MMA: Ev, Agilan back on winning tracks

Malaysian mixed martial arts (MMA) heroes Ev Ting and Agilan Thani are back on their winning tracks after the duo emerged victorious in ONE: Quest For Greatness, at Stadium Negara, Friday night.

Ting, a former world lightweight title challenger who fought in co-main event, overwhelmed Japanese MMA veteran and former ONE welterweight world champion Nobutatsu Suzuki to win via technical knockout.

At the start of the bout, Ting paced himself well, keeping Suzuki at range with his accurate striking before executing the end sequence.

After staggering Suzuki with a combination, Ting swarmed his opponent to score the referee stoppage.

In the clash between Agilan and Egyptian fighter Sherif Mohamed, the 22-year-old displayed one of the most dominant performances of the night with a unanimous decision victory

Showing off new skills and techniques that he learned from training with the world-famous Team Quest, Agilan overpowered Sherif with his superb takedowns and submission attempts.

Agilan, who is also a former world title challenger in the welterweight division, finished the three-round contest on a strong note, and welcomed by the loud cheer of local supporters.

In a clash of high-caliber flyweights, another Malaysian fighter, Gianni Subba captured a hard-earned victory by routing Japan’s Riku Shibuya.

Gianni showcased his pinpoint accurate striking skills, raining Shibuya with stinging right hands and spinning back-kicks in the first round.

Although Shibuya easily converted his takedown attempts in the succeeding rounds to avoid striking exchanges, Gianni kept himself active on the canvas, fishing for submissions while landing the more telling blows.

In the end, Subba’s efforts were rewarded with a unanimous decision.

Meanwhile, two other fellow Malaysians, Ann Osman and Gianni's brother Keanu Subba, didn't fare well in their respective bouts.

Nevertheless, the two national warriors displayed superb skills in front of the jubilant hometown crowd and didn't go down without giving their respective opponents a good fight and a hard time.