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Martial Combat 3 Report
Martial Combat
June 16th
Resorts World Sentosa
Jasor Ablasi vs Andrew Leone
Phillipines USA
Debut Debut
60 kg 60 kg
Both men are making their professional debut but have extensive amateur experience. They exchange kicks early one with Leone landing a sharp Muay Thai style leg kick and Ablasi narrowly missing with a Wushu Side kick.
Ablasi takes the fight to the ground and secures Leone’s back. He is looking for a rear naked choke but Leone is able to defend the submission and stand up. Ablasi manages to take Leone to the ground again and secures his back to sink in a rear naked choke which Leone is simply unable to escape from. Ablasi’s performance was particularly impressive given the wrestling credentials of his opponent and he looks to be a real prospect.
Winner:
Ablasi via rear naked choke after 1:02 minutes of round one.
Ian Bone vs Matt Delanoit
Australia USA
8-3 10-10
77kg 77kg
Ian Bone is one of the top MMA fighters in Australia but his opponent, Matt Delanoit, is hugely experienced and has been in there with some of the best in the business. Both men have flown in to Singapore especially for this fight and look in fantastic shape and ready to do battle in the Martial Combat cage.
The fight starts with an exchange of jabs but first blood goes to the American who lands a big right hand. He then works for a takedown but it is intelligently defended by the Australian. Delanoit pushes Bone up against the cage and eventually secures the takedown.
Delanoit scores with some ground and pound from inside Bone’s guard, Bone is attempting to defend himself but is simply unable to escape from a vulnerable position. Bone turns his back to try and escape and Delanoit lands a few hard knees to the body before securing his opponents back and sinking in the second rear naked choke of the night.
Delanoit via rear naked choke after 3:33 of round one
Zhang Jian Jun vs Robert Sothmann
China Canada
6-0 2-3
94 kg 94 kg
Both these fighters are based in China but Juan Jun has the more impressive credentials with an unbeaten MMA record. Jian Juan is making his second Martial Combat appearance after an impressive submission win against Abhijeet Petkar last month.
Jian Juan is more of a stand up fighter but it is Sothmann who comes out quickest landing a right leg kick. Jian Jun is stalking the Canadian and narrowly misses with a right head kick. Sothmann wastes little time in taking Jian Jun down but Jian Jun goes for a guillotine choke from the botttom which appears to be sunk in deep.
Sothman looks in deep trouble but shows great heart to hang in there and is eventually able to pop his head out and go for a submission of his own. Jian Jun effectively defends the kimura attempt but Sothmann switches strategy and elects to throw strikes instead. He lands a vicious barrage of ground and pound strikes which leaves the referee with no option but to intervene and stop the fight.
Sothmann via ground and pound after 1:47 of round one.
Joe Ray vs Zorobabel Moreira
USA Singapore
2-0 3-0
77kg 77kg
This eagerly awaited match up has caught the attention of the worldwide MMA media, eager to get a glimpse of highly rated youngster Joe Ray. He came up against Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and ground fighting specialist Zorobabel Moreira with both fighter’s unbeaten records on the line.
Moreira looks to be the bigger of the two men and the Singapore based Brazilian has a partisan home crowd behind him. Ray lands an enormous overhand right seconds into the round to knock his Moreira out cold. An incredible performance from the youngster who has a really bright future in the sport. Moreira takes a long time to recover but is eventually able to leave the cage on his feet and gets a round of applause for his efforts. Expect to see this highlight reel knock out being replayed all over the internet for years to come.
Joe Ray via knock out after 14 seconds of round one
Aaron Steele vs Jong Man Kim
USA Korea
14-8 34-9-3
64 kg 64kg
Two hugely experienced fighters with 13 years of pro MMA experience between them. Man Kim is a K-1 and Shooto veteran and has fought at a slightly higher level than Steele.
The fight is scheduled for five rounds with a Martial Combat belt on the line and starts at a slow pace with both men looking to preserve their energy for the latter rounds. The Sentosa Resort World Audience have been spoiled with a night of all action blockbuster fights and soon grows restless at the lack of action.
Both fighters fight in sporadic bursts in tentative early exchanges. Steele is the busier of the two landing a few sharp leg kicks and Man Kim spends the majority of the second round on his back.
It appears that this might be a strategy on behalf of the Korean who explodes into action in round three with some vicious combinations of punches and a few leg kicks of his own. Steele survives the onslaught but the tide seems to have turned in the Korean’s favour.
With both men visibly tiring Steele regains the initiative in round four with a well executed takedown. The action has slowed substantially but Steele is able to keep the Korean on his back while landing enough shots to deter the referee from standing them up. Man Kim delights the crowd by reversing the position late in the round and landing a few shots from on top of Steele but it is probably too little too late to actually win the round.
Both men are exhausted and reluctant to exchange in the fifth and final round. Steele seems on course for a decision victory in what has been a fairly uneventful fight. Then, with less than a minute remaining, Man Kim sends Steele crashing to the canvass and unleashes a relentless assault on the American forcing the referee to call a halt to the contest with barely 30 seconds remaining. What drama!
Man Kim via TKO after 4:25 of the fifth round
Wins Martial Combat Featherweight Superfight Belt
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James Goyder
MMA Journalist
South East Asia
www.jamesgoyder.com
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