Soccer kicks in ONE Championship fights are no more. Asia’s leading mixed martial arts promotion has moved to outlaw the technique in a bid to professionalise the sport across the region.
With ONE on the brink of entering the mainstream consciousness, the company has sought to shift the wrongly attached barbaric label, which has often maligned the sport, by banning the controversial kick.
While it’s proven soccer kicks are in fact no more dangerous than any other type of technique used in the cage, the sport has had image problems in the past, particularly in North America, and kicking a downed opponent perpetuates the belief that MMA is an uncouth bloodsport.
With ONE growing at such a rapid rate, chairman Chatri Sityodtong said the move was necessary, confirming the rule change will come into effect for Saturday’s ‘Heroes of the World’ card at the Cotai Arena in Macau.
“As of this Macau event, we’re not going to allow soccer kicks to head anymore,” Sityodtong said.
“As we professionalise and upgrade it was a necessary move. If you look at the studies done on soccer kicks it’s the same as a normal head kick because you generate the same pivotal force.
“But at the same time there’s a lot of bad publicity with it and if we want to go mainstream, people have to understand we have to take certain steps.
“It’s a perception thing, no one has ever been injured or had any serious damage from a soccer kick.”
MMA has evolved exponentially since the so-called ‘dark ages’ of the early ’90s.
None more so was that evident than in today’s groundbreaking move as the Professional Fighters Association (PFA) was launched.
Talk about a union for professional MMA artists has simmered for years and now a group of agents and lawyers have made the first big step.
The PFA is specifically targeting the UFC but Sityodtong believes a similar model simply would not work in Asia.
“The thing about Asia is that it’s not homoginist, it’s not like the US, every single country has it’s own different labour laws and governments so I don’t think an association like that would work in Asia,” he said.
“It’s just too complicated, you have to be in tight with every single government. It’s a different animal. In American, it’s homoginist, you create an association and it’s done. There’s a lot of different nuances which would make it difficult.”
In Macau, former ONE flyweight champ Adriano Moraes headlines a card which promises plenty of action.
The Brazilian, who lost the belt to current champ Kairat Akhmetov in November, will take on Kyrgyzstan’s Tilek Batyrov, a late replacement for the injured Andrew Leone, for the interim ONE Flyweight strap Saturday night (UAE start time 23:00).
And the 27-year-old is desperate to have gold wrapped round his waist once again.
FIGHT CARD: Ready for some world-class MMA action in Macao this weekend? See you there -->> https://t.co/UELdQqfP4U pic.twitter.com/BOU80aNRoh
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) August 9, 2016
“I’ve had to change my plans a little bit, change my strategy,” said Moraes, who has prepared for this clash by sparring with UFC bantamweight champ and American Top Team team-mate Amanda Nunes. “But it’s okay. It’s going to be one more step to regain my belt.
“For me, I have never lost that belt. In my mind I won that fight. He knows I want that [rematch].
“But I feel good. My [training] has been good. I am here to fight against everyone. It’ll be a tough fight but that’s what I like.
“It is my life. I fight with my heart, I fight with my soul. His name ends in ‘ov’ and everyone who has that name is a tough fighter. But I believe I have more weapons for this fight.”
Elsewhere on the card, lightweight contender Eddie Ng returns to the ring after a 15-month lay-off following his second-round submission loss to Costa Rica’s Ariel Sexton last May.
The 30-year-old Hong Kong-born fighter has battled career-threatening wrist injuries over the past two years but is confident an eye-catching victory against former ONE featherweight champ Honorio Banario will put him firmly back in the title mix.
“I’m going to have to put him away,” said Ng.
“He’s beaten some really tough guys. Me and him, we’re not just going to just go down – we’re going to have to put each other away. So that’s how I think it will end.”
Of his injuries he added: “If I wasn’t 100 per cent I know my coaches wouldn’t let me fight and I wouldn’t either.
“It’s been over a year – a long time out. But that’s normal for me. I’ve always have had long breaks between fights.”
