ONE FC will be returning to Singapore in October for a card which will be headlined by a bantamweight unification bout between Soo Chul Kim and Bibiano Fernandes. The Korean currently holds the regular title while the Brazilian is the interim champion.
The show will be entitled ONE FC: "Total Domination" and is set for the 12,000 capacity Singapore Indoor Stadium on October 18th. It will be the third time that Kim has fought in this venue while Fernandes will be competing in the country where Asia's biggest MMA promotion is headquartered for the first time.
Kim (7-4) is riding a three-fight win streak which culminated with the win over Leandro Issa last October, which saw him crowned ONE FC's inaugural bantamweight champion. Fernandes (14-3) has won his last six and won the interim belt by outpointing Koetsu Okazaki in May, he is also the former DREAM 145-pound champion and the reigning DREAM 135-pound champion.
While Fernandes, who is also a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion, has established himself as the most dominant bantamweight in Asia, he is 12 years older than the Korean and Kim, who has always been a fearless fighter, feels that he has what it takes to shock fight fans by beating the Brazilian.
It will have been exactly a year since Kim first won the belt but he has spent the majority of the intervening months on the sidelines due to a separated shoulder. The 21 year old has been back in training since May, but did not recover in time to take on Fernandes in Manila, hence ONE FC's decision to hand out an interim title.
ONE FC: "Champions & Warriors" is next on the agenda, taking place at the Istora Senayan Stadium in Jakarta on September 13th. It is one of five cards which the promotion will reportedly be putting on in Asia between now and the end of the year.
2014 will be even busier with 24 events set to take place in Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong as well as further cards in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore which, along with the promotions in its network, gives ONE FC a 90 per cent share of the Asian market.