning Cage Fighting Championship (CFC) Bantamweight Champion, Falciroli recently made his ONE FC debut in Jakarta, convincingly defeating top Korean bantamweight prospect Soo Chul Kim via rear-naked choke in the second minute of the first round. He has since made a name for himself in the local and international MMA scene, making him one of the most popular Australian fighters today.

This fight sees the top bantamweight fighter in Australia going up against the top Brazilian bantamweight fighter in a battle for Asian supremacy. Both men are BJJ black belt world champions and have won numerous competitions at both national and international levels. In his last eight fights, Fernandes won the DREAM Bantamweight and Featherweight Grand Prix, earning him the championship in both weight classes. His Australian opponent, Falciroli, has also battled his way to prominence in his home country, holding the prestigious CFC Australian Bantamweight title.

When two expert grapplers meet in the cage, the fight often ends up being decided on their feet because of the respect each fighter has for his opponent’s grappling skills. Both men possess knock out power in their fists and unrivalled cardio, so expect an extremely entertaining and high octane fight as both fighters seek bantamweight supremacy in Asia. This is one of the most eagerly anticipated bantamweight fights in the history of Asian MMA between two champions who rank amongst the best in the world.

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Eduard Folayang is a legend in the Philippines where he is universally regarded as MMA's equivalent to boxing phenomenon Manny Pacquiao. A former school teacher, he is the URCC Welterweight Champion and has entered the ONE FC cage twice, on both occasions emerging with Fight of the Night honors. In Folayang’s most recent fight in March, many felt that he had done enough to win after a controversial split decision loss to Ole Laursen, but true to form he maintained a dignified silence while training even harder under the tutelage of coach Mark Sangiao at Team Lakay in Baguio. Folayang is renowned for his cardio and can fight at full pace for three whole rounds if he needs to. A humble, respectful man, Folayang refuses to train on Sundays and will never have a bad word to say about any opponent, but once the fight starts he brings raw aggression into the cage.

Each time Felipe Enomoto has entered into the ONE FC cage, he has been the underdog. Even after beating Folayang’s nemesis, Ole Laursen, in February, the fans were not cheering his name when he fought Zorobabel Moreira in Singapore just a month later. Facing another home crowd hero in the Philippines will be a repeat of this and Enomoto will undoubtedly be looking to silence the crowd with a decisive victory in the early rounds. Enomoto has established a reputation as being one of the toughest and most durable fighters in Asia who always leaves it all in the cage. Any fight which involves Enomoto is going to be a treat for MMA fans.

These two warriors are already firm favourites of the ONE FC crowd because they will never back down from a toe to toe battle. Folayang is an accomplished Wushu fighter who brings unadulterated aggression and has the stamina to keep coming at opponents for the whole three rounds. Enomoto's style is more conventional but what these two fighters both have in common is their incredible heart. Enomoto showed against Laursen that he has the power and speed to stop absolutely any fighter in the world with a single strike or submission attempt. For Enomoto this fight is make or break, he needs to prove his critics wrong and if he doesn’t do it at ONE FC: Pride of a Nation, he may never get another chance. For Folayang this is simply the biggest fight of his night, 16,500 fans will be cheering for him in Manila and for this passionate Filipino champion, losing is simply not an option.

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One of the most imposing fighters to ever compete in MMA is former UFC Heavyweight Champion and Belarusian native Andrei “The Pit Bull” Arlovski. Once considered the No. 1 Heavyweight in the world and the bona fide “Baddest Man On The Planet”, Arlovski was an unstoppable force who seemed to relish knocking his opponents senseless. Early in his career, Arlovski relied heavily on his Russian Sambo grappling base and won some of his early fights by submission. But now, he is famed for being one of the fastest heavyweight strikers in the world and boasts an extensive highlight reel of knockouts. To make matters worse for his prospective opponents, Arlovski now works on his boxing with legendary boxing trainer Freddie Roach, who also coaches Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao.

One of the most frightening figures the MMA world has ever witnessed in cage-fighting action is Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia. Towering at over two meters tall, this brute of a man poses a serious threat to every heavyweight fighter in the world. Apart from the fact that he could crush an ordinary man’s skull with his hand, Sylvia has fought 38 times, won the UFC Heavyweight Championship twice, knocked out 20 opponents and has fought the very best fighters in the world. Sylvia’s unusual combination of size and quickness has ushered in a new era of monstrous, weight cutting heavyweights who seek total domination of their smaller counterparts.

