MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / June 3, 2013) – Japan’s mixed martial arts fighter Koji Oishi has defeated Filipino champion Honorio Banario taking away his featherweight title during the ONE Fighting Championship: Rise to Power bouts held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila.
Oishi, 36, won in a dramatic knockout, but Banario’s fans were disappointed over his devastating defeat.
According to the official ONE FC report, the fights were one of its largest events in history and 20,000 fans were treated to a night of unforgettable inside the famed ONE FC cage.
It said the first round was a back-and-forth slugfest that put the packed crowd on its feet. In the second stanza, Oishi landed a right hook that dropped Banario and silenced the crowd. Oishi instinctively jumped on his foe and finished the fight with several punches. The crowd went wild as Oishi was crowned the new ONE FC Featherweight World Champion.
In the co-main event of the night, Bibiano Fernandez was crowned ONE FC Interim Bantamweight World Champion by defeating Koetsu Okazaki via unanimous decision. Fernandez utilized his clinch takedowns and superior grappling to remain in control of his opponent for most of the fight. The victory adds another title to Fernandez’ already impressive list of accolades and extends his winning streak to six.
It said the fans in attendance at MOA Arena also witnessed history as Masakatsu Ueda was crowned the first ever ONE FC Bantamweight Grand Prix champion.
The bout featured back-and-forth action that earned it fight-of-the-night honors. Ueda nearly finished Belingon in both the first and second round with submission attempts, and imposed his superior grappling skills against the explosive Belingon in all three rounds to earn a unanimous decision victory. (Mark Navales)
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