Asia's biggest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion is returning to Indonesia for the first time in over a year for a Sept. 13, 2013 card which will be headlined by a ONE FC flyweight title fight between Japanese veterans Shinichi Kojima and Yasuhiro Urushitani.
The event is taking place at the 15,000 capacity Istoro Senayan and two undercard bouts were also announced today with Indonesian light heavyweight Vincent Majid (0-0) taking on Malaysia's Eugene Tan (1-1) and Indonesian bantamweight Stefer Rahardian (0-0) going up against Raymond Tan (1-0) from Malaysia.
Kojima (13-5-5) moved into immediate title contention when he won an eliminator against Rey Docyogen with a second round guillotine choke in Kuala Lumpur in January while Urushitani (20-6-6) is coming off a split decision win over the same opponent in Manila last month.
The two Japanese flyweights have faced each other twice previously while campaigning for Shooto. The two round fights in 2005 and 2007 both ended in a draw but with the ONE FC 125-pound title at stake this time they will be fighting for the full five rounds.
The undercard pits Malaysia against Indonesia in a sporting rivalry which is more commonly associated with badminton or soccer. Majid is a national Judo and submission grappling champion who is ranked top ten at his weight in Sambo while Rahardian fights out of the famous Synergy Academy where he trains under Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Niko Han.
Their Malaysian opponents are more experienced in MMA terms with Diaz having fought professionally for the two main promotions in the country, Ultimate Beatdown and Malaysia Fighting Championship. Tan has also fought for MFC and was set to participate in the ONE FC Bantamweight Grand Prix earlier this year before pulling out at the last minute with an injury.
With over three months to promote this particular show, ONE FC CEO Victor Cui confidently predicted that the stadium, which seats approximately three times as many people as the BritAma Arena which hosted his promotion's first foray into Jakarta, would be sold out,
"ONE FC will be back in Jakarta on September 13 with a stacked fight card that is sure to get the adrenaline pumping for the passionate Indonesian fight fans. This event is one of the largest sporting events in the history of Indonesia and features the two best flyweights in Asia squaring off with the first ONE FC Flyweight World Championship title belt on the line. More than 15,000 fans will pack out the Istora Senayan Stadium to witness the greatest sporting spectacle in the world."