These two men absolutely despise each other. Their heated rivalry first sparked in 2005 when Arlovski submitted Sylvia for the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship. The inevitable rematch a year later saw Sylvia knock Arlovski out in the very first round to take away his heavyweight crown. Two months later, the two men were at each other other’s throats again in a battle that ended with Sylvia out-striking Arlovski for the unanimous decision victory. The rivalry developed into an extremely personal affair when it was reported that Sylvia had gotten together with Arlovski’s ex-girlfriend, adding a whole new dimension to the trash-talking and name calling by the rivals. On 31 August, they will get one more chance to rip each other apart, in a very personal way.

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For Eric Kelly, putting on an electrifying show for the fans and protecting his national pride are the only things that matter. A man who has led a humble and modest life in Baguio, Philippines, Kelly is tremendously nationalistic and always dedicates his victories to his family and his country. Kelly is a passionate fighter who can always be counted on to bring the fight to his opponent, making him an immediate fan favourite. With a background in Yaw Yan Kickboxing and Jiu Jitsu, Kelly is an opportunistic fighter who is always looking for chinks in his opponent’s armour. Not only is Kelly the reigning URCC Featherweight Champion but he has remained undefeated throughout his MMA career, making him one of the most dominant fighters in the featherweight division.

Jens Pulver grew up in a venomous environment which would have crippled any ordinary man’s spirit, a daily hell which revolved around abuse, poverty and violence. From this brutal upbringing rose a man who was forced to overcome his demons and subsequently dedicate his life to being the best MMA fighter in the world. After a meteoric rise to eventually become the first ever Lightweight World Champion in the UFC, Pulver is now revered as a legend of the sport, and is best known for ripping his opponents apart with his technical boxing. Come 31 August, Pulver will look to spoil his Filipino’s opponent’s homecoming and vaporise his unbeaten streak.

Will Kelly be capable of toppling a living legend of the sport? Or will Pulver knock him out with his famous left hook? Regardless of the outcome, this fight is assured to be one of the most talked about fights of the night as two of the most exciting featherweight fighters in the world clash in the ONE FC cage. With careers, national pride and future championships at stake, this will be the most important fight of both their careers.

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Rolles Gracie is physically the largest and most intimidating member of the legendary Gracie family. Standing at a colossal 1.93 meters tall, and weighing in at close to 120kg, this man’s sheer size and strength could crush an ordinary man’s skull in a heartbeat. That said, this giant is incredibly flexible and holds a BJJ black belt, garnering all of his MMA victories by submission. As a proud member of the Gracie family, Rolles has been criticized for relying too heavily on his high-level BJJ to win in MMA. However, in his last fight at ONE FC, Rolles demonstrated that he truly is an MMA fighter, by viciously taking his opponent down and raining powerful punches and elbows to end the fight in devastating fashion.

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali once said, “Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think you are”. Australian MMA fighter Tony Bonello is a living testament of this saying. At 39 years of age, Bonello is one of the most experienced and respected veterans of the sport. Bonello was the first ever Australian fighter to win an MMA belt on American soil, when he defeated his opponent to become the first ever KOTC Middleweight World Champion in 2003. During his undefeated streak, spanning an impressive 17 fights, Bonello also took home the KOTC Light Heavyweight and Cruiserweight World Championship belts. Bonello utilized a decade worth of BJJ training to not just win multiple black belt BJJ tournaments, but also to submit 14 of his 21 opponents in an outstanding MMA career that saw him only defeated once.

This fight sees two powerful heavyweights go head to head in what is sure to be a fight for the ages. It is often the case that when two highly skilled grapplers face off, the fight ends up being decided in a stand-up brawl featuring an exchange of knockout blows. This bout guarantees hard-hitting action and high-octane ferocity as these two highly-skilled fighters meet in the centre of the cage on 31 August.

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Standing just outside the ONE FC cage roaring instructions at Rolles and Gregor Gracie as they battled in previous events, was none other than their brother, Igor Gracie. After watching his brothers make names for themselves in ONE FC, Igor will finally be making his own ONE FC debut in Manila. A master strategist, Igor has a 2nd degree black belt in BJJ, and has been awarded various medals at national and international BJJ tournaments. Having fought in other prominent MMA promotions across North America, Igor has never ever been finished in his entire career and has only fallen short of victory twice by hard-fought decisions. Igor is armed to the teeth with a plethora of submission manoeuvres, and will unquestionably utilize his extensive arsenal to surprise and dominate his opponent.

