MMA: Keanu Subba set for ONE Championship return in Jakarta

Malaysian featherweight Keanu Subba will make his ONE Championship return against Japanese knockout artist Ryogo Takahashi at ONE: FOR HONOR in Jakarta, Indonesia on Friday, 3 May.

The three-round featherweight battle will be Subba’s first appearance in The Home Of Martial Arts since his staggering win over Myanmar’s Phoe Thaw last October.

“I’m excited and grateful to be fighting in Jakarta on 3 May,” the 24-year-old proudly said.

“I’ve been training hard, and I’m grateful to be able to test my skills against a veteran like Takahashi.”

Takahashi, a popular martial arts figure in “The Land Of The Rising Sun,” made his professional mixed martial arts debut in July 2011 and became a mainstay in Shooto.

The 30-year-old Hyōgo native will have to be cautious against Subba, who boasts a 100 percent finishing rate.

Subba has been one of the organization’s most exciting athletes competing out of Malaysia, and since his promotional debut in 2015, the Monarchy MMA representative has mustered five victories against highly skilled opponents.

Currently, he is riding a two-bout win streak, having finished both of his recent adversaries in the first round.

“It’s been a while since my last match, and I’m eager to make a winning return,” the Kuala Lumpur-based martial artist declared.

“I want nothing but a finish, and I honestly hope I achieve that in Jakarta.”

Joining him out of Kuala Lumpur will be Muay Thai martial artist Mohammed “Jordan Boy” Bin Mahmoud.

He takes on Scotland’s Andrew Miller in a ONE Super Series Muay Thai bantamweight contest on the preliminary card. This battle will be his fourth contest in The Home Of Martial Arts.

In the main event at Jakarta’s Istora Senayan, ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Sam A-Gaiyanghadao defends his belt for the first time against English striker Jonathan “The General” Haggerty.

Haggerty, a Roar Combat League Muay Thai World Champion, has his heart set on another win in the Indonesian capital. The last time he appeared in the country, he thrilled fans with a masterful performance against Joseph “The Hurricane” Lasiri in January.

Also, fans can expect an explosive affair in the co-main event as Japanese mixed martial arts icon Yushin “Thunder” Okami makes his highly-anticipated debut. The 37-year-old veteran takes on Kiamrian Abbasov in a welterweight bout.

His Kyrgyzstan opponent is on a hot streak leading up to the contest, having chalked up an impressive 12 victories in his last 13 matches. Most recently, he defeated Kuala Lumpur’s Agilan Thani in December.