Sylvia being carried by his former Miletich Fighting Systems teammates after capturing the UFC heavyweight championship from Ricco Rodriguez at UFC 41 on Feb. 28, 2003. Photo credit: Joel Gold

By ONE FC (via press release)

08 April 2013 – Singapore: ONE Fighting Championship™ (ONE FC), presented by Casino Filipino and in association with Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC), announced today three undercard bouts for ONE FC: RISE TO POWER. Up and coming Lowen Tynanes will battle the seasoned Felipe Enomoto while MMA veteran Tim Sylvia is back in action against Tony Johnson and fan favorite Ryan Diaz will take on Russian ace Yusup Saadulaev. All the action takes place live on 31 May from the MOA Arena in Manila, Philippines.

As a young MMA fighter, Lowen Tynanes has already made a big impression by winning fights against top opponents in the Philippines, Japan and Malaysia. The high school wrestling champion silenced the home-crowd in Manila by incapacitating crowd-favorite Eduard Folayang with a vicious elbow which caused the doctor to instantly stop the fight. In his last outing at ONE FC, Tynanes also defeated Hong Kong-based South African fighter Vuyisile Colossa via rear naked choke. A proud American, he loves nothing better than to travel to Asia to take on the best local fighters in their own back yards. Tynanes is once again looking forward to showcasing his skills when he takes on Swiss-Japanese fighter Felipe Enomoto.

Each time Felipe Enomoto has entered into the ONE FC cage, he has been the underdog. This time, it is no different. Having established a reputation as being one of the toughest and most durable fighters in Asia who always leaves it all in the cage, Enomoto will undoubtedly be looking to silence the crowd with a decisive victory in the early rounds. Any fight which involves Enomoto is going to be a treat for MMA fans because this fighter never backs down no matter who the opponent is or which round he’s in.

One of the most frightening figures the MMA world has ever witnessed in combat sports 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. Sylvia has fought over 30 times, won numerous championships and knocked out countless opponents. 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. Sylvia is looking for a spectacular KO when he squares off against Tony Johnson on 31 May.

Tony Johnson is an imposing heavyweight fighter. Considered a top prospect in the heavyweight division, Johnson is famed for being one of the fastest strikers in the division and is currently on a two fight win streak. At ONE FC: RISE TO POWER, he will be looking to make an impressive debut in the famed ONE FC cage.

Ryan Diaz has been training in MMA for over ten years and already has thirteen professional wins to his name. Over a long career, Diaz continues to perfect his background in BJJ, Muay Thai and boxing. He possesses incredible power and strength. Diaz is much more experienced of the two fighters and will be looking to use his strength to overpower his Russian opponent and return to the USA victorious. After 2 outings in the ONE FC cage, Russian wrestler Saadulaev is still searching for his first ONE FC victory and will enter the cage for the third time with the determination to prevent a Diaz win at all costs.

Tickets for ONE FC: RISE TO POWER on 31 May are exclusively available at Casino Filipino outlets nationwide. Refer towww.onefc.com/tickets for details.

Fans from around the world can witness the action online via live streaming at www.onefc.livesport.tv.

The first three undercard fights are available for viewing free-of-charge and the main card fights will be available for purchase at just US$9.99.

ONE FC: RISE TO POWER is headlined  by a ONE FC Featherweight World Championship bout between reigning champion Honorio “The Rock” Banario against number one contender Koji Oishi and pound-for-pound king Bibiano Fernandes taking on Koetsu Okazaki for the ONE FC Bantamweight Interim Title.  All the action takes place live from the MOA Arena in Manila, Philippines.

By Joshua Molina
So-called “soccer kicks” should not be allowed in MMA anymore.
Soccer kicks were once a hallmark of Pride Fighting Championships, and have recently been revived by One FC, a Singapore-based mixed martial arts company.

One FC on Friday promoted a mega show featuring former UFC champs Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia.

It was the fourth “epic” matchup between these two fighters, who are both well past their primes.

The fight ended after Arlovski dropped Sylvia with a right hand and then kicked him in the head a couple of times with his left foot while Sylvia was down, forcing the referee to stop the fight.

The referee, however, declared the fight a “No Contest” because Arlovski used the soccer kicks before it was legally OK for him to kick a fighter while down.
In One FC, the referee must somehow signal that a fighter can proceed with a soccer kick.

