ONE: ‘Hero’s Dream’ preview

ONE: “Hero’s Dream” sees the promotion head into open weight territory for the first time in its history with a main event that pitches middleweight champion Aung La Nsang against heavyweight Alain Ngalani.

The event is set for the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon and La Nsang will be looking to build on his recent momentum with a win over one of the most imposing looking fighters on the roster.

The three fight undercard will not be streamed, so here is my preview of the main card:

145lbs.: Chen Lei vs Burn Soriano

Chen Lei (3-0) blew away Jeremy Meciaz on his ONE Championship debut but was pushed much harder by Saiful Merican. He’s a wrestler who is relentless in pursuit of the takedown.

That could be a problem for Soriano (3-3?) who is a kickboxing champion. His main claim to fame is scoring a 15 second first round ONE Championship knockout with a spinning back kick and the Filipino might need something similar here if he wants to avoid being completely outwrestled.

125lbs.: Pongsiri Mitsatit vs Jeremy Miado

Pongsiri Mitsatit (8-0) seems destined for a strawweight title shot but this represents his toughest test yet. Jeremy Miado (6-1) will be well aware that his opponent is a veteran of approximately 100 Muay Thai fights and will waste no time trying to get this to the ground.

Five of Miado’s six fights have been the distance which means he has spent significantly more time in the cage than Mitsatit. If the Thai can keep things standing he should win by stoppage but if the Filipino is able to wrestle and grapple and drag the contest into the latter rounds he has a good chance to pull off the upset.

135lbs.: Ma Hao Bin vs Eugene Toquero

Ma Hao Bin (7-1) is a national wrestling champion who made his pro debut fighting on a ONE Championship card in 2016. He’s emerged as one of the best Chinese fighters on the roster and tends to either win by submission or ground out decisions.

Eugene Toquero (8-5) comes from a Muay Thai background but is very well rounded. He will be looking to snap a three fight winning streak but is capable of causing the Chinese fighter some problems, the Filipino is a superior striker and can handle himself on the ground.

155lbs.: Phoe Thaw vs Saw Ba Oo

Phoe Thaw (4-0) comes from a Lethwei background and has won four fights out of four for ONE Championship, although every single one of those wins has come at the expense of a Burmese opponent.

Saw Ba Oo (2-1) is also a Lethwei fighter and has better standup credentials than Thaw. These all Burmese fights tend to produce fireworks and this could be a fun matchup, just don’t expect any sophisticated ground fighting techniques.

Open Weight: Aung La Nsang vs Alain Ngalani

Aung La Nsang (20-10-0-1) needs to prove he can weight 205 lbs without dehydrating himself to compete in ONE Championship’s middleweight division while Alain Ngalani (3-3-0-1) typically weights in at between 220 and 240lbs.

La Nsang is slightly the taller of the two men but will probably be giving away around 20lbs on fight night. The Cameroonian is very dangerous on his feet with some lightning fast spinning strikes.

There are question marks over Ngalani’s stamina, so the longer this five round fight lasts the more it will favour La Nsang. The Burmese middleweight is very well rounded but his opponent will be going all out for an early knockout, and has the precision and power to get it.

The full ONE: “Hero’s Dream” card can be purchased for $9.99 USD from here

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