Malaysian karate gold medalist to make MMA debut in Taipei

Malaysian Karate SEA Games gold medalist, Rayner Kinsiong will be making his debut at the international level of mixed martial arts (MMA) tournament next month.

Kinsiong, a national karate exponent and mixed martial artist from Sabah, will be fighting at ONE Fighting Championship's (ONE FC) next event in Taiwan, dubbed 'War Of Dragons'.

The 35-year-old 3rd degree black belt holder will be facing Taiwan's submission expert, Zhang Zheng Jie in the lightweight category bout.

Kinsiong in his statement said he is extremely confident that he can knock out anybody on his feet and has added grappling skills to his arsenal.

He also said his experience in competing on the global stage will be used as an advantage against his less-experienced opponent.

Another Malaysian, Muhammad Haidar will be joining Kinsiong in the championship. He will fight Taiwan's MMA pioneer, Sung Ming Yen in the bantamweight category.

Haidar is a veteran in MMA and considered as one of the country's top bantamweight contenders who had honed his skills training with the best fighters in Malaysia.

ONE FC has added four exciting bouts to the ONE FC: War Of Dragons fight card which is set to take place on July 11 at the National Taiwan University Sports Center in Taipei.

Besides the two, a bout between top featherweight contenders Rob Lisita and Eric Kelly has been added to the card, and also Hong Kong’s Nathan Ng will go against Taiwan-based French fighter Florian Garel.

ONE FC CEO Victor Cui said Lisita and Kelly are two of the best featherweights in the world and both of them consistently deliver crowd-pleasing bouts.

"The winner of this bout will set himself up to challenge Koji Oishi, the reigning ONE FC Featherweight World Champion, for the title in the near future.

"This is one of the most anticipated sporting events in Taiwan in recent years and fans in Taiwan will finally get to enjoy explosive MMA action!" he said.

Meanwhile, ONE FC is set to hold ten events a year across China through its recent blockbuster deal with world-renowned event promoter, AMC Live Group.

According to a statement by ONE FC, the organisation will be holding an unprecedented ten events a year in ten different cities across the country, starting with 4 events this year.

ONE FC CEO, Victor Cui said the partnership will redefine and change the landscape of the sport forever, and that ONE FC will become the first world class MMA organisation ever to hold an event in mainland China.

"China is the birthplace of martial arts like Sanda, Wushu, and Kung Fu and there is a rich martial arts tradition. ONE FC will be available to over one billion people in China alone and will bring adrenaline-pumping mixed martial arts action to ten different cities across the country a year," he said.

AMC Live Group CEO, Adrian Leong said his company is very excited at the potential of MMA in China and believe that it will be a huge success given the track record of ONE FC.

"AMC Live Group is the organisation of choice for live entertainment events across Asia. We have a world class stable of entertainment acts and are happy to add the most exciting sporting event in Asia, ONE FC, to that illustrious group," he told.

AMC Live Group is the premier event promotion in Asia where since its establishment in 2009, has expanded its business to encompass all components of live entertainment, from large-scale variety shows, fan clubs, signings, artist management and endorsements, corporate image planning and marketing, public relations, event planning and execution, choreography, ticketing and equipment leasing.

The organisation has successfully organised concerts and tours for international superstars such as Elton John, Faye Wong, Eason Chan, Jay Chou and Stefanie Sun.

Tickets for ONE FC: War Of Dragons are on sale now at www.ibon.com.tw. Ticket categories begin with the full red carpet and cage side experience for NT7,200 (RM773). Tickets priced at NT3,600 (RM386) and NT1,200 (RM128) are also available.

Fans in Asia can catch all the action live on STAR Sports, and fans from around the world can witness the action online via live streaming at www.onefc.livesport.tv.