ONE Championship Kicks Off ONE: HEROES OF HONOR in Manila with Press Conference
Asia’s premier
martial arts organization, ONE Championship, is back in Manila for its second
of four shows in 2018. In a press conference held at the Grand Ballroom of the
City of Dreams in Manila, the promotion kicked off its latest event, ONE:
HEROES OF HONOR, which is set for Friday, 20 April, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
In attendance were
Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship, Chatri Sityodtong, main event combatants
Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon of Baguio City, Philippines and Andrew Leone of
Cortland, New York, USA, global kickboxing superstar Giorgio “The Doctor”
Petrosyan and opponent ‘Smokin’ Jo Nattawut of Thailand, among others.
Belingon (17-5), who
is currently riding a four-bout winning streak, takes on former bantamweight
world title challenger Leone (8-3) in a contest with huge title implications.
Both Belingon and Leone are seeking a rematch against reigning ONE Bantamweight
World Champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes, but will have to go through each
other to secure it.
“I know Andrew Leone
is a tough opponent, and I need to be at my best to win. It’s going to be one
of my biggest matches to date,” said Belingon. “I am very thankful to ONE
Championship for allowing me to be a part of this historic event. I can’t leave
anything to chance. I have to give another great performance. Beating Leone
would be the next step to the title.”
Belingon’s opponent
Leone also knows what’s at stake in this matchup, and he isn’t taking the
Filipino lightly by any means.
“This is a tremendous
opportunity for me. I can’t wait to go up there and show what I can do, to
perform to the best of my ability,” said Leone. “Kevin Belingon is a tough guy.
He’s a hard puncher and he has power. But I’m not worried about his striking.
I’ve faced tough guys before. All I can say is that I’ll be ready.”
ONE: HEROES OF HONOR
also marks the world premiere of the highly-anticipated ONE Super Series.
Announced earlier this year, ONE Super Series aims to provide the world's best
martial artists a prestigious global platform to showcase the beauty of Asia's
striking arts such as Muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, taekwondo, Kung Fu, wushu,
sanda, silat, lethwei, and more.
“It’s an open
invitation to the greatest strikers in the world,” said Sityodtong. “Fans will
witness the absolute elite in striking martial arts, as they go head-to-head on
the biggest and most prestigious global stage of competition.”
With ONE Super
Series, ONE Championship is now considered the largest martial arts
organization in the world. While competing promotions do offer a similar
product, according to Sityodtong, they only offer one flavor of martial arts as
opposed to ONE Championship which hosts bouts across all styles of martial
arts.
“Aside from the many
great bouts this Friday night, what I’m most excited about is the launch of ONE
Super Series. ONE Championship is the only global player to encompass all
styles of martial arts,” said Sityodtong. “We have the best in all styles going
up against each other. That’s definitely something to look forward to.”
Making his appearance
in the co-main event of the evening, kickboxing elite Giorgio Petrosyan is
elated at his chance to leverage ONE Championship’s massive worldwide audience
reach. Broadcast to a potential 1.7 billion on any given night to over 136 countries
worldwide, ONE Super Series will harness the full potential of ONE
Championship’s global influence in order to highlight the greatest in striking
martial arts.
And while the
promotion is gearing up for a very busy mid-year, Sityodtong teases that there
are plenty more surprises to come, including the highly-anticipated launch of
ONE Championship’s new mobile app, slated to arrive in the coming months.
“The new ONE
Championship mobile app is a true game changer in the world of martial arts,”
said Sityodtong. “Soon, fans will have access to all our blockbuster live
events and complete library of Hi-Definition content in the palm of their
hands, all for free, and you can watch from anywhere in the world. It’s going
to take ONE Championship to the next level.”
Before the end of the
press conference, Sityodtong also revealed plans to establish a professional
boxing league in addition to ONE Super Series, inviting the greatest boxers
from the Philippines and around the world to join the promotion.
Also in attendance at
the press conference were main card competitors Honorio “The Rock” Banario of
Team Lakay, opponent Adrian “The Hunter” Pang of Australia, as well as various
ONE Championship athletes who mixed in with the crowd and participated in the
festivities.
ONE: HEROES OF HONOR
goes down this Friday, 20 April at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila,
Philippines. Gates open at 6:30 PM local time.
0 comments