Regardless of the rules, and Arlovski’s mistake, allowing soccer kicks in the modern day world of MMA seems unnecessary and borderline unsportsmanlike. How can a fighter, already dazed from a punch, defend himself from a brutal kick to the head? Gravity is not on your side.

Take the case of Roger Huerta at One FC’s show in June. The former UFC and Bellator fighter was kicked unconscious, in a scene that would make anyone sick if they saw it.

From a fan perspective, soccer kicks can be exciting. They usually lead to knockouts. And one downside to modern mixed martial arts is the rise in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners who coast on their backs to run out the time or lay on their backs and wait, like a spider, to capture their opponents in armbar or triangle choke.

Can you imagine what would have happened had Fedor Emelianenko been allowed to soccer kick Fabricio Werdum in San Jose, California in 2010? Fedor dropped Werdum with a right hand, but as he leaned in to try to KO with him with another right, Werdum, a black belt in Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu, grabbed his arm and choked him out with a triangle choke. Had Fedor been able to soccer kick him, the fight would have been over and Fedor’s future would have turned out entirely different.

But those aren’t the rules. Soccer kicks, thankfully, are not allowed in the UFC, Strikeforce or Bellator.

It’s just unfair to allow one fighter to kick another fighter while down. There’s no art or skill to that. That’s purely primal – and MMA should be a battle of talents among multiple disciplines, not a showcase of cowardly head kicks.

Last night was supposed to be the big battle between Jon Jones and Dan Henderson.
Instead, what we got was Jones mouthing off again about Henderson. Henderson injured his knee and was forced to withdraw from the fight. Chael Sonnen agreed to fight Jones – on eight days notices – but Jones, refused to fight him. Jones’ refusal led to Dana White vilifying Jones, questioning his manhood and courage, and ultimately canceling the show.

Jones over weekend said that he had considered paying the purses to the fighters who lost money with the cancelation of the show, but that he changed his mind when he read that the undercard fighters were saying bad things about him.

Then, Jones in response to a tweet from an MMA fan who said “I have no plans tonight” thanks to Jon Jones, said this: “Thanks to the old man and his knee I don’t either.”Actually Jones would have plans had he accepted Sonnen’s challenge. And to call Dan Henderson an old man is just disrespectful.

When Sonnen, the sport’s best trash talker, talks about his opponents, it’s in character and everyone knows that. It’s part of the Sonnen persona that he is created. When Jones says things like that, it is disrespectful and mean. Jones clearly believes his own hype.

Will Jon Jones be fighting when he is 42 years old?

Contact reporter Joshua Molina at jmolina@fcfighter.com. Or follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/JoshuaMolinaMMA

Andrei Arlovski (top) is one of several big names on tomorrow's ONE FC card

By Joshua Molina

One FC is the home to a legends match tomorrow between Andrei Arlovski, once considered in the same league as Fedor Emelianenko, and Tim Sylvia, who two months ago was rumored to be fighting Daniel Cormier in Strikeforce.

The fight takes place in the Philippines, in what isn’t even billed as the main event.

It’s do or die for both fighters in this special attraction.

The two have already fought three times, with Sylvia winning two of the three fights.

Both fighters are well past their primes, but the winner could position himself for another big payday somewhere.

Arlovski was on a roll before he was KO’d by Fedor Emelianenko, which led to a series of knockout losses against lower level fighters. Arlovski is a scary competitor, with his fake fangs on his mouthpiece, but, like many MMA fighters, cannot take a punch.

Sylvia, who never looks like he spends a lot time in the gym, was once famously KO’d by an old Ray Mercer, former boxing champion, in nine seconds

Let’s hope this is the last fight between these two, both of whom have nothing to prove by fighting one another.

One man who does have something to prove, however, is Phil Baroni, who is also fighting on the One FC card. Baroni, known as “The New York Bad Ass,” looks like a million dollars, but has a record of 14-15 in mixed martial arts. With a record like that, if he were a pro boxer, he would be done. In MMA, he has a few fights left.

Baroni, who once tested positive for steroid use, has survived in MMA this long on his looks, charisma and flashy entrances. Like many fighters reaching the final stages of their careers, Baroni promises that he has turned his life around, has better stamina than in previous fights, and won’t lose anymore.

Baroni will take on Rodrigo Ribeiro, in a fight that promises to be a major challenge for Baroni.

The card streams live on pay per view at www.onefc.com.