WITH a plethora of local talents plying their trade in ONE Championship, Vice President Miesha Tate is confident Malaysia will be crowned with its very first mixed martial arts world champion in due time.
A former World Champion herself, the martial artist confidently stated that it’s just a matter of time before it transpires.
“That’s definitely going to happen. There’s no way that this amount of talent in Malaysia will not result in a World Champion at some point,” she explained. “I wouldn’t say it’s impossible. Realistically, it’s just a matter of time.”
Malaysia has come close on two occasions in the past.
The first was when Ev 'E.T.' Ting challenged Eduard 'Landslide' Folayang in Manila for the ONE Lightweight World Title in April 2017. He gave it his all, but narrowly lost via unanimous decision.
A month later, Agilan 'Alligator' Thani – who was on a 7-0 streak – took on then-ONE Welterweight World Champion Ben 'Funky' Askren. The American grappling technician proved to be too much for Thani that fateful May night, but it did not take long for 'Alligator' to return to his winning form.
In fact, his most recent victory against Japanese-Korean martial arts icon Yoshihiro 'Sexy Yama' Akiyama impressed Tate, and the ONE Championship Vice President took the opportunity to celebrate the Sentul native’s impressive skill set.
“Agilan Thani has a very strong will. He’s incredibly talented, but more than his physical abilities, I’m impressed by his mental abilities,” the 32-year-old said.
“His ability to persevere in adversity is something I recognize as World Championship material. I’ve never questioned the level of competition at ONE. When you see martial arts greatness, you recognize it instantly.
“ONE has the greatest, and one of the largest, talent pools to pick out from. What they’ve done in such a short amount of time is truly unbelievable.”
With athletes such as Jihin 'Shadow Cat' Radzuan, Keanu Subba, and Muhammad Aiman on the roster, things are certainly looking positive for Malaysia.
But who among this fine crop of talents can go on to become the country’s first-ever mixed martial arts World Champion?
Astro Awani
Fri Jul 12 2019
Malaysia has come close on two occasions in the past. - ONE photo
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