Jung Hwan Cha is a Korean MMA veteran who is relatively unknown to the Western MMA aficionados. However in South Korea, Cha is national hero, most notably after knocking out rival Japanese fighter Ryo Chonan, who famously submitted pound-for-pound king Anderson Silva back in 2004. Cha is well aware of Igor Gracie’s famed family legacy, and will avoid going to the ground at any cost. This will be an incredibly strategic fight for Cha, as he faces the uphill task of outplaying one of the most intelligent minds in modern MMA. Having fought most of his career in Korea, this will be the epoch of his career as he seeks to make a name for himself amongst the top welterweights in Asia.

With no defeat ever coming by way of submission, Igor will want to take the fight to the ground quickly to secure his fifth consecutive submission win. His opponent, Cha, will want avoid this at all costs, and utilize his strong takedown defence and devastating power to knock out the grappling maestro. This classic striker vs grappler matchup epitomises the concept that gave birth to mixed martial arts a decade ago – to let two martial artists of vastly different skillsets meet in the cage and find out which is superior.

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Prior to joining ONE FC, Kevin Belingon has systematically dismantled every opponent he faced, accumulating for himself a remarkable 9-0 undefeated record. However, he was given his first career loss to the deadly master of leg locks, Masakazu Imanari, at ONE FC: War of the Lions in March, and is hoping to bounce back from that loss in front of an audience made up predominantly by his ardent supporters on 31 August. Belingon trains alongside fellow Filipino champions at Team Lakay and has armed himself with an arsenal of moves that has made him a force to be reckoned with in the cage. Powerful in his striking, swift in his submissions and driven with superb conditioning, Belingon will stop at nothing to prove that he is the top bantamweight in Asia.

Soo Chul Kim is not one to ever turn down a fight, regardless of who the opponent is. At his MMA debut in 2010, Kim was shoved straight into the limelight with a title fight against DEEP and Shooto veteran Yasuhiro Kanayama. Kim defied all odds by submitting his vastly more experienced opponent in the very first round to win the RisingOn Featherweight Championship. Known for throwing unique strikes like athletic flying knees and spinning elbows, Kim is well-known in the Asian MMA circuit as a thoroughly entertaining fighter who takes on all his opponents with a smile on his face and fire in his fists. Having lost his last two ONE FC bouts against two of the top bantamweight fighters in Asia, Kim will love nothing more than to knock Kevin Belingon out in front of the Filipino crowd.

These two aggressive, exciting young fighters are fully capable of fighting at full throttle till the final bell sounds. Belingon’s passionate home crowd support may prove to be both an advantage and an additional pressure that he must harness to win or succumb to the battle-hungry Korean. For Kim, this fight will be the most important fight of his ONE FC career as another loss could spell the end of it. Both fighters cannot afford to walk out of this fight vanquished, and the stakes are high as they step in the cage to curb their opponent’s ambitions on the largest stage in Asian MMA.

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A protégé of the legendary Renzo Gracie, Gregor brings an extremely versatile grappling skill set into the cage in his third appearance at ONE FC. Gregor will be the first of the three Gracies to enter the ONE FC cage on 31 August, and will look to start the night with a bang. Having his four-fight win streak snapped recently in his fight against Adam Kayoom in Kuala Lumpur, Gregor will do all he can to bring his third ONE FC bout to an authoritative close in the early rounds to show that he is still one of the most feared grapplers in the world.

Gregor’s opponent is none other than the proud holder of the URCC Light Heavyweight belt, Nicholas Mann. Having piled up a convincing four-fight win streak, Mann will be supremely confident as he enters the ONE FC cage. With black belts in Hapkido and Taekwondo, he is a thoroughbred striker who possesses an unrivalled killer instinct. As the proud owner of the URCC Championship belt, Mann will have the passionate Filipino home crowd firmly behind him as he enters the cage with every intention to sour the Brazilian’s comeback by knocking him out.

Mann will need to keep this fight standing if he wants to avoid getting dominated on the ground by Gregor, who is one of the most accomplished grapplers in MMA. Gregor has displayed some impressive wrestling in recent fights but has shown a tendency to fade in the later rounds. Mann will want to capitalise on his opponent’s weakness to keep his win streak intact and will need to be in top form if he wants to take a scalp off one of MMA's royal family. This fight will be a battle of wills as two high-level fighters face off with the expectation that only one will leave the cage a victor.

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It is a known fact that Rodrigo Ribeiro is one of the best and most experienced BJJ fighters in Asia to ever fight in the ONE FC cage. A third degree BJJ black belt, Ribeiro first made a name for himself in Brazil by dominating and submitting dozens of opponents on his way to winning national and regional BJJ tournaments. Unlike many BJJ wizards who have failed to cross over into MMA, Ribeiro found it within himself to step up to the challenge and pursue his dream to be an MMA champion. Since he began training with Muay Thai World Champions at the Evolve Fight Team in Singapore, he has added a plethora of striking combinations to his arsenal of skills.

Over the course of his illustrious 12-year career in MMA, Phil Baroni has faced some of the toughest opponents in the world. Renowned for his one-punch knockout power, Baroni is one of the hardest punchers to ever compete in MMA. But it’s not just his hard-hitting firsts that the fans come to see. His brash, cocky and charismatic personality, flashy leather jackets and inimitable swagger down the fighter’s entrance makes him one of the biggest showmen in MMA. Love him or hate him, “The New York Bad Ass” always brings an indomitable fighting spirit and flair to the cage, so prepare for fireworks.

True to form, Baroni has loudly declared his insatiable hunger to get back to his winning ways by knocking Ribeiro out. He will be pushing the pace from the opening bell and driving Ribeiro against the cage with force. Ribeiro will likely want to take Baroni to the ground and become only the third fighter ever to submit Baroni. Both men are coming off losses and could be fighting with their ONE FC futures on the line. Expect them to leave it all in the cage in front of the 16,500 screaming fans in Manila as they clash on the largest stage in Asian MMA.

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Every man wants to be him, and every woman wants to be with him. With a chiseled physique accompanied by boyish good looks, Mitch Chilson could easily have pursued a career in acting or modelling. But the path of a true warrior is seldom chosen based on the easiest career path available. A dedicated fighter at heart, he chose instead to dedicate his life to perfecting the various martial art forms. Chilson is an instructor at Evolve MMA in Singapore and is in fact one of the only seven non-Thai Muay Thai instructors in the world. In the cage, Chilson utilises impressive footwork, punishing leg kicks and an extremely high work rate to make him one of the most feared featherweight fighters in Asia today.

At just 23 years old, Shannon Wiratchai has been considered a diamond in the rough for MMA. As one of the very few Thai fighters to aggressively pursue the sport of MMA, he will be the youngest fighter from Thailand to fight in the ONE FC cage. Wiratchai is an expert in an ancient Chinese martial art, Baguazhang, and also has a Brown Belt in Judo. Known as an entertaining fighter, Wiratchai can often be seen smiling or even laughing during fights despite being in the heat of battle. The charismatic fighter has a big fan following in Thailand who will be sure to watch him in action at ONE FC: Pride of a Nation.

This fight will be a fast-paced war with both fighters willing to stand toe to toe to look for an early knockout. For Wiratchai, making a successful debut on Asia’s largest MMA stage will propel his budding MMA career and maybe even put MMA in Thailand back into the regional spotlight. Chilson is coming off a decisive victory in Kuala Lumpur but he needs another clear win in Manila to entrench his position in the ONE FC featherweight division. Both fighters know the stakes are high as they step into the cage and nothing will stop them from giving their all to achieve what is most important tonight – a clear and impressive victory. Blink, and you might miss one of the most incredible finishes of the night.

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Andrew Benibe’s key to success in MMA has been his ability to remain technical even when fighting at an extremely high pace. Tenacious and tough, he has the ability to remain incredibly calm under fire. Benibe is an excellent striker with heavy hands and likes to use his leg kicks to methodically wear down the base of his opponent. He is set to go up against fellow Filipino, URCC Lightweight Champion Honorio Banario, in the opening fight of ONE FC: Pride of a Nation. Benibe knows that a decisive win against Banario would instantly catapult him into serious contention as one of the top featherweight fighters in Asia, and he has no intention of letting this opportunity slip by.

But beating one of Team Lakay’s rising stars is no easy task. Banario is a Wushu expert who is renowned for his incredible conditioning and dangerous submissions, with five of his six wins coming by way of submission. Banario possesses lethal power in his strikes and enjoys utilizing Wushu techniques to destroy his opponents. Fast, agile and skillful, Banario’s career is highlighted by an acrobatically executed flying KO kick to the head that laid his opponent flat on his back unconscious and got the audience up on their feet, screaming in appreciation.

As the opening fight for the night, these fighters can expect to get the full energy of the passionate Filipino crowd as they step into the cage to make it a night to remember. Both fighters are already familiar faces to the Filipino fight fans and their evenly matched all-round skills and the fact that neither of them has ever been to a decision, are well known. With both fighters equipped with well-honed striking skills and incredible cardio endurance, expect this fight to be a high-level display of brilliantly executed strikes that will be a treat for MMA fans in SMART ARANETA Coliseum and those tuning in to catch the action from around the world. No one expects this opening fight to go to a decision.